Meet Darth Vadar

 To the Langham Hotel in The Rocks to meet the stars of the play Driving Miss Daisy on the first day of rehearsals.
 Hollywood greats Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones are in town to reprise their Broadway hit of the original play by Alfred Uhry.

Angela with Boyd Gaines

 The 1987 movie version won Australian director Bruce Beresford a few Oscars and took around $300M at the box office.


  Angela has been here once befiore- in 1959 where she lived for 4 months in Point Piper while she filmed Summer of The Seventeenth Doll with Earnest Borgnine, Ann Baxter and her pal John Mills. At the time she hired a car and drove around NSW with her children exploring the state.
 On this visit she and James Earl Jones, who was famously the voice of Darth Vadar in the Star Wars flicks will be touring for 5 months visiting Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide.

James was here ten years ago as a tourist and it's the first visit for 4 times Tony Award winner Boyd Gaines who completes the cast. With tickets selling like hotcakes it's another winner for producer John Frost- known as Frostie on Broadway but Mr Frost in London's West End.

The Shuttle caused a minor commotion when James Earl Jones asked which was the most 'right wing newspaper' in town. "They all are " replied the Shuttle accurately which went down well with the other media attending with one even apologising to the actors for gifting the world Rupert Murdoch.

And the big question of the morning for which we received no answer : just what was that monkey doing in the mural on the wall behind our esteemed thespians ?. Had a mischievous interior designer been inspired by Richard Nevile and the School Kid's Oz magazine ala Rupert Bear?
Below is a video we have uncovered of James Earl Jones channeling Justin Beiber.

Jimmy Savile ? : blame Richard Nevile

Writer A N Wilson, once dubbed the 'young fogey' has laid into a series of personalities in a dissertation about the so-called 'sexual revolution' that has resulted in what he thinks are today's slack morals.

Richard Nevile
at a book launch
 2 weeks ago

Starting with Lady Chatterley's Lover (he read it as a boy, under the sheets with a torch) , Wilson draws a line beginning with the Baby Boomers , Hippies ,and the swinging 60s and just about anyone who contributed to the arts during that era  from the Rolling Stones to Richard Nevile and the Oz Magazine team who were busted for obscenity when they produced the School Kids issue that featured Rupert The Bear with a hard on (the issue was actually edited by school kids).

Richard Nevile,Felix Denis
   and Jim Anderson at
  their obscenity trial

Even the Oz defendants brief at their trial, Rumpole author and barrister John Mortimer comes in for a serve and perhaps barrister Nevile Wran who defended Nevile in Sydney on obscenity charges and later become NSW Premier for 10 years, should share in the blame.
Apparently 57% of Brits were happy in the idyllic 1950s and presumably there were no rapes, sex assaults or abortions- although the Shuttle's late aunt who had a backyard abortion in 1951 may dispute that (as a result she was couldn't have children and suffered for the rest of her life).
All this free sex and loose morals have disturbed Wilson so much he draws a link between them and the BBC apparently ignoring the exploits of the late Jimmy Savile although he has failed to point out that most of the newspapers Wilson has written for also turned a blind eye. And little does he know he shares something in common with Richard Nevile : in the 1960s Nevile who was an advertising copy writer was dubbed the Young Fogey by pals who weren't quite convinced with his 'revolutionary' zeal.
You can read all this in the Daily Mail.

Kitsch Week in LA

Those social scribes still holding down a job on a tabloid will be heading for Sydney Airport on Monday for one of the best freebies in town- the annual gala week in Los Angeles known as G'Day USA.
It's a government sponsored promotional week where everything Oz gets shown around LA- local fashion designers, wine tastings, tourism events and err, a discussion on the carbon pricing.

The big do of the week is the LA Black Tie Gala dinner where a few Aussies who have done well in the USA get inducted into some sort of Hall of Fame- this year it's Paul Hogan and Rose Byrne and Qantas pilot John Travolta. Guests include usually every actor in LA that week - Guy Pearce, Naomi Watts, Eric Bana, Toni Collette and it wouldn't be a party without Olivia Newton John. Chef for the night is Curtis Stone.

But wait-there's more : also flying to Los Angeles is the World's Richest Woman and the Aussie version of Christina Onassis, Gina Rinehart and her daughter Ginia Rinehart who is the apple of her mum's eye.

Ryan Johnson  * Gina Rinehart  * Ginia Rinehart

Ginia will wed her long time boyfriend in LA- Ryan Johnson who is the son of the legendary Beach Boys' Bruce Johnson.
On the wedding guest list :  Canadian hamburger king Jack Cowin, John Singleton and Barnaby Joyce MP.  Not invited : Gina's estranged children Hope, Bianca and John.

Vale Lady Packer

Lady Florence Packer who passed away last week in Monte Carlo was one of the most liked members of the Packer family. Florence Mathilde Adeline Violet Porges was born in France in 1915 and her marriage to Sir Frank Packer in 1964 was her third.
When Sir Frank died in 1974 Florence retreated to Monaco to live where she often dined at the Palace with the Grimaldi Royal Family and helped out at the local church, St Pauls where she played bridge on many an afternoon.

Lady Florence Packer with a portrait of Sir Frank Packer at the National Gallery

Florence would visit Sydney once a year and the Shuttle met her often around town. Her European manners of accepting all no matter their rank and file was refreshing in a  town which takes itself far too seriously. She was particularly fond of step-grandson James Packer's then fiance Kate Fisher and at a reception for Kate once told us the type of anecdote she loved.
 Lady Packer's second husband was Noel Vincent who owned the magnificent property Wee Jasper near Exerter in NSW. It was once owned by Banjo Patterson and later by former Liberal Party Opposition leader John Hewson.

2008 in the South of France:
    Lulu van Antwerpen,Jim Mitchell
      and Lady Florence Packer at
     James & Erica Packer's wedding.

The Vincents were hosting the heir to the US DuPont fortune, Lauren DuPont an expert Olympian horse rider and whilst walking through the beautiful gardens at Wee Jasper Mrs DuPont commented on how stunning they were and how they  rivalled her own back in Connecticut.
"Do you have gardeners ?" asked Lady Packer. "Yes" said Mrs Dupont, "I think about 30 at present".
Reaching for a glass of champagne Lady Packer said "we poor things had to do with just 9 at Wee Jasper"/
Lady Packer's funeral will take place at her beloved St Paul's Church in Monte Carlo tomorrow.
 For more read the SMH's obituary of Lady Forence Packer by Mark McGinness.

Party Rivals see in the New Year

Catalina in Rose Bay                                                                Bondi Icebergs

Paris Hilton at Icebergs in 2007

Ever since Paris Hilton and then boyfriend Stavros Niarchos III attended the first New Year's Day charity bash at Bondi  Icebergs in 2007 it's been the recovery party for January 1st but a new competitor looks like stealing Iceberg's thunder. 

Damion Downey

Catalina in Rose Bay threw an almost identical party hosted by musician Damion Downey formerly of Sneaky Sound System . With his party partner Tim Holmes a'Court they pulled in around 300 guests, about the same number that attended the Bondi Bash.

Catalina's was slightly marred by the discovery of a body floating beneath the pier the previous day, the result of  tragic boating accident but with it's expansive view and large dining room it's certainly a comfortable venue.

Chris Brown

Chris Joannou * Laura Csortan

At the Icebergs and sipping on Veuve Clicquot: Dan Single and girlfriend Bambi Northwood-Blyth, Kings Cross nightclub mogul John Ibrahim, Charlotte Dawson and Brian McFadden with Vogue Williams.
At Catalina swilling Pommery and lunching on pancakes and duck sauce-the newly trimmed billionaire James Packer taking a series of intense looking phone calls and wife Erica, Laura Csortan and boyfriend Chris Joannou from Silverchair and Southeby's Justin Miller with designer Danielle Wallace-she flew in from Lake Como.
Missing in action : Kylie Minogue and Leonardo DiCaprio.

NYE Celeb Watch

Our handy guide to celebrity watch and who is in town for New Years Eve:. Leo DiCaprio and mate Jonah Hill will celebrate at The Star after arriving aboard a private jet on Friday. At the Lord Mayor's annual party at the Sydney Opera House Kylie Minogue will launch the fireworks to signal the new year.

And Mariah Carey and family will be partying at a private house in the Eastern Suburbs before boarding a luxury launch to moor off the Opera House- we are sworn to secrecy. But the name James Packer comes to mind.

Earth to Sydney Confidential : Yes, Kate Winslet did wed a chap named Ned Rock'n'Roll but he isn't Richard Branson's 'grandson' (which would mean he was aged about 9) , Ned, formerly Abel Smith is the son of Branson's married sister- ie : his nephew.

UK Competetion for Local Publishers

One of the UK's most powerful newspapers is to launch in Australia next year.
In January The Guardian's deputy editor Katherine Viner (left) will bring a team to Oz to work on the project.

The Guardian is teaming up with the successful not-for-profit news website Global Mail owned by philanthropist and Internet millionaire Graeme Wood. It was The Guardian that persisted with the phone hacking scandal that eventually led to the demise of Rupert Murdoch's News of The World.

  Although the newspaper publishes at a loss it is backed by an asset rich trust which exists to fund The Guardian's investigative reporting, the type that Fairfax once excelled in but which has been declining over the past 5 years as it attempts to compete with Murdoch's papers
Graeme Wood is an astute businessman who has made a fortune from Internet publishing and is quickly filling the middle and left-of-centre ground left vacant by Australia's 2 major newspaper publishers. In 2010 he made the largest ever political donation giving $1.8M to The Greens. He looks set to be the new player in town.

A Sydney Pad for Ricky Martin (& kids)

He's due to arrive in late February with the family in tow : Ricky Martin is looking for somewhere to bed down in Sydney and live La Vida Loca with partner Carlos Gonzalez Abella and of course, their twin boy bubs and presumably a coterie of assistants and nannies.

Martin is replacing Keith Urban on The Voice for 2013 and is looking for digs near Fox Studios where the show will be filmed. The Shuttle's hears a Martin rep has been in town for 2 weeks checking out suitable  properties and several have taken his eye with details dispatched back to Martin who has just taken possession of a new New York apartment.

First up is the sensational Altona in Point Piper, once the home of Rupert Murdoch's nephew Matt Handbury and his wife Fiona. Fiona scored Altona as part of a divorce settlement and sold it for around $29M before fleeing to the UK and joining the aristocracy as the Countess of Dartmouth.

Altona is on the market for around $54M but it can rented for $40,000 a month. It comes with a harbor side swimming pool and a jetty with a boathouse (handy for security guards).

Altona                                                                                  The Astor                                Packer's Bondi beach house

 Another property looked at is the grand 1920's apartment block in Macquarie Street in the city :The Astor. The 2 storey 5 bedroom luxury apartment is being sold by Yellow Brick Road boss Mark Bouris who fronts the TV show The Apprentice as a local Donald Trump but with better hair. The Astor apartment is going for four grand a week and was once owned by Barry Humphries. It has superb harbour views.

And discreet inquiries have been made about James Packer's luxury Bondi pad that was recently put quietly on the market for $20M.
 Ricky can basically pick and choose from any number of Eastern Suburb mansions. Many have lingered on the market for years now while owners ask impossibly high prices.
As for Martin's spiritual health- he is a Buddhist -we also hear his rep made a visit to the Nan Tien Temple (right) in Woolongong.

Martin Sharp Honoured

He was an invited guest to last week's autobiography launch for the late film-maker Albie Thoms but illness prevented him from attending : artist Martin Sharp whose work was featured in Thoms' book.

Earlier in the week Sharp had received a long overdue award at the University of Sydney- an Honorary Doctorate of Visual Arts.
Martin joined a host of names when he received his award from Governor Marie Bashir in her last official act before she retires . They include Cate Blanchett, former NSW Art Gallery head honcho Edmund Capon, fashion designer Peter Weiss and musician and singer Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu.

Martin Sharp & Nevile Wran

Sharp was part of the infamous Oz Magazine trio of Richard Nevile and Richard Walsh who were busted for obscenity in the 1960s in Sydney and again in London. They were found innocent in both trials-defended in Sydney by a young barrister Nevile Wran who later went on to become NSW premier for 10 years.

His colourful works are now hung in galleries worldwide and he designed album covers for some of the 1960s major rock groups including Cream and wrote songs with Eric Clapton whilst living in Chelsea's famous Pheasantry building. Other residents at The Pheasantry included Clapton, Germain Greer and the film director Anthony Haden Guest. In the early 80s he campaigned to preserve Luna Park and redesigned the famous entrance.

During the last 10 years of his life, the unique performer Tiny Tim found a huge fan in Sharp who financed Tim's career and records and made a film of the eccentric singer's life. The movie still hasn't been screened.
Below is Tiny Tim's Tiptoe Through The Tulips:

Book Launch Brings out Movie Crowd

He wasn't well known by the general public but within Australian cinema the late Albie Thoms was a name to be reckoned with. He completed his memoir My Generation days before he slipped away from cancer at aged 70, three weeks ago.

Albie Thoms, Charles Higham and Frank Thring

Bryan Brown & Gillian Armstrong

Thoms was a leading figure in the revival  of the local film industry in the 1970s when he began Ubu Films inspired by the French New Wave , British and US underground film movements.

Many of today's most recognisable names came within Albie's orbit and were inspired or encouraged by Thoms to pursue their dreams at a time when their hopes of success at best may have seen them appear in an episode of an ABC drama or a commercial TV cop show, in front of, or behind the camera.

Peter Clifton & Glen A.Baker

Claudia Karvan

At the celebration to honour Albie Thoms' life and to launch his just completed autobiography, many turned up to discuss old times. Actors Claudia Karvan, Bryan Brown and Judy Davis joined directors Bruce Beresford, Jan Chapman and Gillian Armstrong along with producers Jim McElroy, Margaret  Fink and Oz Magazine's Richard Neville.

Publisher Richard Walsh & Jim McElroy

Wendy Whiteley

Richard Neville

Over 300 guests packed Paddington Town Hall's newly decorated auditorium to take in screenings of some Albie's first movie productions like Bluto and Blunderball which were praised in their day by the late US film critic Charles Higham.
 There was also time to re-tell one of Albie's favorite stories : Thoms was commissioned to produce several episodes of the TV series Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo (still big in Eastern Europe) and the guest star was the high camp actor Frank Thring, star of Hollywood biblical blockbusters like Ben Hur.                                      
As the crew brought on yet another struggling  kangaroo in a sack for the day's shoot- Thring quipped  "If that's the star's friggin' dressing room, what's mine going to be like?"

Les Miserables Murdochs

Wendi & Rupert at last night's premiere

Rupert and Wendi Murdoch graced the red carpet at last night's Sydney State Theatre premiere of Les Miserables joining local actors and the two male stars of the film Hugh Jackman and Russel Crowe.


The Murdochs were in Melbourne last week to attend the memorial service for the late Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, Rupert's much admired mother who died at the grand age of 103.

The Shuttle attended many parties at the home of Matt Handbury and his then wife Fiona at their harbour side mansion Altona (currently being rented by the Jackman clan). Fiona, who has since divorced Matt often spoke of the animosity between the Handburys and Murdochs. Matt inherited his mother Helen Handbury's  magazine empire which she as Rupert's sister inherited from Sir Keith Murdoch.

Now a Murdoch family insider Rodney E.Lever who assisted Murdoch in the creation of his media empire has penned a series of articles for the political website Independent Australia telling of the strained relationship that now bedevils the Murdochs : Rupert is estranged from his oldest son Lachlan and daughter Elisabeth who is married to Britain's ace PR consultant Mathew Freud.
While Matt Handbury attended Dame Elisabeth's service in Melbourne as did Lachlan and his wife Sarah Murdoch (Fiona has since become the Countess of Dartmouth), the Murdochs all went their separate ways and declined to attend the refreshments afterwards or to mingle with the other 1000 guests.

Those Paul Keating Insults..

He is an expert in demolishing his opponents with a few well chosen barbs. From the moment ex-Labor Prime Minster Paul Keating described then PM John Howard in 2007 as looking like a 'desicated coconut'.  Howard was doomed. As was Opposition leader Andrew Peacock when Keating called him an 'intellectual rust bucket' in Parliament.

Possibly his greatest coup was dismantling a brewing scandal over Labor Party fixers Brian Burke and Julian Grills whose shenanigans threatened Kevin Rudd's bid for the Lodge.
Paul Keating dismissed the pair's influence when he described them as the "Arthur Daley and Terry of WA politics".

Now an App for your Iphone that will deliver Keating style insults such as  : " "you intellectual gigolo with the integrity of a rust bucket," or "You stunning example of mental incapacity, you gutless spiv.". It's been created by Dan Nolan of Synthetica and is available from Apple App Store.

Below is a video created to honour Paul Keating's time in Canberra :

Memorable Moments *1

Most Humble Media Mogul of The Day

Rupert, Dame Elisabeth, Sir Keith & Helen Handbury

Rupert Murdoch- today speaking with great affection in Melbourne at a memorial service for his mother, the much loved Dame Elisabeth Murdoch who passed away at the grand age of 103 on the 5th of December. :

Rupert & wife Wendi

 "Parenthood came late to my father (Sir Keith Murdoch) so he lavished affection upon his children and mum took the role of being the disciplinarian.
 I always remember her spanking me when I did something naughty like pulling my sister Helen's pigtails !"

Royal Updates

Most Fascinating MBE Recipient of The Year :

April Ashley who was Britain's first transgender model received her MBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. Looking for all the world like a Dowager Duchess straight from the set of Downton Abbey, Ashley received the honour for her services to transgender equality.


Ashley married Lord Rowallan in 1970 but the potty peer was granted an annulment on the claim he didn't realise April was once a Liverpudlian sailor.

The Shuttle once accompanied Ms Ashley to a Berkley Square Ball where she kept the late Princess Margaret occupied in conversation whilst we assisted pop singer Marilyn over the fence.
Ashley says she had a string of Hollywood lovers including the late Michael Hutchence. On the night of the Berkley Ball she snared a handsome young city  type gent and had her way with him in the Shuttle's Fulham living room. As we escorted him to the door when he left to go to his city bank job in the morning he asked:"I know she's famous, what is her name again?"... " oh yes she was a James Bond girl,.just tell you pals at the bank you've been banging April Ashley all night" we replied.

Wackiest New Political Party

Proud Monarchist , the fragrant David Flint has announced the launch of a new political party CANdo to bring back capital punishment, a tougher line on refugees and all the other policies of the US Tea Party.
Confirmed bachelor Flint also wants a referendum on gay marriage and has voiced his support for wacko Senator Corey Bernardi who reckons legalising gay marriage may lead to bestiality and other such outrages.

Flint has been joined in his endevour by right wing mining magnate Hugh Morgan and our favourite shock jock Alan Jones who was recently ordered to apologise to the Muslim community on his radio program by ACMA which co-incidentally Flint was forced to resign from when he was head of the media watchdog and was discovered writing passionate  letters of support to Jones whilst he was being investigated by ACMA during the infamous Cash For Comments scandal.

""I've been called a perma-tanned Indonesian-born blow-in" says Flint of his critics. Indeed, the Shuttle well remembers a much younger Flint blowing into the infamous Paddington gay pub the Windsor Castle when he was just a mere lad.
Best Diplomatic Appointment

Bringing style back into diplomacy. It seems almost certain that Vogue supremo Anna Wintour will be appointed by Barack Obama as the American ambassador to the Court of St James.

Other famous Ambassadors to Britain include Australia's Sir Les Patterson !