Paul Livingston
Paul Livingston, better known as his alter ego Flacco, is an Australian comedian who has regularly appeared on television, predominantly on ABC TV and Network Ten, and radio. He has also acted on stage and in film.
He has toured Australia and internationally with his offbeat stand up routines, and appeared at festivals in Edinburgh and Montreal.
As well as the fictional character of Flacco, Paul Livingston is also an author and political cartoonist.
Pages of words written by Paul Livingston bound in books
Flacco - six teeth, no hair but looks aren't everything
A cultural institution is how Paul Livingston sees his character creation, Flacco.
"An insignificant little bald man talking which is not very interesting." That's how Paul Livingston describes the thought of himself, as himself, up on stage. Which is probably a harsh assessment, as he shows himself to be funny and perceptive, often at his own expense, as he talks about his new show Bingo in Siberia.
Paul stars as his alter ego, Flacco, along with fellow comedian, Steve Abbott, also known as Sandman. The pair is currently touring the country.
Flacco and his trademark curl of hair on a bald pate have graced Australian stage and television for 20 years now. "I got up on stage as a bet in 1985." The 20 minute act which Paul had developed lasted two minutes before panic set in. "And people kind of liked it so I kept doing it."
The hair used to be his but the ravages of male pattern baldness have taken their toll. When he first started, Paul had long hair at the back which he used wear in a ponytail. "So I looked like an advertising agent."
The trade mark self deprecation of the comic appears as he adds, "So when I was off stage, I looked like a wanker and on stage, I looked like an idiot. I used to spike all this hair up and whip one round from the back and make a curl out of it."
Even when the hair left, the curl stayed. "People won't let Flacco on without a curl," says Paul so he had to have wigs made. "$50 bucks a pop for these tiny strands. It's expensive wearing a rug."
Not only did the hair seek another home, the teeth went with it as well. When he was a kid, growing up in the 60s, says Paul, dentists wanted to rip teeth out of people's heads. Perhaps they were just angry people, he theorises and that's what made you a dentist.
"I had a weird set of teeth," says Paul "and every time I went to the dentist, he whipped another one out. I can still chew like a rabbit."
Despite his obvious qualifications as a slightly odd personality, Paul still isn't sure just where Flacco came from. His own background is as a cartoonist and an animator. "He came off a page really." Work as a voice over artist gave him the wherewithal to develop the voice.
"The trouble with speaking fast when you do a character is you have to write a lot more material," bemoans Paul. Flacco has lasted well, he allows. "He's persistent. He's like a persistent stain; nothing will get him out." Despite attempts to retire the character, he reckons Flacco's well ensconced in the cultural fabric of this country now. Every time Paul thinks it might be safe to straighten out the curl, Flacco still keeps getting gigs.
Paul says he doesn't know why people still like the character. He literally didn't know what he was doing that first time. He still has those first scripts. "There's nothing funny in them except some weird guy getting up and ranting." Flacco is not your average Aussie at a BBQ, he reckons, yet somehow that appealed to people.
Flacco has appeared on some of the best Australian comedy shows from the recent past such as Good News Week, The Fat and The Big Gig. Of his new show, Paul declares, perhaps a little tongue in cheek, "I can't believe after years and years of doing material with integrity and intelligence, I'm now, at the age of almost 50, calling bingo and it's one of the most successful shows I've ever been involved in. It's a little bit sad and that's probably good."
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"An insignificant little bald man talking which is not very interesting." That's how Paul Livingston describes the thought of himself, as himself, up on stage. Which is probably a harsh assessment, as he shows himself to be funny and perceptive, often at his own expense, as he talks about his new show Bingo in Siberia.
Paul stars as his alter ego, Flacco, along with fellow comedian, Steve Abbott, also known as Sandman. The pair is currently touring the country.
Flacco and his trademark curl of hair on a bald pate have graced Australian stage and television for 20 years now. "I got up on stage as a bet in 1985." The 20 minute act which Paul had developed lasted two minutes before panic set in. "And people kind of liked it so I kept doing it."
The hair used to be his but the ravages of male pattern baldness have taken their toll. When he first started, Paul had long hair at the back which he used wear in a ponytail. "So I looked like an advertising agent."
The trade mark self deprecation of the comic appears as he adds, "So when I was off stage, I looked like a wanker and on stage, I looked like an idiot. I used to spike all this hair up and whip one round from the back and make a curl out of it."
Even when the hair left, the curl stayed. "People won't let Flacco on without a curl," says Paul so he had to have wigs made. "$50 bucks a pop for these tiny strands. It's expensive wearing a rug."
Not only did the hair seek another home, the teeth went with it as well. When he was a kid, growing up in the 60s, says Paul, dentists wanted to rip teeth out of people's heads. Perhaps they were just angry people, he theorises and that's what made you a dentist.
"I had a weird set of teeth," says Paul "and every time I went to the dentist, he whipped another one out. I can still chew like a rabbit."
Despite his obvious qualifications as a slightly odd personality, Paul still isn't sure just where Flacco came from. His own background is as a cartoonist and an animator. "He came off a page really." Work as a voice over artist gave him the wherewithal to develop the voice.
"The trouble with speaking fast when you do a character is you have to write a lot more material," bemoans Paul. Flacco has lasted well, he allows. "He's persistent. He's like a persistent stain; nothing will get him out." Despite attempts to retire the character, he reckons Flacco's well ensconced in the cultural fabric of this country now. Every time Paul thinks it might be safe to straighten out the curl, Flacco still keeps getting gigs.
Paul says he doesn't know why people still like the character. He literally didn't know what he was doing that first time. He still has those first scripts. "There's nothing funny in them except some weird guy getting up and ranting." Flacco is not your average Aussie at a BBQ, he reckons, yet somehow that appealed to people.
Flacco has appeared on some of the best Australian comedy shows from the recent past such as Good News Week, The Fat and The Big Gig. Of his new show, Paul declares, perhaps a little tongue in cheek, "I can't believe after years and years of doing material with integrity and intelligence, I'm now, at the age of almost 50, calling bingo and it's one of the most successful shows I've ever been involved in. It's a little bit sad and that's probably good."
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