Paul James Livingston (born March 1956), popularly known as his alter ego Flacco, is an Australian comedian who has regularly appeared on many television shows, predominantly on ABC TV and

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

, including ''

Good News Week ''Good News Week'' is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on ABC until being bought by Network Ten in ...

'', ''

The Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

and Flacco Special'', ''

The Big Gig ''The Big Gig'' was a popular Australian television sketch comedy music/variety series based on the British TV series '' Saturday Live''. It was produced and broadcast on ABC TV in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was produced and directed by ...

'', ''

DAAS Kapital ''DAAS Kapital'' is an Australian television comedy series written by and starring comedy trio the Doug Anthony All Stars (Paul McDermott, Tim Ferguson and Richard Fidler) with supporting cast members Paul Livingston, Michael Petroni, Bob Downe a ...

'', ''

The Money or the Gun ''The Money or the Gun'' was an Australian comedy/talk-show on the ABC network. It ran from late 1989 to mid-1990, with occasional specials until 1994. It was written by Andrew Denton, Simon Dodd, Bruce Griffiths, and George Dodd, directed b ...

'', ''

The Fat ''The Fat'' was an Australian sports based talk show television series, broadcast and produced by ABC TV.The series began on 6 March 2000, and ended on 18 November 2003. Program synopsis Host Tony Squires, with regulars Peter Wilkins and Rebec ...

'' and '' The Sideshow''. He also was on ''

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

Breakfast'' from 1994 to 1997, ''

Doom Runners ''Doom Runners'' (1997) is an Australian science fiction television children's film. Premise The story concerns a group of children in a post-apocalyptic world searching for the last unpolluted place on Earth, New Eden. However, the Doom Troope ...

'' (1997), and is on

ABC Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...

. He has also acted on stage and in film. He was joint winner of the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award in 1996 for outstanding achievement in the performing arts in Australia. Livingston also wrote the play ''Emma's Nose'' about the relationship of

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...

Wilhelm Fliess Wilhelm Fliess (german: Wilhelm Fließ; 24 October 1858 – 13 October 1928) was a German otolaryngologist who practised in Berlin. He developed the pseudoscientific Biorhythm theory, theory of human biorhythms and a possible nasogenital conne ...

and their patient

Emma Eckstein Emma Eckstein (1865–1924) was an Austrian author. She was "one of Sigmund Freud's most important patients and, for a short period of time around 1897, became a psychoanalyst herself". She has been described as "the first woman analyst", who b ...

. Livingston also starred in '' The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey'' by Vincent Ward. Livingston has toured Australia and internationally and appeared at festivals in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. In 2014, he replaced

Richard Fidler Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

as the guitarist in the reformed

Doug Anthony All Stars The Doug Anthony All Stars (or Doug Anthony Allstars, DAAS, D.A.A.S. or stylised as D⋆A†A☭S) were an Australian musical comedy, alternative rock and vocal group who initially performed together between 1984 and 1994. The group were an aco ...

, and toured with

Tim Ferguson Timothy Dorcen Langbene Ferguson is an Australian comedian, film director, screenwriter, author and screenwriting teacher. Early life and education Timothy Dorcen Langbene Ferguson grew up in Singapore, and later on a rural property near t ...

and

Paul McDermott Paul Anthony Michael McDermott (born 13 May 1962) is an Australian entertainer, best known both for ''Good News Week'' and for his role as a member of the musical comedy group the Doug Anthony All Stars. He has frequently appeared at the Melb ...

Flacco

Flacco is a fictional character played by Paul Livingston. Livingston created the character in 1985, when he got up on stage as part of a bet, and the audience mistook his nervousness for a comedic character. Flacco's trademark curl of hair on a pale bald head was originally Livingston's actual hair, until actual baldness forced him to use hairpieces.Dowsett, Wayne
Flacco – six teeth, no hair but looks aren't everything

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

, 4 November 2005. In 2009, a portrait by Paul Jackson of Livingston in character as Flacco won the Packing Room Prize as part of the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

. Flacco was an outsider whose observations of people took on an almost alien quality. He had a completely bald head with a single stylised (thick) strand of hair in a coil, and was frequently seen in a suit. He made quick observations often interspersed with incorrect movie, theatre or cultural quotes.

Television appearances

Flacco first appeared on television in 1988 on

Andrew Denton Andrew Christopher Denton (born 4 May 1960) is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie-nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program ''Enough Rope'' and ...

's ''

Blah Blah Blah Blah, blah blah etc. may refer to: Music * ''Blah-Blah-Blah'' (Iggy Pop album), 1986, or its title song * ''Blah Blah Blah'' (Blahzay Blahzay album), 1996 * ''Blah Blah Blah'' (EP), 2018 by Armin van Buuren or the title song * ''Blah Bla ...

'' and came to prominence the following year on ''

'', as an alien who engaged in

observational humour Observational comedy is a form of humor based on the commonplace aspects of everyday life. It is one of the main types of humor in stand-up comedy. In an observational comedy act, the comedian makes an observation about something which is common ...

. He reprised the role, also as an alien in ''

'', a sitcom featuring fellow ''Big Gig'' alumni the

(DAAS). His appearances on ''

'' paired him with the

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

(played by Steve Abbott), and the two characters appeared together frequently live and on television. In 2007, Flacco made regular appearances on the ABC1 show ''The Sideshow'' alongside Abbott and

, with Gordon Farrer of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' calling the show a "living link to an earlier era of Australian culture", due to the presence of Flacco, the Sandman and former DAAS member McDermott as comedians of the 1990s.The Sideshow with Paul McDermott
''

'', 13 October 2007. A holographic video display featuring Flacco sat at the

Black Mountain Tower Telstra Tower (also known as Black Mountain Tower and formerly Telecom Tower) is a telecommunications tower and lookout that is situated above the summit of Black Mountain in Australia's capital city of Canberra. It is named after Australia's ...

in Canberra during the 1990s in their now-removed "Making Connections" exhibition.

Publications

*''Flacco's Burnt Offerings'' (1995) Penguin *''The Dirt Bath'' (1998), Penguin, *''The Flacco Files'' (1999), Allen and Unwin (originally in "

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

Weekend Magazine". *''Releasing the Imbecile Within : An Incomplete Idiot's Guide'' (2003), Allen & Unwin. *''Absent without leave: the private war of Private Stanley Livingston'' (2013), Allen & Unwin. *''DAAS: Their Part in My Downfall'' (2016), Allen & Unwin.

Filmography

Film

* Children of the Revolution (1996)

References

External links

Paul Livingston (Flacco) at HLA Management Australia
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, Paul Australian comedy writers Australian male comedians Australian male television actors Australian male film actors Australian male stage actors 1956 births Living people Australian media personalities Australian satirists 20th-century Australian male actors