Monday, May 20, 2013
Penne Hackforth-Jones dies at 64
PENNE Hackforth-Jones, one of Australia's most recognisable actors, has died.
Diagnosed months ago with lung cancer, she died on Saturday, aged 64, Fairfax reports.
Born in 1949 in the US state of Connecticut, Hackforth-Jones was brought up in Australia.
Her first credited screen role was in the 1969 TV series Riptide.
Other small screen appearances include A Country Practice, Bellbird, Homicide, Division 4, Matlock Police, Hey Dad..!, Hampton Court and Mother and Son.
She played a bridal shop manageress on the big screen in Muriel's Wedding in 1994.
Most recently she appeared in the ABC's The Doctor Blake Mysteries.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/penne-hackforth-jones-dies-at-64/story-e6frg8n6-1226646424202
Monday, January 28, 2013
Hey Dad! star appears in Sydney court
Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes has appeared in a Sydney court charged with 11 historical child sex offences.
Hughes faced Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday where his matter was mentioned briefly before Magistrate John Andrews.
He is facing 11 charges relating to the sexual and indecent assault of five girls between 1984 and 1990 in Sydney's northern suburbs.
The charges include two counts of raping a 14-year-old girl and four counts of indecently assaulting a six-year-old girl.
Hughes, who played the lead role of Martin Kelly in the hit sitcom series Hey Dad! which ran from 1987 until 1994, did not speak during the brief court appearance.
He has previously indicated he will fight the charges.
Mr Andrews was told the brief of evidence against Hughes was nearly complete and he adjourned the matter until March 5.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/01/29/11/01/robert-hughes-appears-in-sydney-court
Hughes faced Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday where his matter was mentioned briefly before Magistrate John Andrews.
He is facing 11 charges relating to the sexual and indecent assault of five girls between 1984 and 1990 in Sydney's northern suburbs.
The charges include two counts of raping a 14-year-old girl and four counts of indecently assaulting a six-year-old girl.
Hughes, who played the lead role of Martin Kelly in the hit sitcom series Hey Dad! which ran from 1987 until 1994, did not speak during the brief court appearance.
He has previously indicated he will fight the charges.
Mr Andrews was told the brief of evidence against Hughes was nearly complete and he adjourned the matter until March 5.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/01/29/11/01/robert-hughes-appears-in-sydney-court
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Loyal wife by actor Robert Hughes' side as child sex charge ordeal begins
FORMER Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes yesterday started his new life as a man on remand, clutching his wife's hand as he fulfilled his bail conditions and reported to police for the first time.
Robyn Gardiner made it plain she is standing by her husband, holding his hand as he left Surry Hills police station following the early morning report.
She has stayed as close to Hughes' side as possible this week since his extradition to Sydney to face 11 child sex charges.
The couple arrived at the station shortly before 8am and left again within minutes. Mr Hughes donned a cap and sunglasses and Ms Gardiner, a prominent show-business agent to celebrities including Cate Blanchett, wore a wide brimmed black and white striped hat and sunglasses.
When approached by The Daily Telegraph Mr Hughes gave no response to questions. In a clear show of unity, they walked though the city hand in hand, with Mr Hughes occasionally placing his arm around his wife as they strode through Hyde Park back to their upmarket hotel in Kent St - where the couple will live as Mr Hughes prepares for trial.
The 64-year-old flew into Sydney early on Thursday morning after his extradition from London and within hours was charged with 11 offences against five alleged victims over a six-year period dating back to 1984.
Court documents allege Mr Hughes abused five different girls in various locations across northern Sydney, and at least two of the charges directly coincide with his time on the show.
He left the prime time series in 1994 after seven years on the cast.
He was granted bail in Central Local Court on Thursday, and will report to Surry Hills police station three times a week.
Mr Hughes, who cut a forlorn figure in the courtroom dock, has already surrendered his passport and his wife has posted his $50,000 bail surety.
Magistrate Julie Huber said it was clear Hughes wasn't a flight risk, given he had handed himself in to police in London.
He will face court again on January 29.
Mr Hughes' solicitor Greg Walsh said his client was "residing in a room not much bigger than a (prison) cell".
"It (the court case) is going to very difficult for him ... it's a very difficult life," he said.
Mr Hughes, described by his lawyer as a "determined and resolute man ... (though) a quiet sort of person", is expected to plead not guilty to the sex assault charges next year.
The brief of evidence, to be tendered in court next year, will include statements from all the alleged victims. As many as seven officers have worked on the case for the past two years.
http://www.news.com.au/national/loyal-wife-by-actor-robert-hughes-side-as-child-sex-charge-ordeal-begins/story-fndo4bst-1226537182496
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/loyal-wife-by-actor-robert-hughes-side-as-child-sex-charge-ordeal-begins/story-fndo317g-1226537182496
Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes returns to Australia to face sexual assault allegations
FORMER Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes has landed in Sydney to answer child sex abuse allegations dating back to the 1980s.
Hughes's Qantas flight QF2 from London's Heathrow Airport landed in Sydney at 07.29 (AEDT).
The 64-year-old had consented to an order sought by Australia's attorney-general that he return to Sydney for questioning in relation to claims made by five people.
A warrant, signed by Britain's home secretary, outlines 11 accusations dating between 1984 and 1990, which coincides with the actor's starring role in the family sitcom Hey Dad!.
Hughes has not been charged and has been on bail since his arrest in London in August.
His lawyer Greg Walsh has said Hughes emphatically denies all the allegations and will vigorously defend them.
According to Mr Walsh, Hughes was being escorted by three police officers and will be taken to the Sydney Police Centre upon his return to Australia.
Mr Walsh said his client and his family have found themselves in a very stressful situation.
"When I spoke to him before he got on board, I think he was pretty stressed, pretty worried, as any human being would be in that situation,'' he told reporters in Sydney today.
"They won't indicate where I can have the opportunity of meeting my client and speaking with him, conferring with him as you'd expect.''
In a brief extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court in London last month, Mr Hughes said he was keen to sort out the charges against him and clear his name.
However it took several weeks before the paper work was signed for his formal extradition.
The 63-year-old former actor was arrested at his luxury home in central London in August for 11 alleged sexual and indecent assaults of five children in Australia between 1985 and 1990.
Hughes had been placed on strict bail conditions and provided more than $88,000 in surety. The conditions were that he not be left alone with anyone under the age of 16, stay away from airports, ports or London’s Eurostar train station, abide by an 8pm-6am indoors curfew and wear an electronic tag.
He spent one night at Wandsworth Prison while he arranged the surety but then remained in his apartment for the next three months as the legal wheels turned.
http://www.news.com.au/national/hey-dad-star-robert-hughes-returning-to-australia-to-face-sexual-assault-allegations/story-fndo4eg9-1226535000899
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Hey Dad! actor Robert Hughes expected in Australia within days
HEY Dad! star Robert Hughes is expected to arrive back in Australia in a matter of days to face a raft of child sex assault charges.
The British government signed an order on November 20 for Hughes's extradition, giving him 14 days to appeal.
Extradition of Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes approved
The 64-year-old, who played Martin Kelly in Hey Dad!, consented to the order, leaving him four weeks from the date of the order to leave the UK.
That process has left Hughes less than a week before he must depart London for Sydney under escort by NSW police.
He was charged in London via an arrest warrant from the Sex Crimes Squad in August.
The warrant relates to 11 offences, including indecent and sexual assault, against five girls between 1984 and 1990, when the actor played the central character Martin Kelly in the hit TV series.
http://www.news.com.au/world/hey-dad-actor-robert-hughes-expected-in-australia-within-days/story-fndir2ev-1226534691557
Friday, September 28, 2012
HUGHES' WIFE FACING HER OWN PROBLEMS
As the fallout from child sex abuse claims levelled against the Hey Dad! actor Robert Hughes gathers momentum, Hughes's wife, the once powerful Hollywood agent Robyn Gardiner is facing up to her own nightmare.
Since the claims were raised nearly two years ago by the former child star Sarah Monahan, Gardiner has kept out of the spotlight, declining to comment and focusing on her global business, RGM, which counts Cate Blanchett among its stellar clients.
PS understands Gardiner, who has a daughter with Hughes, has supported her husband throughout the ordeal and remains in the relationship, sharing a London apartment with him and a home in Singapore.
''We were very old friends, she started her career by working as my assistant in 1970. She was immensely successful and powerful … When you have Cate Blanchett on your books, people listen,'' a fellow casting powerhouse, Liz Mullinar, herself a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, told PS this week. Mullinar said she had not spoken with her old friend ''for years'', confirming her falling out was over Hughes and the accusations he now faces.
Indications that Gardiner, who had built a multimillion-dollar empire, was now facing financial strain emerged in August when it was reported Hughes had spent a night in a London jail because his wife was unable to raise the $90,000 bail.
In Sydney, several of Gardiner's clients have quietly left the agency since the scandal emerged, including the actor Ben Oxenbould, who also starred on Hey Dad! Oxenbould went public with his suspicions of Hughes on national television. At the time, he was listed alongside Hughes on the RGM website.
Gardiner's business is also facing other problems internationally, with Singapore's Media Development Authority suing RGM Entertainment and RGM Group - both subsidiaries of One North Entertainment (formerly known as RGM Media and currently in adminstration) based in Australia - to recover $S27.5 million ($21.5 million) of public funds. PS understands the action is being defended.
Gardiner resigned as a director of One North Entertainment in April but remains a consultant to RGM Artists, a separate entity. The Australian Securities Exchange reported last month One North Entertainment had not paid its annual listing fee and was removed from the official list.
According to court documents, RGM Entertainment was set up in Singapore in 2005 with a $S2.5 million loan from the Media Development Authority. A further $S10 million was handed to RGM in 2008 for a film production fund. Two years later, the authority seeded funds to two film studios - $S5 million to 20th Century Fox and $S10 million to Sony Pictures Entertainment - by establishing two agreements with RGM.
According to media reports, the deals were meant to ''make Singapore a vibrant global media city'' but it never materialised. Now the Singaporeans want their money back.
Hughes to be extradited
A British judge has approved the extradition of Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes, with the actor set to return to Australia within days to fight multiple child sexual assault allegations.
The 64-year-old, who played father figure Martin Kelly in the popular 1980s and 90s TV show, is facing allegations made by five people dating back nearly three decades.
Relating to children aged seven to 15 years, 11 alleged offences between 1985 and 1990 include accusations of indecent exposure, kissing, and the touching of Hughes's erect penis through clothing.
Hughes is yet to be charged with any offence and NSW police want him for questioning in Sydney.
Outside court, his lawyer, Robert Katz, said: "Mr Hughes is shocked and perplexed as to why he is being extradited when police knew he was willing to return to Australia of his own accord to answer their questions if he had been asked.
"Rather than continue to suffer a trial by media, my client is keen to defend the allegations which he vehemently denies."
At a brief hearing in a central London court on Friday, Judge Michael Snow approved an extradition order after Hughes' lawyer, Rachel Kapila, said he would not contest it.
"(Mr Hughes) has never had any issue with returning to Australia," she said.
The order is expected to be rubber-stamped by British Home Secretary Theresa May and Hughes ordered to surrender to authorities in the coming days.
After being arrested at his London home last month, Hughes appeared in court for a third time in relation to the accusations.
The Australian actor, dressed in a dark suit, addressed Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday to confirm his name, date of birth and address.
He was released on bail and ordered not to go near London's St Pancras international train station or airports.
If the order proceeds as expected, Hughes will be handed over to the Australian Federal Police at an English airport.
A BRITISH judge has approved the extradition of Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes, with the actor set to return to Australia within days to fight multiple child sexual assault allegations.
The 64-year-old, who played father figure Martin Kelly in the popular 1980s and 90s TV show, is facing allegations made by five people dating back nearly three decades.
Relating to children aged seven to 15 years, 11 alleged offences between 1985 and 1990 include accusations of indecent exposure, kissing, and the touching of Hughes's erect penis through clothing.
Hughes is yet to be charged with any offence and NSW police want him for questioning in Sydney.
Outside court, his lawyer, Robert Katz, said: "Mr Hughes is shocked and perplexed as to why he is being extradited when police knew he was willing to return to Australia of his own accord to answer their questions if he had been asked.
"Rather than continue to suffer a trial by media, my client is keen to defend the allegations which he vehemently denies."
At a brief hearing in a central London court on Friday, Judge Michael Snow approved an extradition order after Hughes' lawyer, Rachel Kapila, said he would not contest it.
"(Mr Hughes) has never had any issue with returning to Australia," she said.
The order is expected to be rubber-stamped by British Home Secretary Theresa May and Hughes ordered to surrender to authorities in the coming days.
After being arrested at his London home last month, Hughes appeared in court for a third time in relation to the accusations.
The Australian actor, dressed in a dark suit, addressed Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday to confirm his name, date of birth and address.
He was released on bail and ordered not to go near London's St Pancras international train station or airports.
If the order proceeds as expected, Hughes will be handed over to the Australian Federal Police at an English airport.
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