Born in 1941 on March 2, in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, John Sydney Cornell, was a force to be reckoned with in our entertainment industry. An incredible actor, writer, director and producer, he was the man behind The Paul Hogan Show in 1973, Crocodile Dundee in 1986, Crocodile Dundee II in 1988, and Crocodile Dundee Los Angeles in 2001.
The Paul Hogan Show was a hit not only on Aussie screens but worldwide. The star of the show, Paul Hogan, also starred in the Crocodile Dundee films and earned himself a Golden Globe for best actor. Crocodile Dundee received a nomination at the 1987 Academy Awards for Best Screenplay. John produced and also acted in these films; he was Paul’s side star in Crocodile Dundee; many would know him as ‘Strop’.
Crocodile Dundee was so popular that most companies we know to advertise during ad breaks would have jumped at the opportunity to do so. We know supermarkets, home decor companies and travel resorts would have enjoyed the rewards of the magnanimous viewership. The IGA catalogue, your IKEA specials or even the Cornells’ own, the Hotel Brunswick would have been regulars on screen we reckon.
To consider that John wanted to follow a career in pharmacy at some point is unfathomable. It was his knack for journalism that saw him, intern, at the Daily News, reporting on local events in Perth. At 26 years of age, Cornell became the paper’s editor.
A man of many talents, John Cornell also managed Australian Test Cricketer, Dennis Lillee. It was during this time, around 1976, that the idea for World Series Cricket (WSC) came to him and he presented it to Kerry Packer. John wanted to assist and grow cricket players’ salaries. Together, Packer and Cornell signed international cricketers and tested the WSC and struggled to get it off the ground initially. John approached an advertising agency in Sydney and they penned a jingle for the game – C’mon Aussie, C’mon – a hit we still sing today. More than four decades later, we cannot imagine cricket without the test series.
Unfortunately, John succumbed to Parkinson’s Disease on July 23, 2021. He was 80 years old.
Wife
On set for The Paul Hogan Show was the lovely actress Delvene Delaney who became John’s wife on December 31, 1977. Delvene was a beauty queen who won a pageant and found herself on television as a weather presenter on Brisbane Television. She went on to appear on The Box in 1974, and The Young Doctors between 1976 and 1977. John cast her as a recurring member in The Paul Hogan Show in 1977. She also starred in Crocodile Dundee II. John and Delvene brought up three children, amongst them, daughter, Liana Cornell, who is also an actress in her own right.
Children
Cornell was married twice before meeting Delvene. He had his daughter, Melissa, in 1970, from one of those marriages. His second daughter, Allira, has an unknown birth date because she has kept her life private and away from the media. Though she is a renowned photographer in Australia, she only steps into the limelight in support of her family. Allira is also a talented guitarist and singer, often posting her songs on FACEBOOK.
John’s third daughter, Liana, was born in 1990. Liana is not only an actress but an upcoming filmmaker, model and environmentalist. You would recognise her for her supporting roles in East of Everything and Wolf Creek, but her best role is in Britannia, where she acts as Ania. Though modelling and acting have given her a boisterous career, Liana’s focus is on the environment. She invests her profits towards the development of Refugia, her own televisual series that documents the incredible work that people throughout the world are doing to rescue our planet.
