A Good Hand Of Cards For Mr. McMahon

MY MIND went back to Billy McMahon, who died in 1988, aged 80. He was prime minister for one year and nine months during 1971 and 1972.

McMahon was knee-high to a grasshopper and had a pipsqueak of a voice. That's why my mind had gone back to him. Sitting in front of me was his son, Julian.

Julian is well over six feet and looks like the young William Holden. He has a pleasing, strong voice and beautiful white teeth. He looks like a matinee idol. In today's terms, he is. Julian McMahon is a star in the Hollywood-produced television series `Profiler', seen here on the Seven Network.

``What do you remember of your father,'' I asked.

``He had a great sense of humor and a great passion for women. I have developed both of those. He also had great compassion towards people which was genuine and committed. I always loved that about him. It didn't matter if it was a street sweeper or the British prime minister. They were on the same level to him.''

This was surprising to me. I remembered that Billy McMahon had been 57 when he married for the first time, which of course had provoked the obvious rumours that attach to any bachelor. And I had an impression of him as a tough-minded right-winger.

``Those rumours still persist today about unmarried men,'' said Julian. ``I didn't see the tough side of him. But I was 17 when he died. It was cancer.''

``Did you know he was ill?''

``I knew for a few years. He didn't talk much about it. I remember seeing him for the last time. I was off on a modelling assignment.''

``Where to?''

``The United States and Europe. Shoes, clothes. Obviously I wouldn't have gone if I'd known he was going to die. It was still a shock, no matter what.''

``Where were you?''

``I was in Milano.''

``Your mother called you?''

``Yes. It took a while to hit me. In fact, it didn't really hit me until I came back.''

``What effect did he have on your life?''

``Well, I think he left me with that taste for women and a sense of humor. And the ability to enjoy my life above anything else.''

Julian McMahon looks very much like the television star he is. His long legs were clothed in expensive corduroy trousers. He has the feel of the blessed about him. He married Dannii Minogue, then they split and he went to America in search of fame and found it straight away. Earlier, he had been a star of the Australian soaps `The Power, The Passion' and `Home And Away'. He has an easy style about him, without any suggestion of arrogance.

``You were born to rich parents,'' I said. ``Was your upbringing rich?''

``Well, certainly not the way the Americans do it. But when you're surrounded by it, as I suppose I was, you don't notice it. I didn't feel like a rich kid.''

At Sydney Grammar he started off a bit of a rebel, but then came to his senses when he had to repeat year 10. Then he became, he says, a ``good boy''. He got into the football team (rugby union), became a senior prefect, senior under officer in the cadets, and was in the crew for three years.

``Did you win the Head of the River?''

McMahon smiled. ``Not once. Not in three years. It's something I can't change. But it bugs the s... out of me.''

``Then you had a wasted year at university, studying law.''

``I wouldn't say wasted. That year of doing nothing was important to me.''

``Did you know what you wanted?''

``No. I didn't really care, for a while. Yeah I had girlfriends. I've been in relationships since I was 15. I like intimate relationships. That's how I am. I have intimate friends too.''

``How many serious relationships have you had?''

``Five or six. Six.''

``All live-in relationships?''

``Yes. They didn't continue because I thought in each case that we weren't growing as individuals.''

``Were you the one who ended all of them?''

``Mmm.''

``You're a bastard.''

``Yeah, I'm a prick. But I want to say this. With every one of those girls I still have a relationship. They all have a special place in my heart. I'm in touch with all of them.''

``Which was the longest ... your marriage?''

``My marriage was only two years. I think the first was the longest. It was three years. I was 15 when it started.''

``Do you ever yearn for any of those girls?''

``I don't think I yearn. I think about how wonderful they were. And that gives you ... nostalgia. I don't think the passion and the compassion can ever quite leave.''

``And so who are you involved with now?''

``I'm not. It's the longest time ever. It was a conscious decision.''

``Why?''

McMahon sat back and thought carefully. He did not seem particularly defensive or sensitive about anything.

``Well, after the break-up of my marriage, I discovered things about myself that I never had known before. You get to know who you are. I just wanted to be alone. Well, not exactly alone, but I wanted to spend time by myself.''

``Has it worked?''

``It has, actually.''

``Are you lonely?''

``No. Definitely not. That doesn't mean I don't like having someone to cuddle. But having someone to cuddle is not exactly enough for me.''

Julian McMahon lives alone in the Hollywood Hills outside Los Angeles. He's about 15 minutes from Sunset Boulevard. He has a late model black 560 SEL Mercedes. But when he gets back there, he takes delivery of a SL 500 Mercedes convertible, burgundy.

CARS are important to him, ever since his first, which he called his ``granny mobile''. It was a second-hand white Toyota Corolla and the engine blew up because he didn't know you had to put water in it.

``You seem able to afford anything,'' I said.

``I have never relied on my parents for money. I had my first job at 12 ...''

``What as?''

``I worked for a gardener. I told my Dad I needed more pocket money and he said I'd have to work for it. I loved the work.''

Julian's mother, Sonia, caused a stir when she attended a White House dinner in 1971 with a split skirt revealing lots of leg. President Richard Nixon was the host. I asked Julian about her influence on him.

``For a start, she's also a Leo.''

``Is that important?''

``Yeah. What we have is a sense of pride, of believing in yourself. I think my mother has given me a taste in fashion. Also, all my girlfriends have been strong and dominant. Like her.

``She gave me a lot of things. She taught me manners. She gave me my good manners and an ability to believe in and be proud of myself. She comes over to the States whenever she can, but I don't see all that much of her.''

``Can you describe your house?''

He reflected for a moment. ``Heaven? It's very open plan, eclectically styled my way. It's like a fun house, a little kids' house. There are slippery slides into the pool, and you can jump off the balcony into the pool. And it has a wonderful view.''

``Of what?''

``Of everything. It's the highest house in Los Angeles. The view is everything. Mountain. Forest. And Hollywood down there. It's the closest house to the Hollywood sign.''

``Did you have trouble finding the money to buy it?''

``No. I wouldn't have bought it if I had.''

``Well then,'' I said, ``you must have made a lot of money.''

``Yes. But I've been working a long time. And all through the years, I've tried to put half of what I've earned aside.''

``That's careful.''

``Yes. Very. I was never extravagant during those years.''

I asked him the brand of his cords. He said they were Diesel, an American brand, as was his shirt. His shoes were Guess, also American. I asked if he was careful about what he put on every day.

``Not so much careful as, well, into it! My Dad dressed like a prince. My mother has a great sense of fashion and style. It was all ingrained in me.'' It was when he did a commercial for Levi's jeans some years back that his career took off. Clothes have played a big part.

``How do you look after yourself?''

``I work out. Not with weights so much now. Basketball. I run around the Hollywood Hills. I like to get up at 5am and go for a run. Then I love being up so early with the day ahead. I don't actually work at what I am. I work at it because my physical being gives me a mental elasticity.''

Julian seems unperturbed about the fact that when he decided to go to Hollywood and make it in the big time, that's exactly what happened. He had an agent who managed to get him an audition for the role of John Grant in `Profiler'. I asked him how it happened.

``I got into the last eight for the part. They were all well known.''

``Like, really well known? I'd know them?''

``Yes, really well known. You'd certainly know them. But I can't say who they were. Look, this is the reality. I was in the same room with these guys. I was surprised I was in the room with these guys. But I wasn't surprised when I got the part. Because I had worked for it. It's like training for an Olympic event. You know you've got to produce your very best for those few minutes because if you don't, you're nothing.

``They called us in one at a time. These guys all knew each other, they were talking. I was just sitting there.''

``You didn't know them at all.''

``No. And my communication skills weren't all that hot right at that moment. I tried to talk to them, but it didn't work.''

``And what happened,'' I asked, ``in those crucial five minutes?''

``It actually expanded to 15.''

``Who was there?''

``Oh, the two heads of the network, the executives of the program, the writer ... about a dozen people. I went in, was introduced. I did four scenes from `Profiler'. I'd worked on them. And that's another thing. When things are written so well, you've got to be, well, you've got to be pretty bad to do it badly. After I'd done them once, they got me to do them again with a different direction. That was to see if I would be able to respond to direction.''

``Was your accent a problem?'' Through our meeting, McMahon had never displayed a trace of an American accent, except for the occasional ``uh huh''.

``NO. I used an American accent. As a matter of fact, I usually speak with an American accent in America. For one thing, it's easier. I equate it to having two languages.''

I liked the way he calmly admitted to adopting an American accent. In the end, they called him back a couple of times, and then he landed the role. He still doesn't seem surprised.

``Have you had any unhappy times?''

``Sure. When my father died. When I separated from my wife. But so much positive stuff came from both. If you can learn from the bad times, the good times are so much better. I remember the last words my Dad said to me. He said, make sure you're happy.''

``Why did you leave `Home And Away' when it was doing so well?''

``The same reason I've left everything else. I wanted to challenge myself. I wanted to learn more. I wanted to push myself in a direction where I didn't feel comfortable. I've always been prepared to hang my balls out on the line to a certain extent.''

``Everyone knows you were married to Dannii Minogue. Everyone knows you and she split. Do you have anything to do with her now?''

``We speak as often as we can. She's working her butt off. I'm working my butt off. As far as I'm concerned, she's an absolutely beautiful woman. She's an extraordinary person. She has a wonderful heart and she's extremely intelligent.''

``Did you have a happy marriage?''

``Yeah. It's kinda funky, isn't it? I had some of the best times of my life with Danielle, without a doubt. When we were together, we loved each other to death.''

``Do you consider yourself fortunate?'' ``Yes. But not because I came from a wealthy family. I just got dealt a pretty good hand of cards.''