Frail Paul Hogan, 83, seen lighting up cigarette one day after sharing struggle with serious illness
VENICE BEACH, CALIFORNIA: Paul Hogan was seen smoking a cigarette just a day after disclosing his awful state of health and his desire to spend his remaining years in Australia. The celebrity, 83, spoke out about his health issues in a chat with Tracy Grimshaw, anchor of 'A Current Affair', on November 7. In the interview, he said that after receiving a diagnosis of retroperitoneal fibrosis, a rare condition that causes swelling and significant scar tissue in the abdominal cavity, he has suffered drastic muscle and weight loss.
But his deteriorating health must not be weighing on his mind that heavily as the actor, looking frail and thin, could be seen lighting a cigarette as he crossed a street in his neighborhood of Venice Beach, Los Angeles while wearing blue trousers, a flannel shirt, a leather jacket, and New Balance sneakers on November 8, as reported by Daily Mail. Hogan was then spotted stepping into his black Jeep with his 24-year-old son Chance.
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Paul had revealed earlier that due to his disease, a benign growth has wrapped around his abdominal aorta and is pushing on one of his kidneys, causing him pain. The father of six continued by saying that his son Chance, 24, had to assist him with daily activities. “I just... I’ve lost all my body fat and the muscles all shrank and the strength has come back, because it left me feeble. I get Chance to open jars for me.” The actor also required corticosteroids to shrink the tumor. He now has to build his strength back up after the health issue significantly altered his body.
Hogan said in the interview that the steroid treatment was worse than the disease itself. "They shrink your muscles and [they're] supposed to make you fat, but I got thinner and thinner and thinner," Hogan revealed. "I'm now in the business of trying to put a bit of fat on… because you feel the cold too much when you've got no body fat. Quite a few of my friends on diets hate me for it because I try and eat everything fatty and lardy you can think of. Everything they're not allowed to have. I can't put on an ounce."
Hogan has a pacemaker and claims he is "being held together by string" while he works to regain his health. The Golden Globe winner acknowledged that he is fortunate to have remained healthy for so long and said he always kept his fitness up until the age of 79.
Hogan claims he can't leave his son Chance in California alone even though he wants to go back home to Australia as his health deteriorates. “I’m not in the place I’m meant to be, but I’m not allowed to complain about anything," he said. “I’ve had such a gifted life. I’ve had so many wonderful things happen to me without deserving them so I shouldn’t complain but, yeah, ideally I’d rather be back in Sydney because I miss the rest of my family there.”
The Hollywood celebrity was born and raised in Granville, Sydney, but in 2005 he made a permanent move to Los Angeles. He has five children with Noelene Edwards, whom he wed in 1958. He had his son Chance with ex-wife and 'Crocodile Dundee' co-star Linda Kozlowski whom he divorced in 2015. Hogan sold his house for $1.995 million and moved into a $3.5 million Venice Beach home with Chance.