And for the lucky audiences at his upcoming show at Blacktown Workers' Club, he won't be afraid to spill the beans on any of them.

"Nicely, of course," he said.

"With just a little bit of bitchiness around the edges."

For more than 20 years, Downe has been making audiences laugh with his unique sense of style, magnificent singing voice, musical talent and razor wit.

In 1999 and 2000, he was awarded the prestigious Green Room - Cabaret Artist of the Year, and continues to sell out shows.

His latest solo show, 20 Golden Greats, promises an evening of Downe singing and swinging some classic hits sure to have audiences humming along.

Downe will be joined by Mandy Nolan, reputedly the funniest woman in Byron Bay as she "escapes the kids for some fun".

Downe will appear at Blacktown Workers' Club on Friday, April 18.

Bookings: 9830 0600.
Isabella Shaw

The ceremony, hosted by Mitzi Macintosh at ARQ nightclub, recognises the hard work and dedication that went behind Mardi Gras parade entries, most of which were provided by volunteers. Entries were judged by a panel which included Mark Trevorrow and Andrew Mercado.

List of 2008 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade Award Winners:

Funniest Entry - Thunderbags are Go!

Most Creative Award - James Browne Presents: 'A head of their time'

Best Dressed Entry - Anna-May and the Cyber Sues

Best Polticial Comment - 100 Revs

Judges Choice Awards - Sean Cook: That's So Gay and Dr Mark's Marching Group: Divas through the Decades

I GET a message that Bob Downe called, but isn't he a make-believe character, I ask myself?

The man behind the message is actually Mark Trevorrow.

But, in the same way that Dame Edna is more recognisable than Barry Humphries, Bob Downe's persona is larger than Mark Trevorrow's.

"As I have got older, Bob has taken on more of a life," Trevorrow says.

"Bob is a singing, dancing, talking shop dummy. He's very silly.

"He still lives with his mother, he's spoilt, he's vain and he fancies himself as a top singer."

Trevorrow, on the other hand, "is the person who is thinking what Bob's going to say".

A former journalist, entertainer and now radio broadcaster, Trevorrow invented Bob Downe 20 years ago, inspired by TV hosts such as Don Lane and Jimmy Hannan.

He says: "In the '50s and '60s it was very cool to bung on an American accent. It was sexy.

"Ten years into the character, the Aussie accent came in and it hit its stride and became a real entity in his own way."

Trevorrow says Bob is now much more over the top, intense and sharp-edged.

And his singing has improved.

Kids and adults alike enjoy Bob because he releases inhibitions.

"Kids respond to the childish freedom of the character," he says.

"Bob could do and say anything and get away with it."

Bob and Mark are inviting anyone who likes to have fun to come and see their current show, 20 Golden Greats.

A compilation of humorous songs, with some silly stuff in between, it plays at Asquith Leagues Club on Saturday, April 19. Tickets are $33 and bookings can be made by phoning 9487 1066.
Julie Huffer

The Prince of Polyester is headed to Penrith with his new cabaret show.

Bob Downe is the brainchild of Mark Trevorrow, who has been performing the flamboyant character for over 20 years.

"I have been doing him since I was a kid. He's my little clown," Trevorrow said.

"He's based on all the daytime and variety shows, the cheesy 60s and 70s TV people.

"When I started doing Bob he had an American accent because he's based on Done Lane, but much funnier than Don Lane."

Bob Downe has been clowning around the world stage since 1988 when he first appeared at the Edinburgh Festival.

In 1995, he was invited to be a part of the Royal Command Variety performance for Queen Elizabeth II.

Trevorrow believes Bob Downe's appeal to audiences around the world comes from the child within us all.

"Because I've been doing him since I was a little boy he's like a silly child, he's like a naughty boy," Trevorrow said.

"He's very uninhibited ... I think people like that because we all want see ourselves in that to escape the responsibility of adulthood."

Bob Downe's audience runs from youngens to senior citizens.

"You get everybody three generations of one family," Trevorrow said. "Lots of mums, lots of nans and they drag along the husbands and the boyfriends."

The 20 Golden Greats show will have the audience shouting with joy as Bob Downe sings his way through the classics.

"They're all your classics Down Under, Rio, I Will Survive, Xanadu and there's a bit of a bingo game involved," Trevorrow said.

"If you can name them all and the original artists, there might be a prize at the end of the show.

"I haven't done a solo show in a while. They get me all to themselves."

See Bob Downe's show at Penrith RSL Club on Saturday.

Doors open 7.30pm. Tickets: $45 including a snack plate and pre-show cocktail. Bookings: 4728 5200.

On April 18 he will bring his new show, 20 Golden Greats, to the Blacktown Workers Club stage.

Downe has been clowning around on stage since 1988 when he first appeared at the Edinburgh Festival.

He went on to become a TV favourite in Australia and in the UK and was invited to be part of the 1995 Royal Command Variety performance for Queen Elizabeth II.

For those who have never seen Downe perform on stage, he boasts a magnificent singing voice, rapier-like wit and second-to-none musical talent.

He will be supported by Mandy Nolan, the self-proclaimed funniest woman in Byron Bay.

Tickets for the show are available from the club now.

Blacktown Workers Club is in Campbell Street.

"We were sure it was a good film but not all that confident it could beat such a lot of others," Mr Moyle said.

He said watching Trevorrow as Macquarie was a highlight of the film. "Mark is a terrific actor and when he was dressed up in period costume, he was the spitting image of an official portrait of Macquarie completed in 1819," Mr Moyle said.

The prize was $1500 and $500 of wine.

Eastern Suburbs audiences can see A Chair With a View as part of the Networking Action for Filmmakers & Actors (NAFA) Show-Fest on April 28 at Greater Union cinemas, Bondi Junction.
Be Bonham

The ABC has delayed announcing the decision until contract negotiations are finalised but both parties say it's a fait accompli. One complication has been working out the nuts and bolts of how Daddo will combine the radio job with his filming commitments for Seven's holiday program, The Great Outdoors. Daddo says it won't be that difficult, despite the perception that he's constantly roaming the world.

"Seven could very easily have said, 'Mate, too hard,' but everybody has been really good," he says. "We've still got quite a few overseas stories left over from last year and this year I'll do the stories closer to home."

Daddo, 41, lives in Fairlight with wife Jacqui and their three children. For someone who says he hasn't got an ambitious bone in his body, Daddo has covered a lot of ground in broadcasting. He stumbled into TV when his older brother, Cameron, left Channel Ten's afternoon cartoon show for bigger things. "They needed someone in a hurry and Cam suggested me. It was a bit nepotistic. I've just managed to sneak out behind his coat-tails. I went back to uni halfway through that. I really had no idea what I wanted to do."

Since then, he has had a variety of acting and television roles, from playing Professor Plum in Cluedo and a stripper on stage to hosting The World's Greatest Commercials and Carols In The Domain. He has been with The Great Outdoors for five years. He has also established himself as a successful children's author, with 11 books published since 2000.

"I used to write Jacqui love letters and she was the one who thought I might be able to write," he says. "A publisher gave me the nod but it took a long time for me to get up the courage to send him anything. My first effort was appalling but he got me working on something else and I finally got cracking."

Like O'Loghlin, Daddo has a playful manner on air and doesn't take himself too seriously. He once described his role on The Great Outdoors as that of an illusionist or "turd polisher" - the job of making yet another hotel or swimming pool look desirable to armchair travellers.

This is his first job in radio, unless you count a weekly fishing program on 2KY last year, which he doesn't. "It was a laugh. None of us really knew what we were doing. Possibly it helped but I doubt it."

He has worked, however, with one of radio's greats, Mick Molloy. In year 6, they performed together in a school play at Mt Eliza, Victoria. "He was the narrator and my twin brother and I were roosters. That's when Mick started to show his acting stripes and I didn't."

Andrew Daddo airs on 702 ABC on weekdays, 7-10pm.
Sue Javes

Hosted by comedian Bob Downe, it will raise funds for the Ted Noffs Street University. Tickets $100 by visiting www.noffs.org.au or call (02) 9310 0133.
Melissa Hoyer

Huge crowds of all ages lined Oxford Street to catch a glimpse of the more than 10,000 parade participants marching in the event's 30th year.

This year there was a strong religious focus, with several of the 150 floats drawing attention to the rejection of gays and lesbians by churches.

A multidenominational group of ministers and pastors marched as a group called 100 Revs, while parishioners dressed as angels bore signs reading: "Would Jesus discriminate?"

The chief of parade was Korean-American comic Margaret Cho, whose shows have been praised for promoting equal rights for all races and sexualities.

The determination to stamp out homophobic hate crimes was led by Sydney couple Craig Gee and Shane Brennen, who were bashed while walking hand-in-hand in Darlinghurst three months ago.

Their return to Oxford Street for the first time since the incident was supported by a 30-strong contingent of officers and civilians from NSW Police, which was criticised for its handling of the bashing.

The decision of Surry Hills's recently appointed commander Superintendent Donna Adney to march was to show the community the police were listening, she said.

Discrimination was also at the forefront with the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby's "58-08" float listing 58 pieces of legislation that allegedly discriminate against same sex couples and their children in areas such as taxation, superannuation, access to Medicare, workers' compensation and carers leave.

At the VIP event at the Hilton Hotel's Zeta Bar, gay cowboy Adam Sutton joined Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Bob Downe, Christine Anu, Leo Sayer, the cast of So You Think You Can Dance, Carlotta and Carson Kressley.
Nicholas Baker and Louise Hall

The event, themed Yellow Brick Road, is going to be held on Saturday March 8 2008 at Deus ex Machina Emerald City's coolest new venue!

Deus will be transformed into the land of OZ, with amazing musical acts, street performers an emerald raffle and of course, Dorothy, the Tin-Man, Toto, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion will all be there! Not to mention the Wizard himself.

There will also a chance to win a custom designed vintage Deus motorbike. Raffle tickets are available to purchase now at only $50 each!

The evening will celebrate Hope, as in, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Rupert Noffs says of the event:

"This is not going to be just your average charity event; some of my very good friends have agreed to donate one-off custom designed Ruby Slippers to be auctioned off on the evening. Charlie Brown, Lover the Label, Simona, Grandma Takes A Trip, Orson and Blake, Fredrich Gray by Marsu Homme and über cool fashion label Ksubi are all donating their Ruby Slippers. I'm so happy Ksubi are helping out as they are not only the world leaders in fashion, they are a youth oriented Australian fashion label and they know the importance of nurturing our youth."

There will also be a silent auction of amazing artworks inspired by The Journey, by renowned Australian artists Jamie Gordon, Mary Shackman, Scott McDougal and Mike Herford.

Tickets are now available to purchase for $100, call Rupert Noffs directly by phone on 8383 6600 or by email at noffsr@noffs.org.au to buy your ticket now or simply buy a raffle ticket for $50.

You won't want to miss this party of the year!

Had the launch been outdoors it would have been one of the most inspiring in recent years. There were some brilliant, poignant and stirring speeches from Mardi Gras Chair Marcus Bourget, Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Jonathan Welch from Choir Of Hard Knocks.

There was a moving Aboriginal welcome to country, Bob Downe camped it up as only he can, Jeremy Brennan performed an awesome version of Rainbow Connection, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir belted out True Colors and Julie McCrossin and Geoff Field were brilliant MCs.

As we all know by now, this year's theme is Brave New Worlds, and we're definitely looking down the barrel of one of those right now.

"Because we are not equal – and as long as we are not equal – we march," said Marcus. "And as long as we are not equal we will use these three weeks in February to welcome with good grace and humour our straight brothers and sisters into our family. To educate, to entertain, to share our stories – to demonstrate that our love is not a second-class love and it should never be allowed to be treated as such – whether by law, religious bigotry, prejudice or hatred."

Clover Moore spoke about the 58 pieces of federal legislation that will be amended and of the need for a whole of government commitment to ending homophobia.

"This must be backed by resources and high level support for educational and attitudinal change, as well as adequate policing that says all hate crimes are criminal."
Christian Taylor

Featuring at the popular ACON fundraising event this year will be the ever outrageous Bob Downe, author Jean Kitson, comedienne Jackie Loeb, journalist David Marr, the ABC's Bernie Hobb, SBS executive Bruce Meagher and, just to top off the shenanigans, Craig Reucassel from The Chaser.

For one evening only, young will be pitted against old in a ruthless battle to determine exactly what our attitudes are towards growing old (dis)gracefully, how far is too far in the quest for the fountain of youth and when, if ever, does it become inappropriate to party like it's 1988?

"As Mardi Gras crosses over into the dirty 30s, we felt it was entirely appropriate for our debaters to explore the prickly issue of age, beauty and attitude, and how it manifests itself in the gay and lesbian community," ACON event coordinator David Wilkins said.

The Great Debate takes place on 13 February, Seymour Centre, cnr Cleveland St and City Rd. Bookings: 9351 7940.
Ani Lamont

Last year, Baker's An Imaginary Life became the first animation to win the short-film competition, now in its 16th year.

Yesterday, Daniel was one of the inaugural entrants to TropJnr, a spin-off competition for filmmakers aged 15 and under, with his 5½-minute animation Disaster, an action comedy about a terrorist attack.

The teenager from Picnic Point in Sydney's south-west said he had planned to enter Tropfest when he saw an advertisement on the competition's website for TropJnr. Hand-drawing each of the five characters and creating voices, the film took Daniel just three weeks of school holidays to complete on his home computer.

"I like cartoons like The Simpsons and Family Guy," Daniel told the Herald yesterday from the Tropfest offices in Darlinghurst, on the last day of entries for the competition.

"I like how you can make cartoons do anything, there are no limitations."

The managing director of Tropfest, Michael Laverty, said increasing numbers of entries from young filmmakers to Tropfest prompted its founder, John Polson, to open a special competition, with eight finalists to be screened as part of the festival on February 17.

"This year we received one submission from a year five class - every kid in the class had been involved in the project," Laverty said. "One of the things we will see is animation coming through quite strongly, because it is something that can be done on a laptop and at a low cost."

While about 60 entries were expected for the first year of the TropJnr competition, Laverty said up to 700 entries were expected for Tropfest by the 6pm deadline yesterday, with this year's signature item the number eight.

Among the last-minute entrants was the film director Nigel Abbott, accompanied by his star actor Mark Trevorrow- better known as his alter ego, Bob Downe - submitting their film, a period drama-comedy set in 1818.

Abbott said he was hoping the celebrity pull of the film, which is written by Bill Harding and also stars the film critic Nell Scofield and soap star Anne Lambert, would help make it one of the 16 finalists.

"We shot it in July and finished it yesterday, so we took our time. Everyone donated their time free of charge, though, so it was a low-budget production," he said.
Emily Dunn