You will never believe what Yahoo Serious looks like now! Star of Aussie classic Young Einstein is completely unrecognisable as he hits the beach in Sydney
He was once tipped to be Hollywood’s next big comedy star in the late ’80s, but faded into obscurity.
And Yahoo Serious looked completely unrecognizable when he was photographed in Sydney for the first time in more than a year on Monday.
The former Australian actor, real name Greg Gomez Pead, was spotted on the beach for a morning swim.
The 70-year-old, known for his cult films Young Einstein (1988) and Reckless Kelly (1993), showed off his impressive washboard abs in blue shorts.
He was seen brushing his long silver locks with a comb after a refreshing dip.
Yahoo Serious looked completely unrecognizable when he was photographed in Sydney for the first time in more than a year on Monday
Shielding his eyes with dark sunglasses, he carried a blue plastic washtub with his towel and belongings as he left the beach.
The reclusive comedian was later seen taking his beloved Jack Russell Terrier for a walk.
The low-key observation comes after he was evicted from his Avalon Beach home in 2020 for failing to pay rent — the latest in a series of setbacks for the former filmmaker, who also had to endure a divorce and a failed lawsuit when his career stalled.
Serious is depicted in Young Einstein, the 1988 film that made him famous
It’s a far cry from the fame and admiration he achieved in late 1988 after starring in the comedy hit Young Einstein, which he also directed, produced and wrote.
At the time of its release, the film was the second most successful Australian film in box office history, after Crocodile Dundee, with a worldwide gross of $33 million.
The success ensured that Serious, then 34, also ended up on the cover of Time and MAD magazines. As his popularity soared in the US, he hosted the Yahoo Serious Show on MTV.
The 70-year-old, known for his cult films Young Einstein (1988) and Reckless Kelly (1993), showed off his impressive washboard abs in a pair of board shorts.
Serious followed Young Einstein with another wacky comedy, Reckless Kelly, in 1993, which was a local box office success but failed to make a dent in the United States.
His promising career collapsed around him after the release of his third film, Mr Accident, in 2000, which received lukewarm reviews.
That same year, things took a tumultuous turn for Serious when he tried to launch the website Yahoo! in court for trademark infringement.
The reclusive comedian was seen brushing his long silver locks after his morning swim
The judge dismissed the case because the actor could not prove that he sold products or services under the name Yahoo – and therefore could not prove that his career had been damaged or confused by the popular search engine.
Serious had his last success in 2007, when he appeared in the short documentary In The Cannes, but his career never took off again.
After disappearing completely from the spotlight in 2010 and splitting from his wife Lulu Pinkus of twenty years, Serious was only seen a handful of times.
In 2020, the reclusive comedian suffered another blow when he was evicted from his Sydney home after owing more than $27,500 in rent payments.
At the time, it was reported that he was struggling to make ends meet and had been ordered to leave his three-bedroom rental home in Avalon Beach after failing to pay his rent for five months.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal ordered him to pay his landlords $15,000 and vacate the property.
The young Einstein labeled Serious as a star on the rise, but unfortunately his success did not last long
The landlords, Tanya and Andrew Barlow, wanted their residential lease terminated after Serious fell into rent arrears of more than $27,500.
Serious and its production company, Serious Productions Pty Ltd, began renting the property in March 2017 for $1,350 per week.
The tribunal found that he had fallen into arrears in November 2019 and had not paid any money since February 25, 2020.
Serious argued that his income had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, like most people working in the artistic and creative industries.
“As the pandemic reshapes the film industry towards home entertainment, the project on which the first tenant worked has been affected,” the tribunal said in its ruling published on Thursday.
However, the bank statements submitted during the proceedings failed to prove that he had any income before the coronavirus pandemic.
“The tenants say their incomes were already affected in March, but the simple fact is that the Tribunal has no evidence of pre-pandemic income for the tenants,” the tribunal said.
Mr Accident was released in 2000 and was a box office hit
Under changes to the then Residential Tenancies Act, which was introduced to protect people whose livelihoods had been affected by Covid-19, tenants could apply to renegotiate rents and are subject to a moratorium on evictions.
However, they were only eligible if they could demonstrate that their income had been reduced by 25 percent or more.
Serious applied to stay in the property and began paying rent arrears with the promise that he would be able to catch up on the payments.
However, he was ordered to return the keys and pay an occupancy fee of $192 per day until then.
When asked if he had applied for rental assistance, Serious told the hearing that he had gone to Centrelink and had been advised to apply for the age pension as he was about to turn 67.
Serious can be seen with Odile Le Clezio in Young Einstein, which he wrote, directed and starred in