Reclusive 80s actor ‘close to death’ while caught up in squatting battle
He's been accused of refusing to leave the property of an elderly man with dementia.
Yahoo Serious has claimed he was ‘very close to death very recently’ as he faces a battle over squatting.
The Australian actor, born Greg Pead, is best known for starring in the films Young Einstein, Reckless Kelly and Mr. Accident.
However, after the success of the final film, which was released in 2000, he’s rarely been seen in public since. Last year he was spotted in Sydney looking completely unrecognisable.
But it’s now been revealed the 71-year-old star is in the middle of a serious dispute after he was accused of squatting in the home of a man with dementia.
Earlier this month Serious returned to the public eye when details of the incident were made public.
It’s been claimed he’s been squatting in the home of Charles ‘Phillip Porter, an elderly man with dementia.
Yahoo Serious is best known for starring in movies including Young Einstein (Picture: Hulton Archive/ Getty Images)Serious has said he was invited to live in a granny-flat in Porter’s home in the upscale suburb of Palm Beach after falling on difficult times and also acting as a carer for the older man.
However, he’s now being ‘persecuted’ after Porter’s power of attorney Margaret Charlton took action to have him removed.
Taking the case to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, she wants the house to be vacated so it can be sold to fund Porter’s care in the nursing home where he now lives.
She’s also alleged Serious does not pay any bills or maintain the home which had ‘placed considerable strain on the finances’. ‘Additionally, he is preventing us from accessing the property to prepare it for sale,’ she added.
Speaking to the media after the hearing, the actor also shared a health update.
‘I’m greatly improving, I was very close to death very recently … I just, I’m coming good but I’m having trouble with just, recall of day-to-day things,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.
He’s rarely been seen out in public since his last movie in 2000 (Picture: Patrick Riviere/ Getty Images for Palace Cinemas)‘It will be a very complex thing, there’s been advice by – he goes by Phillip – Phillip’s lawyer has advised that I should stay in the property and be the caretaker.’
During the hearing, Serious told the tribunal his health was ‘very difficult’, while it’s been reported he’s also recently been treated for a form of cancer.
‘It’s a very complex case and a humanitarian, it’s very, I’ve been persecuted for the past two or three weeks, there’s people watching where I go all the time,’ he told the tribunal.
‘(The rental situation) was a verbal agreement – I really am sorry, but my brain can’t do it, I know it sounds crazy, but really my brain has to leave.’
Despite this, Porter’s lawyers have said the actor’s claims he can stay at the home are not true.
‘Due to his diagnosis of dementia, Mr Porter has been placed in a nursing home, and I hold power of attorney for his affairs,’ the original complaint to the court from Charlton read.
‘The Public Trustee has instructed me to sell the property in order to fund Mr Porter’s ongoing care.
The actor said he was recently ‘very close to death’ (Picture: Sipa/ Rex/ Shutterstock)‘Failure to do so will result in his removal from his current care facility as he is an elderly patient with dementia.’
Serious shot to fame in 1988 for writing, directing, producing and starring in Young Einstein, which was a quirky fictionalised account of Albert Einstein.
It grossed $13,383,377 (£6 million) at the Australian box office and became the fifth biggest opening in Australian film history behind movies like Crocodile Dundee before going on to make $25 million globally against a $5 million (£2.5 million) budget.
In 2020 Serious was evicted from his rental property for unpaid rent totalling $27,000 (£13,500) and was ordered to pay $15,000 (£7,500) in arrears to his landlord. He later resorted to sleeping in his car while homeless.
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