Funny Business: The Rise and Fall of Steve VizardSteve Vizard had it all: wealth, fame and power, in equal and impressive proportions . . . Once a popular, fast-quipping TV comedian and Gold Logie winner, a lawyer and much-loved family man who had even been crowned Father of the Year', Vizard had become a trusted community hero. On the boards of countless companies, including Telstra, Vizard seemed to be involved in every aspect of public and corporate life. And through the charitable Vizard Foundation, he was seen to foster art and other good causes. Then some curious cheque transactions and the discovery of six mysterious paintings in Vizard's personal records triggered investigations into Vizard's former bookkeeper, Roy Hilliard, who, it turned out, had swindled close to $3 million from Vizard over several years. But Hilliard knew lots of secrets about his old boss, and when faced with criminal charges he hit back hard, accusing the businessman of illegal share deals and more. He portrayed Vizard as a master of deception whose public image was a charade; Hilliard depicted himself as merely the businessman's dupe. Vizard, however, saw it very differently. In this compelling story of Vizard's fall from grace, Leonie Wood seeks to uncover the man behind the public persona, and to answer the question on the lips of many: why did he do it? Was it greed, audacity or sheer stupidity? And what do we really know about Steve Vizard? |
Contents
| 1 | |
1 Soar higher | 9 |
2 Climbing the ladder | 21 |
3 Go to air | 32 |
4 Tonight Live | 39 |
5 Pillar of the community | 56 |
6 Plugging into dotcoms | 74 |
7 Farewell to Hilliard | 90 |
14 Laying it straight | 185 |
15 If Im paid to do it | 194 |
16 Hey big spender | 211 |
17 Vizard cop gun outrage | 221 |
18 All very market sensitive | 234 |
19 Good question Your Honour | 247 |
20 Flogging the servant | 266 |
21 A fair share of shaming | 275 |
8 Double zeroes | 100 |
9 Fishing for clues | 116 |
10 Scapegoat | 133 |
11 The money trail | 147 |
12 The shock of a whipcrack | 157 |
13 Creative investments | 170 |
22 Order in the court | 281 |
23 I say it happened | 300 |
24 Luck of the game | 310 |
Endnotes | 316 |
Index | 329 |
Common terms and phrases
accused Age Travel allegations Artist Services ASIC assets Australian authorised bank accounts Barrie Stevens bookkeeper businessman cash cheques Christopher Wood Clarke Bentleys colleagues Computershare corporate counsel courtroom Creative Technology Investments criminal December documents Doherty dollars Dreyfus evidence Fast Forward Federal Court Film Foundation's funds going Greg Lay Hayes asked Hellstrom Hilliard claimed Honour IAT’s Information Age Travel insider trading interviews investigation judge Justice Hansen knew later lawyers Magistrate Hardy Masel McMahon Melbourne Melbourne Magistrates million months MultiEmedia never paid paintings Performing Arts Services Peter Hayes police prosecution Roxby Park Roy Hilliard Sausage Software Scerri Seven Network share dealings share trading share-market sketch comedy someone Sportsview Steve Vizard stockbroking suggested Tax Office television Telstra Telstra directors told the court Tonight Live transactions travel agency Trevor McMahon trust Victorian Vizard Foundation Vizard's accounts wanted weeks Westpac Wood
Popular passages
Page xviii - Here they come!" Pinocchio said to himself, and, not knowing where to hide the gold pieces, he stuck all four of them under his tongue. He tried to run away, but hardly had he taken a step, when he felt his arms grasped and heard two horrible, deep voices say to him: "Your money or your life!
Page 313 - ... in the interests of the company as a whole and not for their own interests.
Page 14 - Lance always found plenty of hours to devote to the local community. He was a justice of the peace and a...
Page 66 - Birthday list as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) 'for service to the community, particularly through the Vizard Foundation, and to the arts'.
Page 142 - Australian art for a collection which is housed at the Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne. Featured here is Caroline Williams...