How Yahoo Serious vanished from the spotlight after his Hollywood film career stalled

It has been a tragic fall from grace for former Australian film star Yahoo Serious who is facing eviction from his Sydney home after falling more than $27,500 behind in rental payments.

In his prime, Serious – born Greg Gomez Pead – saw widespread acclaim and success for his role in the 1988 comedy film Young Einstein, which even cemented his star status in Hollywood.

However, the 66-year-old vanished from the spotlight after receiving lukewarm reviews for his third film in 2000, Mr Accident – which was released twelve years after his impressive debut.

Yahoo has since navigated through a challenging two decades, which involved him unsuccessfully launching a lawsuit against search engine Yahoo! for trademark infringement and enduring a tough split from his wife, Lulu Pinkus, following twenty years of marriage.

In the latest blow for the reclusive star, he is now struggling to make ends meet and has been ordered to vacate his three-bedroom rented home in Avalon Beach after failing to pay his rent for five months. 

Following the release of his 2000 film, Mr Accident, things took a tumultuous turn for Yahoo as he launched a lawsuit against search engine Yahoo! for trademark infringement.

The case was later dismissed after the actor couldn’t prove he sold products or services under the name Yahoo – and therefore couldn’t demonstrate that his career suffered harm or confusion due to the popular search engine.

Yahoo had his final crack at stardom in 2007, after he attended the Cannes Film Festival following his last on-screen role in the 2007 short documentary, In The Cannes.

After vanishing for ten years, Yahoo suddenly resurfaced in 2017 when he was snapped strolling through the streets of Sydney.

In 2010, News Corp reported than Yahoo had split from wife Lulu Pinkus in 2007 after almost 20 years of marriage.

The rarely-seen former actor is now said to be living by himself.

Yahoo’s reclusive lifestyle is a far cry from the fame and admiration he earned in the late ’80s after shooting to fame in Young Einstein, which he acted in, directed, co-produced and co-wrote.

At the time of its release, the film ranked as the second most successful Australian film in box office history, behind Crocodile Dundee, ultimately grossing $33 million worldwide.

The film’s success also landed Yahoo, then 34, on the cover of TIME and MAD magazines, as well as The Yahoo Serious Show on MTV, as he became a popular entertainer in the United States.

Yahoo followed up Young Einstein with another zany comedy, Reckless Kelly, in 1993, which was another local box office success.

He has now fallen on hard times with the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal ordering him to pay his landlords $15,000 and vacate his three-bedroom rented home in Avalon Beach.

The landlords, Tanya and Andrew Barlow, sought that their residential tenancy agreement be terminated after Serious fell more than $27,500 behind in rent.

The 66-year-old and his production company Serious Productions Pty Ltd began renting the property in March 2017 for $1350 per week.

The tribunal found he fell behind on his payments in November 2019 and had not paid any money since February 25 this year.

Serious argued his income was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, like most who work in the artistic and creative industries.

‘With the pandemic reshaping the movie industry towards home entertainment, the project on which the first tenant was working has been impacted,’ the tribunal said in its judgement, published on Thursday.

However, bank statements tendered during the proceedings failed to provide proof he had any income prior to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

‘The tenants say that by March their income was already affected, but the simple fact is that the Tribunal has no evidence of pre-pandemic income for the tenants,’ the tribunal said.

Under amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, enacted to protect people whose livelihoods had been affected by coronavirus, tenants are able to apply to re-negotiate rents and are covered under a moratorium on evictions.

However, they are only eligible if they can prove their income has been reduced by 25 per cent or more.

Serious applied to be allowed to stay in the property and begin paying rental arrears with a promise he would be able to catch up on payments by the end of December.

However, he was ordered to hand back the keys by August 13 and pay a $192-per-day occupation rate until then. 

When asked whether he had applied for rental assistance, Serious told the hearing he had gone to Centrelink and been advised to apply for the old age pension as he was about to turn 67.