Rob Astbury
Encyclopedia
Rob Astbury is a former Australia
n television
sports journalist who was once Australia's highest paid TV sports presenter and is more recently known for being the ex-lover of variety show legend Graham Kennedy
. During a media career spanning 21 years he won an unprecedented 10 VFL/AFL awards and two national Penguin awards and was twice nominated for the Logie award
s for the Best News Story of the year.
After an early career in Melbourne
radio, Astbury made a successful jump to television – firstly for the often-struggling Channel 0/10 network before accepting a lucrative offer to work for the pre-eminent Channel 9 network.
He was involved in a motoring accident in Perth
whilst on a sports assignment at the height of his career. He was badly injured and subsequently became addicted
to painkillers and his career collapsed. Astbury sued an insurance company but initially lost the court case and was financially broken by legal fees. He took a temporary job in Queensland
's booming Gold Coast property market and within five years was the state's top salesman after introducing marketing ideas gained from his TV career. For this he won many awards. Astbury was then offered a job selling real estate in the Thailand
resort of Pattaya
. He was instrumental in streamlining the company he worked for into a highly successful property developer. The company has embarked on a 91-level project which will be one of the tallest residential buildings in the world: www.Ocean1tower.com. He is now developing a model dairy farm in Northern Thailand.
Astbury also filed news reports for the internet site crikey.com.au, detailing his eyewitness report on the tsunami that devastated Phuket
whilst Astbury was holidaying there, and the recent army coup.
In 2005, after Graham Kennedy died, Melbourne talk back host Derryn Hinch
publicly outed Astbury as being gay, reported that Astbury was Kennedy’s lover for 20 years, and revealed that Astbury was HIV positive. Hinch also claimed that Graham Kennedy had died of AIDS but eventually withdrew this claim and publicly apologised. The public indignation motivated Astbury to openly campaign for gay rights and AIDS education. In October 2006 Astbury published a book, King and I: My Life With Graham Kennedy, which, at first, infuriated former friends and colleagues of Kennedy for revealing intimate details of their sex life .
In October 2006 Astbury announced he would be standing for the Australian Senate
on a platform of equal rights for gay couples and HIV/AIDS education in the next general election held in 2007. Prior to the election Astbury decided not to pursue his political aspirations but announced he would vote Labor for the first time in his life. He is now completing his much anticipated autobiography Twice as Hard.
In January 2011 Rob Astbury returned to Surfers Paradise
to work in the real estate industry.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sports journalist who was once Australia's highest paid TV sports presenter and is more recently known for being the ex-lover of variety show legend Graham Kennedy
Graham Kennedy
Graham Cyril Kennedy, AO was an Australian radio, television and film performer, often called Gra Gra and The King of Australian television.-Childhood:...
. During a media career spanning 21 years he won an unprecedented 10 VFL/AFL awards and two national Penguin awards and was twice nominated for the Logie award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
s for the Best News Story of the year.
After an early career in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
radio, Astbury made a successful jump to television – firstly for the often-struggling Channel 0/10 network before accepting a lucrative offer to work for the pre-eminent Channel 9 network.
He was involved in a motoring accident in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
whilst on a sports assignment at the height of his career. He was badly injured and subsequently became addicted
Addiction
Historically, addiction has been defined as physical and psychological dependence on psychoactive substances which cross the blood-brain barrier once ingested, temporarily altering the chemical milieu of the brain.Addiction can also be viewed as a continued involvement with a substance or activity...
to painkillers and his career collapsed. Astbury sued an insurance company but initially lost the court case and was financially broken by legal fees. He took a temporary job in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
's booming Gold Coast property market and within five years was the state's top salesman after introducing marketing ideas gained from his TV career. For this he won many awards. Astbury was then offered a job selling real estate in the Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
resort of Pattaya
Pattaya
Pattaya is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 165 km southeast of Bangkok located within but not part of Amphoe Bang Lamung in the province of Chonburi....
. He was instrumental in streamlining the company he worked for into a highly successful property developer. The company has embarked on a 91-level project which will be one of the tallest residential buildings in the world: www.Ocean1tower.com. He is now developing a model dairy farm in Northern Thailand.
Astbury also filed news reports for the internet site crikey.com.au, detailing his eyewitness report on the tsunami that devastated Phuket
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
whilst Astbury was holidaying there, and the recent army coup.
In 2005, after Graham Kennedy died, Melbourne talk back host Derryn Hinch
Derryn Hinch
Derryn Nigel Hinch is an Australian media personality best known for his work on Melbourne radio. He is currently the host of 3AW's drive time radio show...
publicly outed Astbury as being gay, reported that Astbury was Kennedy’s lover for 20 years, and revealed that Astbury was HIV positive. Hinch also claimed that Graham Kennedy had died of AIDS but eventually withdrew this claim and publicly apologised. The public indignation motivated Astbury to openly campaign for gay rights and AIDS education. In October 2006 Astbury published a book, King and I: My Life With Graham Kennedy, which, at first, infuriated former friends and colleagues of Kennedy for revealing intimate details of their sex life .
In October 2006 Astbury announced he would be standing for the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
on a platform of equal rights for gay couples and HIV/AIDS education in the next general election held in 2007. Prior to the election Astbury decided not to pursue his political aspirations but announced he would vote Labor for the first time in his life. He is now completing his much anticipated autobiography Twice as Hard.
In January 2011 Rob Astbury returned to Surfers Paradise
Surfers Paradise, Queensland
Surfers Paradise is a suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 Census, Surfers Paradise had a population of 18,501....
to work in the real estate industry.
