In this week’s Australian Story, one of Australian television’s great mysteries is reopened, as the program asks whatever happened to adventurer Alby Mangels.
Once a household name with rugged good looks and cinema filling documentaries, Mangels all but vanished from public view after a meteoric rise.
In the late 1970s and 80s, Mangels became a pop culture phenomenon through his World Safari films, which packed cinemas and made him one of Australia’s most recognisable screen adventurers.
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His success, however, unravelled just as publicly, with a failed third film followed by media accusations of faked footage and unpaid crew.
Then and now. Alby Mangels at the height of his World Safari fame, alongside the reclusive adventurer today (image – supplied)
Now 77 and long reclusive, Mangels has agreed to speak candidly, reflecting on his childhood, his unlikely rise from bricklayer to global filmmaker, and the sudden collapse of his career.
He also addresses the claims that haunted him and explains why he chose to turn his back on fame altogether. Mangels says the fallout left him stripped of everything he had built, admitting:
“Got too big for my boots. I went broke, I lost everything. Went away from everything, from everybody.”
The episode also charts his unexpected revival in the United States during the 1990s, alongside insights from those who knew and worked with him.
nterviews include his sister Maria, nephew Rick Snel, cinematographer Geoffrey Hall, American television executive Mark Finkelpearl and TV historian Andrew Mercado.
More on this story on the ABC website HERE.
Finding Alby Mangels airs Monday, February 9 at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
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