BY STAFF WRITERS
Curtis Woodward’s FootyTown app is out, about and in full swing, with over 1400 locations and available on the App Store and Google Play.
While we’re always adding new locations on a daily basis – it’s hard to ignore one figure who features heavily already.
That man is Paul ‘Fatty’ Vautin.
Vautin came from Brisbane to skipper Manly-Warringah to a famous premiership victory in 1987 before becoming one of the biggest celebrities in Sydney through the 1990s and 2000s.
‘Fatty’ currently features in 16 locations across Sydney.
Here’s five of the best…
MOBY DICK’S
Moby Dick’s nightclub, which was situated above Whale Beach Surf Club, where a young Paul Vautin worked for extra money during his early days at the Sea Eagles, picking up glasses and even as a bouncer. A week before his wedding, a manager sent Vautin downstairs to sort out an angry drinker who was ready to fight. It was his teammate and fellow Manly star, Johnny Gibbs. The little halfback and ‘Fatty’ almost came to blows. A week later, Vautin was married at the very same venue. Gibbs was his best man.
MAROUBRA BEACH
Famous Sydney beach where in 1989, several big-name players were invited to be part of the shooting of Winfield Cup’s campaign, featuring Tina Turner and the hit “What You Get is What You See”. While shooting, Turner was running along the beach with Andrew Ettingshausen, Wayne Pearce and Paul Vautin. ‘Fatty’ revealed years later on Channel Nine that the Amerian director, after a “big off-season”, asked him to sit out the next take. Vautin didn’t make the final cut.
THE MANLY DAILY
Local newspaper where Paul Vautin first dipped his toe into the media with a weekly column. His first ever contribution in 1985 was a hilarious yarn about his wife Kim’s new dog, Muffy. Every Saturday he and his wife would go ‘Muffy diving’ – washing the new family pet in the family bath. A day after the Manly skipper held up the premiership trophy at the SCG in 1987, Sea Eagles players were at The Steyne Hotel just around the corner, a thousand deep. Fatty shows up at The Manly Daily and is told his column is late. Vautin shrugs his shoulders, plonks himself down in front of a typewriter and starts putting together his story. it was reported much of it had to be edited.
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THE OLD SYDNEY HOTEL
Now known as ‘Sydney Harbour Hotel’. When the Super League War broke out, the ARL held a massive press conference featuring many of their big-name stars including new recruit from Super League, Cronulla’s Adam Ritson, Brad Fittler and Tim Brasher. News Limited journalist Piers Akerman was sent to cause a stir. It ended with host Paul Vautin calling him a “fat heap of s***”. Akerman, no league fan, later told colleagues he’d been abused by someone called ‘Fatso Vaughan’.
WESTFIELD BONDI
Level 25 of Westfield Tower 2 in Bondi is where you could find the studios of Triple M Sydney back in the day. Ray Hadley on 2UE had been head-hunting ‘Fatty’ Vautin for his show in 1992. Vautin instead signed up for Triple M. On his first outing on Doug Mulray’s famous breakfast show, Fatty began with this joke.
“Hey Doug, what’s the only thing that’s hit more balls than Jack Nicklaus’ putter? Rock Hudson’s chin.”
