Natalie Imbruglia.
Natalie Imbruglia?
I had no idea Ron Moss was touring in Australia; I too loved him on TBATB.
I’d think there have to be Hasslehoffian writers, but right now I can’t think of anybody who qualifies.
International embarrassment, say ye? My vote’s for Milli and/or Vanilli.
Girl you know it’s true, ooh ooh ooh, I love you…
(My wife has now all but banned me from the house. I threw a mop on my head, busted into “the running man” and promptly knocked over a china cabinet. I guess those dance moves should stay in the grave with Rob Pilatus.)
Heh. I read your response before reading what you’d quoted, and instead instantly assumed it was Benny Hill. This spawned a wonderful vision of the little old guy running around sped up and winning all of the track and field events while scantily clad nurses ended up in socially embarrassing situations on the sidelines.
Then I saw that it was about Paul Hogan. Not nearly as much fun.
William Hung?
Admittedly I’m just assuming (can you blame me?) that inhabitants of his Hong Kong birthplace haven’t embraced him with equal measure.
Showing my age, but what about the Gabor sisters? Or Zsa-Zsa at least. There is no reason for her to be famous (Ava at least did Green Acres), but I bet most Americans (maybe over 25) know her and regard her fondly. How is she regarded in her own country?
I agree that Paul Hogan sems to be the best analogy to the head scratching German fame of David Hasselhoff, although nowhere near as long-lived.
Yup, thanks. You too Judith Prietht.
A few years ago I was hanging out in a ski lodge with 3 people from Sydney. We were watching Croc Hunter, and they were all trying to figure out what his bizarre accent was. They finally decided that he was Canadian.
Icelanders HATE Björk, from what a friend who spends a lot of time in Iceland tells me.
I know I am cheating a bit, I hope you see it as within the spirit if not the letter of the OP: California-born to Mexican parents, boxer Oscar De La Hoya has traded on his Mexican Heritage, e.g. often wearing an oversized sombrero into the ring and accompanied by a mariachi band.
To say: that a very large portion of the Mexican and Mexican-American community spurned him, made fun of him and, largely because they saw him as sell-out to Anglo-America, called him a tool and traitor,
to say all that would not overstate the case.
Well, although I don’t think it exactly meets your criteria, as a Canadian I’ll say, you in America have Celine Dion now and you’re keeping her! 
Oscar de la Hoya is definitely unpopular with Mexicans and more “Mexican” (ie. Spanish speaking, less assimilated) Mexican-Americans - mainly because he has badmouthed or fought real Mexican boxing icons like Julio Cesar Chavez. However many of his fans are “Hispanic”.
Anyway, I suppose that doesn’t really count - unless we extend the analogy from country to “community” or ethnic groups.
I thought that Benny Hill was famous in Britain for a while, became a has-been by the late 1970s and then became famous in America for a few years after his show was picked up here.
Many hard rock bands have that sort of success - for instance some of the “hair metal” bands like Winer and Mr. Big had second careers in Japan or Europe once they fizzled out in America around 1991.
Oops not “Winer” but Winger.
Just to elaborate, “Mr. Big” had one or two minor hits here around 1990, but I believe they have sold millions of albums in Japan and rake it in during their Asian tours. Unfortunately, the All Music Guide site is currently a mess and I can’t provide examples from there,
Is American rap music popular anywhere else?
American rap and hip-hop are hugely popular among young people in Japan.
Really? How come?
Probably for the same reason Australians hate Steve Irwin. She’s incredibly strange (or, in Irwin’s case, takes incredibly stupid risks) AND is one of the most visible natives of the country, so everyone outside the country thinks ALL Australians/Icelanders are like that.
To hear one of my friends from Australia tell it, they’ve got the highest percentage of Hasselhoffian exports to the U.S. Paul Hogan, Steve Irwin, Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia, and Naomi Watts. (The last one surprised me; I was always under the impression she had some street cred for being semi-indie as well as extremely hot).
Apparently, Canada is in second place, just for Alanis Morisette.
My opinion is probably swerved by the company I keep, but Kylie remains hugely popular in Australia (although she gets even more attention in the UK). Even if people don’t like her, I don’t think they’d consider her a joke.
Natalie Imbruglia is too unnoticeable and bland to be an embarrassment. Similarly, I’ve never heard a bad word said about Naomi Watts until this year.
I’ve ne’er heard bad about Naomi Watts. Then again I don’t really follow celebrity gossip so she’d have to fuck up pretty badly for me to know.
Agreement on Steve Irwin. And his zoo still sucks.