EXCLUSIVEAmong the homeless of LA's doomed Venice neighbourhood, the wayward son of a Hollywood legend shuffles aimlessly towards a blacked-out car... how did it all go so wrong?
Once a playground for Hollywood's elite, Venice Beach in Los Angeles is now a shadow of its former self.
The sun-drenched boulevards that once drew stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Julia Roberts are now marked by a stark divide: luxury homes jostling for space with makeshift tents, graffiti-stained walls, and an air of decay. The neighbourhood, once synonymous with glamour, now struggles under the weight of rising homelessness and crime.
Perhaps no individual better encapsulates Venice's past and present than the young man we spotted shuffling about its backstreets last Thursday. Clad in a white T-shirt, black pants and socks-and-slides, his dirty blond hair clings to his face as he approaches a blacked-out car for a brief exchange.
The man is 26-year-old Chance Hogan, the son of actors Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski.
Despite seemingly having every opportunity in life, Chance's seedy existence is worlds away from the pampered lifestyles of other Hollywood 'nepo babies'.
Chance is no stranger to scandal - after all, his parents' relationship was one of the biggest tabloid stories of the late 1980s.
Perhaps no individual better encapsulates Venice's past and present than the young man we spotted shuffling about its backstreets last Thursday
Chance Hogan is the 26-year-old son of actors Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski. His dirty blond hair clung to his face as he approached a blacked-out car for a brief exchange
Despite seemingly having every opportunity in life, Chance's seedy existence is worlds away from the pampered lifestyles of other Hollywood 'nepo babies'
The two fell in love on set of Hogan's breakout film Crocodile Dundee while Hogan - 19 years Kozlowski's senior - was still married to wife Noelene Edwards. The couple wed in 1990, welcomed Chance eight years later, and divorced in 2014
After his movie career took off, Hogan left his home country of Australia behind and settled with Kozlowski in Los Angeles in the '90s. Chance was raised in Venice Beach and, during his short life, has witnessed the neighbourhood's shocking decline.
Still, he got to watch it happen from behind the windows of his father's AU$4.5million (US$3.5 million) mansion. He even seems to have briefly considered following his footsteps into showbusiness, becoming the enigmatic frontman of a punk band named Rowdy P.
But it appears fame was not meant to be for the aspiring musician. Reports abound of his reputation for 'wayward behaviour' amid claims his father Paul, now 85, is trying to steer him back onto the straight and narrow.
In his latest worrying public sighting, on November 14, a dishevelled Chance was seen aimlessly pacing up and down the street and approaching a blacked-out vehicle near the home where he is believed to live with his father.
He looked almost unrecognisable compared to the floppy-fringed boy who would accompany his parents to red carpet events in the early 2010s.
With his long, dark locks covering his face, Chance appeared to collect a white package from the driver after a brief conversation.
While Daily Mail Australia does not suggest any illegal activity occurred, the pictures will no doubt cause more worry for his dad after a string of troublesome sightings.
Just days earlier, Chance had been spotted buying a package of cigarettes from a local convenience store.
Chance was pictured near the home where he is believed to live with his famous father
Chance appeared to collect a white package from the driver after a brief conversation. Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting any illegal activity occurred
The pictures will no doubt cause more worry for his father after a string of troublesome sightings
In March, Paul Hogan (pictured) issued an update on his son's wellbeing after he recorded himself being rushed to hospital in October 2023 covered in cuts and bruises
Last week, Chance was also spotted buying a pack of cigarettes from a local store
During that outing, he displayed what appeared to be a bright red midriff tattoo of a love heart as he went shirtless beneath a denim jacket
He looked almost unrecognisable compared to the floppy-fringed boy who would accompany his parents to red carpet events in the early 2010s (pictured in January 2013)
During that outing, he displayed what appeared to be a bright red midriff tattoo of a love heart as he went shirtless beneath a denim jacket.
It is not the first time Chance has raised eyebrows. He shared disturbing footage to social media in September in which he cryptically claimed something was about to 'begin' as he held a cigarette between his stained teeth, showing off his inflamed gums.
'One hour and 25 minutes, 24 minutes now in fact. That's when it commences. Let's see,' he bizarrely said, though it was unclear what he was referring to.
Chance spent his childhood at his dad's AU$4.5million Venice Beach mansion
Reports abound of his reputation for 'wayward behaviour' amid claims his father Paul, now 85 years old, is trying to steer him back onto the straight and narrow
While Chance has been spotted in LA in recent days, Paul's actress goddaughter Liana Cornell - the child of Aussie stars Delvene Delaney and John Cornell - was seen looking in good spirits in London last week
Just months earlier, in March, Paul Hogan had issued an update on his son's wellbeing after he recorded himself being rushed to hospital in October 2023 covered in cuts and bruises.
Hogan told DailyMail.com that Chance was 'doing a lot better' after the concerning videos but wouldn't be drawn into revealing anything more.
Back in 2018, photographs famously emerged showing Chance vomiting outside a venue in Santa Monica where his band Rowdy P had just performed.
Paul famously met Chance's mother Linda Kozlowski (right) while filming Crocodile Dundee in 1986, but effectively raised him as a single father after his marriage breakdown in 2013
Chance shared disturbing footage to social media in September in which he cryptically claimed something was about to 'begin' as he held a cigarette between his stained teeth
In disturbing Instagram posts from October last year, Chance also shared footage of himself in a car with his friends as they smoked, before debuting a large cut on his collarbone
Chance was seen crouching down and holding his head in his hands in images that reportedly left his famous father 'shattered'.
It is not known whether Chance still performs with his band, but their last post promoting a gig in Pasadena was shared back in January, suggesting they have not been booking regular shows of late.
The first sign something was amiss with Chance came back in 2015 when he was reportedly caught drinking beer and smoking what appeared to be a bong on the balcony of his father's home.
Later, he was forced to deny he was a devil worshipper after posting the satanic 'devil's number' 666 on Instagram and another image of a drawing of an inverted Christian crucifix.
Hitting back at the allegations, Chance told Woman's Day at the time: 'It's like I'm a satanic devil worshipper and my parents hate each other, none of that's true.'
'It's like, "Hey, you're that Satanist drug-taking evil guy, right?"' he added.
Chance's troubles over the years have reportedly proved difficult for his father, who has expressed a desire to return to Australia since Venice Beach's downward turn.
In October 2022, Paul confessed he was homesick and said the only thing keeping him from returning Down Under was his son.
In the videos, he smiled and revealed several other cuts across his forehead as well as bruises around his eye, but did not reveal the cause of the mystery injuries
Chance once looked set to break into the world of fame himself, becoming the enigmatic frontman of a punk band named Rowdy P (he is pictured here in 2018)
Describing Chance as American, not an Australian, he told Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper: 'The only family [Chance has got] is me.'
He explained that all of Chance's close relatives, including his grandparents, have died, and his son sees the U.S. as his home because that is where he was raised.
'All his friends, his band, musician mates, girlfriends, everything – they're all American,' Hogan said. 'He only has me, whereas my tribe at home, they've all got each other.'
Hogan's home is in the once-elite beachside suburb of Venice, where a vast increase in homelessness has seen hundreds of tents line the beach's famous boardwalk and a sharp increase in crime.
Speaking at the height of the pandemic, Hogan complained: 'I'm living in LA county, which is 10 million people and half of them have got Covid. So am I homesick? You bet your life.'
When asked how he was coping with Los Angeles' rising crime wave, Hogan simply said that he 'doesn't go anywhere' and often remains inside his property.
'[I'm] bored in lockdown, and the minute I can get on the plane without being locked in a hotel for two weeks, I'm back,' he said in 2021.
His neighbour Tyler Proctor, a local politician, boldly described Hogan's neighbourhood as 'hell on earth', adding: 'His house is like a fortress and it needs to be, I can see why [he] wants to move out.'
Chance's troubles over the years have reportedly proved difficult for his father, who has expressed a desire to return to Australia since Venice Beach's downward turn
Hogan's home is in the once-elite beachside suburb of Venice, where a rise in homelessness has seen hundreds of tents line the beach's famous boardwalk and a sharp increase in crime
In recent years, residents of Venice Beach have complained about soaring crime rates and a rise in homelessness, which they claim has made life in the beachside community unbearable
Over the past few years, residents of Venice Beach have complained about soaring crime rates and a rise in homelessness, which they claim has made life in the elite beachside community unbearable.
In 2021, business owners said they were forced to close their doors and long-term residents were afraid to leave their homes after dark due to being subjected to violent attacks and intimidation.
Amid the struggles of the Covid, police were seen patrolling the tent-laden Venice Beach boardwalk - once famed for its unique and bohemian culture which would attract as many as 10 million visitors per year.
Hogan was born in northern New South Wales and raised in Sydney. He worked as a rigger on the Sydney Harbour Bridge before he rose to fame on talent quest New Faces.
After becoming a household name in Australia as a comedian, Paul soared to global fame in 1986 in the iconic fish-out-of-water comedy film Crocodile Dundee, the role for which he remains best known.
As well as Chance, Hogan also shares four other sons, Brett, Clay, Scott and Todd, and a daughter, Lauren, with his first wife, Noelene.
Paul made millions off the box-office hits Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Crocodile Dundee II (1988). He is pictured as his iconic hero Mick 'Crocodile' Dundee
