Sandman & Flacco

Flacco is the character played by Livingston. Created  in 1985 when he got up on stage as part of a bet, and the audience mistook his nervousness for a comedic character, the rest simply snowballed from there. Flacco was an outsider whose observations of people took on an almost alien quality. He made quick observations often interspersed with incorrect movie, theatre or cultural quotes.

Flacco first appeared on television in 1988 on Andrew Denton’s Blah Blah Blah and came to prominence the following year on The Big Gig, as an alien who engaged in observational humour. He reprised the role, also as an alien in DAAS Kapital, a sitcom featuring fellow Big Gig alumni the Doug Anthony All Stars (DAAS).

Flacco’s appearances on Good News Week paired him with The Sandman (played by Steve Abbott), in what was the beginning of a pairing the two characters have been synonymous with ever since.

Stephen wrote and starred in his own tonight show called In Siberia Tonight which was commissioned by SBS TV. Also for SBS, Steve hosted Under The Grandstand which was their entertainment/interview companion piece to their huge rating coverage of the Ashes Tour of England by the Australian Cricket Team.

As the Sandman, Stephen has performed on a number of different radio programs, as well as regularly performing on TV programs such as The Fat on ABC TV and Good News Week, as well as in two TV specials with Flacco for Network Ten, and his own special on Network Ten in 2002, Speed of Doubt.