Mother and Son – Life with Austen Tayshus – Margaret Gutman

Margaret Gutman is a former executive director of the Jewish Board of Deputies in Sydney. She is also the mother of Australian comedian, Sandy Gutman, aka Austen Tayshus. Margaret Gutman’s late husband Isaac Gutman, Sandy’s father, was a holocaust survivor and his experiences during World War II profoundly affected Sandy Gutman’s growing up. On Tuesday 5 July 2011, in a Sydney first, Margaret Gutman and Sandy Gutman (aka Austen Tayshus) addressed The Sydney Institute. The occasion came in the wake of the publication of Ross Fitzgerald and Rick Murphy’s recently published biography of Sandy Gutman, titled Austen Tayshus – Merchant of Menace.

MOTHER AND SON – LIFE WITH SANDY GUTMAN (AKA AUSTEN TAYSHUS)

MARGARET GUTMAN

Alexander Jacob Gutman was born on 17 March, St Patricks Day, in New York City. He was a beautiful baby – long, lean and our first. Why was our son Sandy (as we called him) born in New York and not in Sydney? Well, my Polish parents were from Warsaw. With great foresight, my father understood that Hitler was unleashing a disaster for the Jews and decided to do everything possible to get his family out of Europe.  He managed to get us visas and we arrived as refugees on the last ship through the Suez Canal before World War II. Most of our extended family that was left behind was murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust.

Australia was a wonderful, peaceful haven. I finished school and university and embarked on a career in journalism. An internship in the public information division of the United Nations brought me to New York. This was a most exciting, challenging and interesting time for me. Several happy, busy months passed. Then one day, a friend asked me if I would agree to a blind date with “a very interesting man”. “Okay,” I said. “Let him call me and if I like the sound of his voice, I’ll meet him.” The call came – his voice was deep, sonorous and persuasive. We had the blind date and it was love at first sight. He was tall, dark, handsome, cultured – somewhat older than I, widely travelled, a great raconteur with a wonderful sense of humour. We were married about six months later. We found an apartment to rent on the West Side not far from Central Park and that was our first home till Sandy was born. Once we had a baby, we needed more space and moved to Jackson Heights, a more suburban area with several parks.

Sandy was a manly looking baby. No one ever took him for a girl! He had piercing brown eyes and a fuzz of blonde hair. I took great pride in taking him for walks in his pram where he liked to lie on his tummy propped up on his elbows, having a good look all around. He was very alert and inquisitive. He also had great lungs and could bellow with gusto!

I had left my job to be a full time mum. My husband Isaac was working for an international brokerage house in Wall Street. My parents now began urging us to move to Sydney so they could enjoy their first grandchild. New York is a fascinating city for sure but, when you’re raising children, Sydney has no equal. Of course, a move such as this presented the biggest challenge for my husband Isaac. He would have to start all over – but he agreed. We settled in a small cottage in Castlecrag among a lovely group of friendly and welcoming neighbours. I gave birth to our second son Michael and Sandy now had a sibling.

Sandy was a rather shy little boy. He spoke early and well, liked books and listening to scary stories, many of which I had to make up. We inherited a day-dog, a cocker spaniel which lived a couple of doors away but visited from morning till dusk. Both children adored Sally the dog and shared their food, toys and my husband’s socks with her. My husband Isaac came from a family of well established Polish industrialists who were also traditional Jews. Practising Judaism was very important to him. He had spent four years as a slave labourer for the Germans suffering hunger, brutal beatings and daily torments. Virtually his whole family was murdered. He credited his strong faith with helping him survive the terrors of the Holocaust.

Sydney’s eastern suburbs were a larger centre of Jewish life in the 1960s than the North Shore where we were living. I found a house in Vaucluse. We moved to the east and joined the South Head Synagogue community. Isaac began to build a watch importing and distributing business, travelling extensively throughout Australia and overseas.

Michael was different from Sandy from the start. He was adventurous and an explorer of his environment. Both boys loved the sun and the sea. Alf Vockler at the Watsons Bay baths taught them to swim by throwing them in the deep end. Maybe that’s helped both their careers! There was lots of story-telling, wise-cracking and laughter in our home. My father – nicknamed “Mango” by the children – liked to join in. He had an impish sense of humour which was legendary and an enormous collection of jokes. It was amazing how he managed to always match the perfect funny anecdote to the occasion at hand.

Sandy’s puberty hit him and us with a capital P. The comparatively shy boy lost interest in school, became very argumentative and restless. My husband bought him an 8mm movie camera to give him a more acceptable creative outlet. Our house became regularly filled with Sandy’s friends making movies. Renee Geyer was one of the gang. My laundry was commandeered for film developing and many a sheet and tablecloth was ruined with chemicals.
Sandy was swept up in the youth revolt era and its demonstrations against the Vietnam War, the hippie phenomenon and the sexual revolution. He was searching for his place in all of this – it was very bewildering for us, his parents, and probably him too. A couple of years earlier, at 15, Sandy had become the Australian Jewish Bible champion. His prize was a trip to Jerusalem to compete in the World finals. Now, suddenly, our son was a hippie, obsessed with rock ‘n’ roll and probably even smoking pot.

We engaged a tutor to help Sandy with the HSC because we were scared he’d fail. Actually, he passed brilliantly and even won a Commonwealth scholarship. Again he was all over the place – almost impossible to guide regarding his future. He announced he’d study dentistry – to make us happy he thought. I couldn’t see restless Sandy as a dentist. Maybe a lawyer or an academic or even a film-maker, but a dentist? Hardly.

He struggled with dentistry for two years and then switched to fine arts. At this time the Australian film and TV school was set up and was calling for applicants. Hundreds of hopefuls from all over the country wanted to get in. Sandy applied and was accepted into the first intake of 25. Then he decided to move out of home. I thought he was too young even though there would be fewer tensions and arguments with him gone.

Sandy graduated from the film school with a diploma in direction and cinematography. Read the book for more details! In 1983, the Gutman family was joined by a new member – Austen Tayshus and his phenomenal national success with Australia. Still the biggest selling comedy single in Australian recording history. Lots of adventures and successes followed, including Sandy winning Tropfest with the film Intolerance, which has a Holocaust theme.

When I walk along the street with Sandy it’s slow progress, not because I’m unfit, but because passers by stop and want to shake his hand and chat. Cars toot and people call out, “Hi there Austen, how you’re going mate? How much can a Koala bear?” He is an Aussie superstar with incredible instant recognition. So, life with Sandy, aka Austen Tayshus, has been unconventional, often rocky, testing, unpredictable, challenging, but never dull. And he has given me the joy of two gorgeous grand daughters, Isabella and Tallulah.

I am very proud of my son Sandy/Austen Tayshus and his life, struggles and successes. I am very proud that Ross Fitzgerald and Rick Murphy have put his life on record in a fascinating and respectful biography which is important for our family but also, I believe, for Australia. The last word belongs to the celebrated comic wit of James Thurber. “Boys,” he said, “are beyond the range of anyone’s sure understanding – at least when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years.”

Sandy Gutman’s (Austen Tayshus) address can be heard here.