As chair of the Hibiscus and Local Board, Gary Brown fights for the community, but he is also a world-class artist who loves entertaining people.

Gary is known for his fantastic impersonations and performance skills. 

He is a world-renowned Austin Powers impersonator, who was ‘born’ when he threw a 60s party at his house. 

“I dressed up as Austin and people were convinced I was the real deal,” he says. 

Due to him being a dead ringer for the groovy character, Gary has travelled the globe as Austin - amongst other things! 

He started in the entertainment business in the early 1980s when he performed in stage shows at the amateur theatre, Peninsula Players in Whangaparaoa. 

He performed in main roles for 10 years in shows such as Music Hall variety shows and pantomimes, TV commercials, soap operas, and the occasional game show. 

In 1985, he lived in the USA and attended an acting course in Hollywood. 

Back on NZ shores, Gary owned one of the largest mobile entertainment companies (Party Time Ltd) in NZ for over 18 years, with over 1000 shows per year.

Due to his love of performing, Gary started the NZ Walk of Fame in Orewa in July 2010. 

This tourist attraction is iconic in our favourite seaside town as it draws tourists from all over the world.

The NZ Walk of Fame consists of 17-star plaques installed on the Orewa Boulevard sidewalk, honouring famous Kiwi entertainers in the music, film, media, theatre and tv industries. 

The last plaque was placed in September last year, and Gary is eagerly looking for the next star-studded name on the sidewalk. 

He has to put his plans on hold as the company that manufactures the plaques was destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle.

The Walk of Fame starred in a controversy some years ago, and Gary was forced to change the design of the plaque. 

“The Hollywood Walk of Fame owns the rights to the star on the ground and wanted me to pay them US$50,000 a year to use it,” he says. 

“I spent eight months negotiating with them and they dropped it to US$25,000 a year. I refused to pay for it and started finding ways to change the plaque’s design."

Gary took to the drawing board and came up with his own design: the star stayed, but the iconic fern was placed behind it to give it a Kiwi look.

The first star on the boulevard was entertainer Ray Woolf. 

The other star-studded names include Hello Sailor, Gray Bartlett, Dennis Marsh, Sir Howard Morrison, Ray Columbus, Tom Sharplin & the Cadillacs, Suzanne Lynch, Shane Hales, Larry Morris, Les Andrews, David Hartnell, the band Dragon, Mark Williams, Kevin Greaves and the band The Rumour.

Close to the plaques is a board with a QR code on it. One can scan the code of your favourite artist and his/her biography comes up. 

“Once a Kiwi celebrity receives a star, then their name will be remembered for years to come,” says Gary.