The best and worst of waking up with Karl Stefanovic on Today
Karl Stefanovic made headlines with some of his crazy and hilarious moments on the Today Show. These are the flashbacks of Karl’s best and worst TV moments.
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For almost 15 years we’ve switched on Channel 9 every morning and woken up with Karl Stefanovic on Today.
Without a doubt Stefanovic has been the king of live television in Australia in the long-term ratings war with Channel 7’s equivalent David Koch.
He’s cracked nuts with his head, celebrated Aussie heroes in singlets and pluggers, showed he can lead a high-rating TV show while drunk and eventually made the Dalai Lama laugh.
Karl hold’s the crown of the most watched person on Australian breakfast television ever, with the most hours racked up of any TV host. That’s quite an achievement.
One day after Stefanovic’s brother Peter announced he was breaking up with Nine — also after 15 years as the network’s golden boy of news — Nine dropped the bombshell that Karl would not be the face of Today in 2019.
MORE: Karl dumped from Today
MORE: Peter Stefanovic‘s rise and fall at Nine
After 14 years it’s said the high-profile anchor was told the news by phone by Nine CEO Hugh Marks, while he was enjoying his honeymoon with wife Jasmine Yarbrough.
In a statement, Nine’s director of news Darren Wick said: “Nine and Karl Stefanovic have agreed it is time for him to step off the Today Show. Karl remains on contract with the network and will continue to host This Time Next Year, which records in February.
“For over 14 years Karl has been at the centre of the Today Show bringing his unique personality and perspective to the day’s news and current affairs.
“An announcement on the new line up and format of the Today Show will be made in the coming weeks.”
In the same statement, Stefanovic said: “For the last 14 years I’ve co-hosted the best show on television. I can’t thank Nine enough for the opportunity. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be good enough to host this grand show for so long.
“Thanks to our viewers mostly, you are what matters most. It’s been a tough time. Thanks for hanging in there. I look forward to seeing you in another capacity at this great Network soon.”
While the news sinks in that we won’t be waking up with Karl anymore, let’s look back at some of the fun he brought to Nine.
Love him or loathe, the king of live television is a role that has big shoes to fill.
WHEN LISA MET KARL
For many years Karl sat alongside Lisa Wilkinson — their years together are considered the best years of the Today Show. The banter between these two seemed genuine, fun and created plenty of laughs.
Today Lisa wished Karl all the best, saying “when it was good, it was great.” It’s worth noting today is Lisa’s birthday too — happy birthday Lisa!
Here’s when Karl lost it over Lisa’s quick remark about men with amazing beards.
DRUNK KARL ON TODAY
“He hasn’t been to bed yet and he’s really pissed,” that’s what one today watcher told Channel 7 after Karl got up bright and early, and still drunk to host the Today show the morning after the 51’st Logies in 2009.
The Logies might have been a yawn fest but the morning after was hilarious, mostly thanks to Karl.
On the show he gushed about how pretty Lisa looked during the Logies and rambled with praise for his then co-host.
To be fair Channel 7’s Bryan Seymour gave Karl benefit of the doubt and suggested he may have just been very sleep-deprived when he faced the camera the next day.
It took Karl five years to fess up and admit he was in fact drunk, saying he’s always been smashed at the Logies and blaming the internet for busting him this time.
“It wasn’t any different to any other year — we all get smashed at the Logies and go to work the next day; we’d done it for years and years. But this was the first Logies when stuff really started working on the internet,” he said in 2014.
“I remember seeing it on Today Tonight and going ‘Oh god.’ I really was drunk, or at least I certainly looked and sounded drunk.”
Onya Karl. No regrets.
THAT TERRIBLY GOOD DALAI LAMA JOKE
Karl tried really, really hard to get a laugh out of the Dalai Lama, but he totally bombed.
The joke — which wasn’t terrible — appeared to get lost in translation and his holiness did not get it at all.
“So the Dalai Lama walks into a pizza shop … and says, ‘Can you make me one with everything?’”
Boom tish.
Yeah, nah it fell flat, so Karl tried again as he found his joke really, really funny … but it fell flat again and his holiness just sat there looking confused.
While the joke bombed, the TV segment was a hit with the world making Karl the punchline.
The New York Times even headlined a story: “How Not To Tell the Dalai Lama a Joke”.
In 2018 the Dalai Lama sat down again with Karl and this time they did share a laugh together and his holiness remembered the joke.
Karl offered him the ‘one with everything’ pizza and they shared a slice together.
KARL V GRUMPY CAT
“Grumpy cat good morning …” Karl tried really hard to get a smile out of the cat who never does.
“What about Mondays?”
“At least I got something out of him …” he eventually conceded before cracking up in laughter himself.
Truly cringe-worthy.
Truly awkward.
Classic Karl.
VOMIT PIE
Karl was never a stranger to trying new, weird and wacky foods.
This time he tried the world’s hottest pie cooked by Ron from a Umina bakery on the Central Coast.
Pieman Ron warned him prior that it contained the three hottest chillies but that did not deter Karl who got stuck in as Lisa lectured him not to … he tells her to bugger off and chows down anyway.
Moments later he starts to sweat and gets wide-eyed and declares he “feels a bit sick.”
He later vomited and had to lay down.
KO’D KARL
During his days as a court reporter in Queensland for A Current Affair.
He laughs about it but that would’ve really hurt.
WHEN KARL MET HEIDI
Supermodel Heidi Klum pranked Karl with her pretend yodelling skills, getting him to give it a try. She was pretty convincing, he bought it until she confessed “I don’t really know how to yodel.”
KARL LOVES MEGHAN
Earlier this year Karl picked a fight with grumpy TV host Piers Morgan, defending the newest member of the royal family.
Karl took issue him for rubbishing Meghan Markle on live TV.
Morgan said Markle was “once an actor …” and accused her of faking it for the cameras.
Karl said Morgan “thinks he talks on behalf of Great Britain” and said he was “not cool”.
“No good Piers … Piers off.”
HE’S BLUE, DA BA DEE, DA BA DAA
Angered by sexism he saw his female TV colleagues enduring, Karl decided to conduct a secret experiment, wearing the same blue suit on air for a year.
No one noticed. Not even fashion commentators.
The cheap Burberry suit became known as the ‘sexism suit’ and sold on eBay for $6400.
The proceeds went to White Ribbon.
THE NUTCRACKER
When Karl saw a guy having a crack at breaking 155 walnuts with his skull in 60 seconds, he decided he wanted to do it too. Yea.
So he put on a helmet and a vest and made sure he did not suffer from nut allergies and he started bashing his head against a table lined with nuts.
What a nut, but he smashed it.
Lisa said it best after “now that is television!”
JUST PLANKING
Yep, just Karl trying planking. Remember when that was popular?
Doh …
JUST SOME MUSIC THAT HE USED TO KNOW
Remember that hit by Goyte ‘Someone that I used to know’?
Karl decided he knew where the musician got his inspiration from.
Ba Ba Black Sheep.
It caused an on-air spat with entertainment reporter Richard ‘Dickie’ Wilkins, who gave Karl some pretty solid filth eyes at the theory.
Lisa agreed.
Dickie got defensive of Goyte and went straight to talking about his favourite subject, gossip.
DUCK FISHING
Karl played his part in this awkward moment, when he interviewed shark expert Paul Burt on the Gold Coast and things went terribly wrong.
Keen fisherman Paul tried to catch a big one as the cameras rolled, instead he caught a duck.
“Great production, not good at the end,” Paul said at the start of the segment — it was a little prophetic perhaps.
“I’d go to another shot …” he said awkwardly, trying to hid the fact he had tried to catch a shark, but instead caught a duck.
“Peking duck anyone?” Karl joked.
“Awkward …” Lisa added.
What a time.
KARL GETS WORMS
Earlier this year Karl suited up and hopped into a large bath.
Dickie and Georgie Gardner grinned as they talked about dumping 30kg of meal worms on top of king Karl.
Absolutely evil.
Karl screamed and freaked the hell out.
“I’ve only ever been nice to you!” he told the pair.
The worming came after Karl was busted trash-talking his co-hosts during a call with his brother.
Peter had Karl on speakerphone while travelling in an uber with his wife Sylvia Jeffreys.
The Uber driver opened the can of worms when he dished the dirt to New Idea earlier this year.
THE BUSTED PLUGGER
Karl’s celebrated many Aussie heroes over the years. But he was especially excited to meet two men who foiled a robbery and lived to tell the tale on live TV, and thank god they did.
Karl lost it. Sylvia lost it. We all lost it.
Time for a singlets and shorts party … nothing suss.
So there you have it, that’s a wrap Karl. As Lisa Wilkinson put it when Today celebrated 35 years last year “Things haven’t always gone to plan” but they’ve certainly created plenty of laughs and joy to many households across Australia over the years.
Farewell Karl, thanks for the laughs and enjoy the sleep ins.
Originally published as The best and worst of waking up with Karl Stefanovic on Today
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