Winning a Gold Logie is not always a passport to stardom
WHILE a Logie win does wonders for some careers, it is not always a passport to lasting fame, with many nominees and winners fading into obscurity after accepting their gong, such as Nicolle Dickson (left).
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THE Logies wouldn’t be Australian television’s night of nights without a little controversy. Every year there is always a passionate discussion around the personalities nominated for the top gong — the Gold Logie. And this year is no exception.
While a Logie win does wonders for some careers, it is not always a passport to lasting fame, with many nominees and winners fading into obscurity after accepting their gong.
Back in 1958, in the infancy of Australian television, TV Week magazine asked their readers to vote for the most popular personalities on television. The magazine, which had changed its name from TV-Radio Week and expanded into Sydney, was still largely a Melbourne-centric publication with a direct association with GTV-9 (Channel 9) in Melbourne.
The poll reflected this when Melbourne personality Graham Kennedy won the inaugural readers’ award in January 1959 — a forerunner of the Logies.
Kennedy didn’t really need the publicity boost as he was already a household name due to his hugely popular nightly variety TV show In Melbourne Tonight and would go on to become a TV legend, introduced to younger audiences after the 2007 telemovie The King based on his
life story.
He shared the title with his variety show “barrel girl” Panda Lisner. Although the Logies officially started in 1960 and were named by Kennedy (who later wished he had suggested the Kennedys or Grahams), Lisner is often cited as the first Gold Logie winner along with Kennedy.
Lisner, who was often described as “the dumb blonde” was not one who managed to parlay her win into greater fame. After years as Kennedy’s foil she obviously had had enough when, in 1961, she married American musician Jimmy Allan and went to live in the US. She would return to Australia but kept a low profile until her death in 2011.
Most people probably don’t know the name Hazel Phillips, the 1960s daytime TV favourite for her appearances on variety shows, panel show Beauty And The Beast, The Barry Crocker Show and her own chat show Girl Talk, which won her the Gold Logie in 1967.
But while she remained busy doing guest roles on TV and in theatre in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, she was largely forgotten by TV viewers when she no longer had her own show.
She appeared with other Gold Logie winning women in a “Golden Girls” number at the 1989 Logies. In 2002 her profile lifted again with a critically acclaimed Marilyn Monroe cabaret show, but in 2011 she made a comeback to remind people “I am still alive” as a contestant on Australia’s Got Talent. She made it to the semi finals.
Another name that vanished from Australian screens soon after his Gold Logie win in 1963 win was Michael Charlton. The high-profile presenter was the first person to appear on ABC-TV when it began broadcasting in 1956 and also one of the founders of Four Corners.
After winning his Logie he went to England where he appeared on the BBC’s Panorama. While he popped up occasionally in Australia thereafter, often at significant ABC TV events, he is mostly only remembered by viewers who saw him in the ’50s and ’60s.
While the Gold Logie is usually given to a seasoned performer, the Logie for best new talent (or outstanding newcomer) honours someone who has just appeared on the TV scene, showing great promise.
While some such as Lisa McCune and Gary McDonald have gone from newcomers to Gold Logie winners, others have gone on to obscurity. Home And Away star Stephen Comey was the 1983 winner but quit acting soon after and is now an event manager.
Nicolle Dickson, also a Home And Away alumni, won Gold in 1989 but she too vanished from our TV screens and now works in real estate.
Nic Testoni was another Home And Away star who promised big things as winner of the best newcomer Logie in 1996 but he eventually packed in the acting in favour of producing and directing.
Originally published as Winning a Gold Logie is not always a passport to stardom
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