Ah, the magic of television. After 40 years in the business, veteran host Larry Emdur was so convinced he wouldn't win the Gold Logie, he made a foolish promise. Login or signup to continue reading If he won, he would have the initials of his fellow nominees tattooed on his bum, live on Seven's The Morning Show.
Fast forward past the golden confetti and the standing ovation to the morning after - with Emdur on set, lying on a tattoo bed, looking decidedly uncomfortable as the buzz of the needle began. "Is this permanent?" he asked. "I just need you to stay still," warned Zach Spiros from Bondi Ink, who said the firmness of Emdur's buttock flesh was "not the greatest".
And thus the outline of a Logies statue, with the initials of Julia Morris, Robert Irwin, Asher Keddie, Sonia Kruger, Tony Armstrong and Andy Lee inside its little television screen, was engraved onto Larry Emdur's behind. Was this actually television genius that would deliver a ratings fillip for The Morning Show? Perhaps not even television's friendliest host, his bum strategically covered in a towel, could say. "I love being in TV, I love being on TV, I've never done anything else, I've never ever wanted to do anything else," Emdur said in his speech on Sunday night.
And even though his adult children haven't watched free-to-air television in about 15 years, he said they are proud of him for one thing. "Apparently it's rhyming slang now that if you're going on a bender, you're going on a Larry Emdur," he said. By the time his Gold Logie was announced just before midnight, it appeared many in the crowd at The Star casino in Sydney had indeed been going on a Larry Emdur - though there is no word on how many of them woke up with ink they will live to regret.
Among the night's other big winners was Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe, which swallowed the Logies with five wins from a record 10 nominations. The show's 15-year-old star Felix Cameron won the Silver Logie for Best Lead Actor in a Drama as well as Most Popular New Talent. "This is quite crazy - the last award that I won before this was student of the week in Grade Five," Cameron said.
Best Lead Actress in a Drama went to Deborah Mailman for Total Control. It was also a great night for the ABC's long-running Utopia, which won three Logies including Best Scripted Comedy. Actress Rebecca Gibney was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame, one-of-only-four women to receive the accolade.
For the second consecutive year comedian Sam Pang hosted the ceremony, opening with a snappy monologue - this time with cameos from Stephen Fry and Anthony Albanese ("I'm sure it will be better, I mean easier, than last year"). Perhaps the good and the bad of Logies night was best encapsulated by Australian Olympic breakdancer Raygun, who appeared in a surprise video message to deliver sincere words of support for the nominees. "Please feel free to pull out any of my signature moves in celebration," she said.
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