I said that if I did win it, I would have all the nominees’ initials tattooed on my...
Larry Emdur, 2024 Gold Logie winner
This year's Logies are in the past, and we have the echoes of laughter and the warm glow of celebration still to savour. Well, that, and the fact that the Logies are uniquely ours. They're our chance to celebrate home-grown talent and innovation, in television presenting and entertaining. Even the behind-the-scenes, technical work to bring our shows to air has its moment in the spotlight.
Yet, the glitz and glamour pass so quickly. And then, it's another event for the record book, a book that grows thicker each year. As we have the history book open, ready to consign this year's edition to it, let's flip through the pages to relive past Logies:
Logies History:
- how and when the show got its start
- Logie developments through the years
- Notable Logie wins (and oversights!)
- Logie scandals and controversies
Logie Awards: How They Began
As screen-laden as our lives are today, it's hard to believe that less than a lifetime ago, Australians were keenly anticipating their first home screen. Here, television went mainstream in 1956, after decades of dabbling that bore little fruit.
During that test phase, which started in 1929, broadcasts were local, bland, shallow and short - lasting up to one hour. By contrast, television viewers in the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) had been enjoying nightly broadcasts since before the Second World War.
Granted, the fare was nowhere near as plentiful as today's programming choices. However, those two nations' systems influenced Australia's broadcast model.
The US commercialised their broadcasts from the start. The UK funded its programming through viewer licensing. Australian decision-makers opted for the UK funding model, at first. Later, a blend of commercial and publicly funded stations became our television broadcast model.
Good evening, and welcome to television.
Bruce Gyngell
Mr Bruce Gyngell, a legend of broadcast media - first in radio, then television, thus debuted our country's new medium. The studio he sent his welcome from, TCN-9 Sydney, was (and still is) the Nine Network's flagship station. The Nine Network has strong ties to the TV Week Logie Awards - the Logies, in local speak.
In Melbourne Tonight presents the first TV Week Awards, sponsored by TV Week magazine.
The first edition of the show that eventually became the Logies featured eight categories and only considered personalities from the Melbourne area for recognition. Graham Kennedy, the host of In Melbourne Tonight, won the Star of the Year grand prize. This prestigious award later evolved into what we now know as the Gold Logie, the highest honour at the Australian TV awards.
Over the years, the Logies expanded in scope, embracing talent from across Australia, and have since become a beloved tradition. Today, they celebrate excellence in television across various genres and categories, continuing to highlight the best of Australian TV.
Major Logie Milestones
A year after receiving his coveted prize, Mr Graham Kennedy renamed the Logie award, in honour of John Logie Baird. This Scottish engineer pioneered television technology in 1926, and designed the first colour television picture tubes.
It took years for colour television to make its way to Australian broadcasting, but the annual celebration of TV excellence carried on. The name change, from TV Week Star Awards to Logie Awards, marked the broadcast's 1960 edition.
From then on, this Australian television event celebrated other notable 'firsts'.
1961
First television broadcast
The Australian Broadcasting Company airs the show's first half-hour
1962
Lorrae Desmond wins the Gold Logie
She becomes the first female entertainer to claim gold
1968
Host Bert Newton decries the lack of female representation
Producers add the 'Most Popular Female in Television' category
1975
The Logies broadcast in colour for the first time
1984
TV Week introduces the Hall of Fame Logies
TV producer Hector Crawford is the first inductee
1997
Agro's Cartoon Connection's record-breaking win
Seven consecutive wins for Most Popular Children's Program
2006
Logies celebrates its 50th year; adds a new category
Award for Most Outstanding Newcomer honours Graham Kennedy
2022
The 'Most Popular Presenter' category changes its name
It's renamed the Bert Newton Award, to honour the legendary presenter
2023
First nomination for an Indigenous Australian
Mark Coles Smith - Kalaji, receives a Gold Logie nomination.
2024
Producers revamp vote-counting
'Best' category votes will comprise the popular, industry, and jury votes.
The 2022 change in category title, from 'Most Popular Presenter' to 'Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter' represents a significant shift. This nod towards Australian television history honours the fifth Logie Hall of Fame inductee.
Albert 'Bert' Newton was one of our top presenters; he hosted the Logies no fewer than 17 times. He was a four-time Gold Logie recipient himself. His induction into our Hall of Fame was but one chapter of unforgettable Gold Logie history.
The Evolution of the Logie Voting Process
TV Week executed a stroke of genius with its Logie voting process. From the show's earliest editions, its sponsors invited viewing audiences to vote for their favourites.
In those early days, only viewers in Victoria could participate in this initiative. They only needed to buy a copy of TV Week, choose their candidates in the (10) listed categories, and mail in their ballots.
The strategy was a marketing masterstroke. Rod Lever, TV Week magazine's editor, declared that "the voting response had been magnificent."
A mere three years is all it took for the venture to go nationwide. This expansion saw more people than ever buy their copy of TV Week, if only during the Logie voting season.
Prior to 2018: public voting opened in December/January; the show aired in late April/early May. Since 2018: voting opens in March, for a July celebration.
TV Week's 'coupon' voting system lasted until 2008. For the first time that year, internet voting made the magazine's coupons unnecessary. Two years before that, TV Week debuted voting by SMS, but viewing audiences still needed to the magazine to know who the candidates were.
As our timetable reveals, the Logies have expanded on the number of categories open to awards. As of 2024, the contest boasted 23 categories. However, the public vote only covers 11 categories. The industry vote decides the rest of the winners.
Public vote categories
- Most popular actor/actress
- Most popular presenter
- Most popular new talent
- Most popular program awards (6 categories)
- Most popular Australian TV personality (Gold Logie vote!)
Industry vote categories
- Outstanding actor/actress
- Outstanding supporting actor/actress
- Outstanding program (8 categories)
- Logie Hall of Fame (Gold Logie vote!)
Over the broadcast's 66 years, producers adopted - and abandoned, a number of categories. Sometimes, the decision of which categories to include revolves around changing tastes in entertainment fare.
For instance, variety shows were huge from the early 60s to the mid-70s. As they fell out of favour, TV Week no longer had a reason to celebrate that category's performers. Today, 'reality' programming dominates, but this category might suffer the same fate as the 'Most Popular Sports Program' vote. That one was grand for 30 years, but retired from the lineup in 2017.
However, we just don't understand why the 'Most popular commercial' category keeps coming and going. It first appeared in 1977, but disappeared after 1978, and returned only in 2019 - but only for that year. How can that be, when a YouTube search brings up pages of the best Aussie adverts?
By no means does this section deliver everything you need to know about Logie Awards voting. But it's enough to help you understand the process, and how the show's producers choose which categories to promote.
Notable Logie Wins (and Upsets)
Now, we bask in the lingering glow of this year's Awards. Viewers with a nostalgic bent might compare this year's spectacle to top moments of Logies past.
Times like when a fictional character won a Logie (1976: 'Norman Gunston', the only fictional character winner, ever). Or the year we had to cancel the Logies (2020) - because we had to cancel everything else, so why not?
Still, we can't help but remark on who wasn't there, this year. Like a tongue that can't help roving over a missing tooth's space, we keep wondering why Amanda Keller was not invited.
She is a former Gold Logie winner - TV gold, so the saying goes. So, why the snub, two years in a row?
It appears no one was deemed worthy enough to receive it.
Bert Newton
For some viewers, Amanda's snub was a throwback to the stand Bert took in 1968, which made the 'Best Female actor' category a permanent staple. For others, the Hall of Fame inductee was the slap. How could Amanda be passed over? She's been in the business as long as Rebecca, and she's a native Australian, too.
This year's Logie Awards gave us much to celebrate, and many unforgettable moments. Larry Emdur's confession, on its own, is enough to keep the pubs roaring with laughter. And who could forget Felix Cameron's heartfelt speech, or Sam Pang's barbs? Awkward jokes, rude gaffes, and Rebecca's Hall of Fame induction; all of these and more are why we Aussies love our Logies.
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