Gold, silver… and a touch of brass!
The 32nd annual TV Week Logie Awards, held at Melbourne’s Hyatt On Collins, honoured the most popular and outstanding achievements of Australian TV in 1989. Hosted by Mark Mitchell, the presentation was attended by overseas guests John Travolta, Ernest Borgnine, Pauline Collins and John Alderton, with Australian actress Sigrid Thornton, currently based on the US, also a special guest. Also present on the night was the ever-glamorous Dame Edna Everage and a special appearance by jazz musician James Morrison.  The official proceedings of the night culminated with Travolta handing out the TV Week Gold Logie to former Neighbours star Craig McLachlan as Most Popular Personality on Australian TV.  McLachlan, now starring in rival soap Home And Away, also took away a Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor, and his partner Rachel Friend won the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actress.

TV Week Logie Winners 1990: Publicly-voted categories
Gold Logie – Most Popular Personality On Australian TV: Craig McLachlan
Silver Logie – Most Popular Actor On Australian TV: Craig McLachlan
Silver Logie – Most Popular Actress On Australian TV: Rachel Friend
Most Popular Series: Neighbours
Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Program: The Comedy Company
Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Personality: Daryl Somers
Most Popular Sports Coverage: Cricket (Nine Network)
Most Popular Telemovie/Mini-Series: Bangkok Hilton
Most Popular Actor In A Telemovie/Mini-Series: Jason Donovan
Most Popular Actress In A Telemovie/Mini-Series: Nicole Kidman
Most Popular Lifestyle Information Program: Burke’s Backyard
Most Popular Music Video: Never Too Late (Kylie Minogue)
Most Popular Children’s Program: Wombat
Most Popular New Talent: Georgie Parker
Most Popular Public Affairs Program: A Current Affair

TV Week Logie Winners 1990: Industry-voted categories
Gold Logie – Hall of Fame: Johnny Young
Most Outstanding Actor: Shane Porteous
Most Outstanding Actress: Nicole Kidman
Most Outstanding Achievement In Public Affairs: True Believers (4 Corners)
Most Outstanding Achievement In News: Romanian Revolution (Nine Network)
Most Outstanding Single Documentary Or Series: Ladies In Lines (ABC)
Most Outstanding Achievement By Regional Television: My Place, My Land, My People (QTV, Townsville, QLD)

TV Week Logie Winners 1990: State-based categories (Most Popular Personality, Most Popular Program)
New South Wales: Ray Martin, Home And Away
Victoria: Daryl Somers, Neighbours
Queensland: Jill Ray, Wombat
South Australia: Anne Wills, Wheel Of Fortune
Western Australia: Rick Ardon, Seven Nightly News
Tasmania: Bert Taylor, Taylor’s Australia

Briefly…
There’s wedding bells for several of the team from Seven’s Acropolis Now – with producer Pino Amenta now engaged to make-up artist Amanda Rowbottom, Simon Palomares engaged to co-star Tracey Callander, and George Kapiniaris engaged to make-up artist Peta Hastings.  Pictured on stage at the recent TV Week Logie Awards are Nick Giannopoulos, Simon Palomares and George Kapiniaris.

Swimming champion Lisa Curry has become the first Australian woman to host a sports show, joining Mark Warren on the Nine Network’s Sports Sunday.

Dozens of celebrities from around Australia, including showbusiness names and sports stars, have gathered at the South Melbourne Cricket Ground for the annual Variety Club Celebrity Thrill, including Aussie rules handball contests, basketball, golf putting, croquet and a tug of war.  The event, now in its sixth year, was attended by thousands of fans with proceeds going to the Variety Club program for underprivileged children.

John Laws says…
”Comedienne Gretel Killeen showed a measure of courage unusual in the TV industry when she decided to leave Nine’s Coast To Coast after only two weeks as a co-presenter.  Or was it that she saw, with alarming clarity, the writing on the wall and decided to quit before she copped at least some of the blame for a TV Titanic?  The ratings and the press criticisms should force Nine to the realisation that Coast To Coast was no more than a clever comedy vehicle for Graham Kennedy, and that without him the program is extremely vulnerable, particularly in the face of Steve Vizard’s rapidly-improving Tonight Live on Seven.  What Coast To Coast needs, perhaps, is someone like Kerri-Anne Kennerley, a TV trouper who knows how to smile, how to laugh, and how to crack a funny ad-lib gag.”

Program Highlights (March 17-23):
Saturday:  ABC presents live coverage of Day 3 of the Trans-Tasman Test, Australia versus New Zealand, from Wellington, New Zealand.  In the evening, HSV7 presents live coverage of the Fosters Cup Grand Final.
Sunday:  ABC has live coverage of Day 4 of the Trans-Tasman Test, live from New Zealand, while GTV9 crosses live to Adelaide for the FAI Cup, South Australia versus New South Wales.  Sunday night movies are Lethal Weapon (GTV9) and Mask (ATV10).  HSV7 presents Part One of the mini-series All The Rivers Run II, starring John Waters (pictured), Nikki Coghill, Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell, Peta Toppano and American actor Parker Stevenson.
Monday:  HSV7 presents the second and final part of All The Rivers Run II, while ABC presents the debut of Wendy Harmer’s new talk show, In Harmer’s Way.
Wednesday:  ABC presents the controversial telemovie, Police Crop, recreating the events that led to the assassination of Assistant Commissioner Colin Winchester.
Friday:  Dorothy’s (Maggie Dence) arrival in Neighbours causes problems for Joe (Mark Little), while Jim (Alan Dale) tries to come to terms with the return of Beverley’s (Shauna O’Grady) old flame.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.
17 March 1990. Southdown Press.