The 62nd annual TV Week Logie Awards were meant to happen this Sunday 28 June. While the awards will not be taking place this year, we continue the annual rundown of past Logies presentations to coincide with what would have been Logies weekend. Today, it’s back to 1995 — 25 years ago…
A Current Affair host Ray Martin was awarded the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality On Australian Television at the 37th annual TV Week Logie Awards.
The awards were held for the first time at the Melbourne Concert Hall and broadcast on the Seven Network. It was the third, and final, time that the Logies were covered by Seven. The awards were held on Friday 28 April 1995, marking a return to Friday night after the previous year’s Sunday night presentation.
Martin’s Gold Logie win made him the first person to win three consecutive Gold Logies and brought his overall tally to four. His win comes after making the switch from hosting Midday to A Current Affair in 1994. And A Current Affair also won Most Popular Public Affairs Program.
Hosts for the night were Andrew Daddo and Noni Hazlehurst. Daddo became the youngest to have hosted the Logies, while Hazlehurst was the first female. “We were very glad we were there for each other,” Hazlehurst told TV Week. “My hat is off to Bert (Newton) and Ray (Martin) and all of those guys who have done it in the past, because on your own it’s scary.”
Seven’s Home And Away collected three Logies, with co-stars Dieter Brummer and Melissa George awarded Most Popular Actor and Actress, and Home And Away winning Most Popular Series.
Other publicly-voted winners for Seven included The Battlers for Most Popular Drama, Full Frontal for Most Popular Comedy Program, Agro’s Cartoon Connection for Most Popular Children’s Program (for the fourth year running), and Blue Heelers star Lisa McCune for Most Popular New Talent.
Nine’s Hey Hey It’s Saturday collected three Logies — with host Daryl Somers (pictured with wife Julie) winning Most Popular Light Entertainment Personality and Most Popular Comedy Personality. And Hey Hey It’s Saturday won Most Popular Light Entertainment Program.
Network Ten‘s only win was for its coverage of the 1994 Commonwealth Games for Most Popular Sports Program.
Leading the industry-voted categories is the Gold Logie for the TV Week Logie Awards Hall Of Fame — won by actor Jack Thompson (pictured). The award, presented to him by his brother, film critic Peter Thompson, recognised a career that began almost 30 years earlier — when he starred in the short-lived 1968 daytime soap, Motel. His career then led to a string of roles in film and television, in Australia and also overseas. At the time of his Hall of Fame win, Thompson was working on the Hollywood film Last Dance, co-starring with Sharon Stone and Rob Morrow.
ABC as usual dominated much of the other industry-voted categories, with wins for drama Janus (and actor Chris Haywood winning Most Outstanding Actor) and Monica Maughan (pictured) from The Damnation Of Harvey McHugh winning Most Outstanding Actress.
The current affairs satire Frontline won Most Outstanding Achievement In Comedy, while real current affairs show Four Corners won Most Outstanding Achievement In Public Affairs for its report “Inside A Holocaust”. ABC News won Most Outstanding Achievement In News for its report, “Rwanda Refugee Crisis”.
Fifty Years Of Silence won the Logie for Most Outstanding Documentary. The documentary told the story of Jan Ruff-O’Herne, one of thousands of girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. The documentary also won an AFI Award.
Newcastle-based regional network NBN won Most Outstanding Contribution By Regional Television for its documentary, Sandakan: The Untold Story. The program covered the story of the allied soldiers, many of whom were from northern New South Wales, who were imprisoned at Sandakan in Borneo during World War II by the Japanese. Only six of the 2,500 prisoners survived.
International guest stars included Dean Cain, Mark Curry, Holly Robinson and Big Bird. On stage the dance ensemble Hot Taps gave a musical tribute to 20 years of colour TV in Australia, while Big Bird was joined by Alyssa-Jane Cook and a group of talented kids to give a salute to children’s TV. The Logies after-party at Melbourne’s Grand Hyatt featured Mental As Anything while off-beat performance artists mingled with the stars.
TV Week Logie Winners 1995: Public Voting Categories:
Gold Logie — Most Popular Personality: Ray Martin
Silver Logie — Most Popular Actor: Dieter Brummer (Home And Away)
Silver Logie — Most Popular Actress: Melissa George (Home And Away)
Most Popular Series: Home And Away (Seven)
Most Popular Drama: The Battlers (Seven)
Most Popular Light Entertainment Program: Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Nine)
Most Popular Light Entertainment Personality: Daryl Somers (Hey Hey It’s Saturday)
Most Popular Comedy Program: Full Frontal (Seven)
Most Popular Comedy Personality: Daryl Somers (Hey Hey It’s Saturday)
Most Popular Public Affairs Program: A Current Affair (Nine)
Most Popular Lifestyle-Information Program: Burke’s Backyard (Nine)
Most Popular Sports Program: Commonwealth Games (Ten)
Most Popular Children’s Program: Agro’s Cartoon Connection (Seven)
Most Popular New Talent: Lisa McCune (Blue Heelers)
TV Week Logie Winners 1995: Industry Voted Categories:
Gold Logie — Hall of Fame: Jack Thompson
Silver Logie — Most Outstanding Actor: Chris Haywood (Janus)
Silver Logie — Most Outstanding Actress: Monica Maughan (The Damnation Of Harvey McHugh)
Most Outstanding Achievement In Drama Production: Janus (ABC)
Most Outstanding Documentary: Fifty Years Of Silence (ABC)
Most Outstanding Achievement In News: “Rwanda Refugee Crisis” (ABC News)
Most Outstanding Achievement In Public Affairs: “Inside A Holocaust”, Four Corners (ABC)
Most Outstanding Achievement In Comedy: Frontline (ABC)
Most Outstanding Achievement By A Regional Network: Sandakan: The Untold Story (NBN)
Source: TV Week, 29 April 1995, 6 May 1995.