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Samuel Johnson wins Gold Logie

Sam Johnson takes Gold and Silver, before being upstaged by the guru in the hat.

Actor Samuel Johnson has won the Gold Logie for his performance as Molly Meldrum.

Johnson, who credits his sister Connie with campaigning for him to win Gold and Silver Logies, thanked family and the arts community, who had taught him “to work harder, to pursue excellence… I did none of that.

“You’ve given me such wondrous shelter over the last 23 years and I feel indebted and I want to say thank you.”

Johnson won ahead of fellow nominees Grant Denyer, Jessica Marais, Peter Helliar, Rodger Corser and Waleed Aly.

But the moment was upstaged by Molly Meldrum with colourful memories of seeing Johnson’s work and the drama of having his life portrayed on screen …. but not without dropping a few F-Bombs and frank admissions, as only Molly can do.

In a Logies which was notable for its lack of off-script moments -it was Molly who gave it the most memorable moment.

32 Responses

  1. Anyone who thinks Sam Johnson didn’t deserve to win Gold last night has rocks in their head, in my opinion. Like Fiona has said, “Molly” was simply the catalyst that allowed Australia to acknowledge his career as a great Aussie actor.

    Why can’t people just be happy for others when they win awards, even if it’s not their first choice? It’s no skin off your nose. I never wanted Hamish Blake to win Gold, but he did.

    In regards to the fundraising for Love Your Sister, before you make public assumptions about where the funds they are raising are going, I would advise that you contact Love Your Sister and ask them for yourselves. That way you don’t make a fool of yourself.

    1. grrargh722: Great comment! I was going to post in defence of Sam but you have clearly expressed my thoughts and (I believe) the thoughts of many people. Sam is a talented actor and his cancer advocacy is admirable and sincere.

  2. Congratulations to Samuel Johnson on his Gold Logie win. I saw the Molly telemovie recently on DVD and Samuel did a great job portraying Molly. I hope this win gets him back into acting at some point. Sam was great on The Secret Life of Us and Rush.

    1. Yeah, I too liked Secret Life of Us and Rush (still annoyed at how Rush ended).

      I thought Molly was a bit lacking though. I felt it didn’t cover enough as it didn’t really touch on any of the more recent times or even up to when he got on Hey Hey It’s Saturday.

  3. Like the Oscars,the Logies do drag on too long.Four hours is way too long for a show that doesn’t exactly hand out that many awards.I thought Samuel Johnson’s award was well deserved,but Molly’s appearance was a little cringe worthy.I really couldn’t understand half of what he was saying,but I guess he was enjoying his moment in the spotlight.

    The big surprise for me was A Place to call Home winning for best drama.As far as I know this show has never won any major awards before,and I don’t think anyone expected it to win this time.I think most people were expecting Wentworth to win again after the great season they had last year.

      1. Most definitely looked like that word. Actually Noni looked really cranky and p*issed off for a moment there…perhaps just a stunned reaction.

  4. Yes, Samuel Johnson was great in Molly and deserved the Popular Actor award (and Outstanding Actor nomination). And has been a great actor in most of his work over the years.

    However, I am mixed with his Gold Logie win. Yes, he was great in Molly, but he was only in 180 minutes of television in 2016 (2 episodes). I prefer someone to win that has been on air a little longer. Is this the first time that someone one (and even been nominated) for a mini-series/ telemovie?

    1. Agree!!
      Samuel definitely deserved the Most Popular Actor Logie as he was outstanding in Molly.
      But really the Gold Logie should have gone to someone who is currently on television .. Jessica was robbed ! Understandable she looked really disappointed not to have won- really thought it was her year this year. She is a wonderful actress and has been on so many recent high profile dramas.
      A touching moment when Molly presented Sam with the golden hat but agree he rambled on quite incoherently for too long beforehand and it all became quite cringe-worthy.
      I love Molly but perhaps one too many drinks imbibed on the night.

        1. Yes, of course. Molly has made a remarkable recovery considering the severity of his accident .
          I realise his speech has been affected by his brain injury but in recent interviews he was still reasonably easy to understand.
          Last night he just seemed a lot more incoherent – but good on him. He was really enjoying himself up there. Such a lovely guy and an institution – grew up watching Molly on Countdown. He truly is one of a kind.

    2. I suppose it all depends on what you think the Gold Logie represents. Opposite to you, I get very annoyed when it won by someone who happens to be this year’s Flavour of the Month. Nobody should ever win it who has only been on one show (unless that show was a ground-breaking one that has lasted for more than twenty years). Ideally it should go to someone who has played multiple roles (or presenting gigs) showing versatility in the range of those roles, and who preferrably has also expanded into some other situation where their work benefits society in some way.

      Not many recent winners fit the award… but then again, maybe there should be a Most Outstanding Gold Logie (a Platinum Logie?) where it is not just popular vote.

  5. I’m calling it now – Lisa Wilkinson will win the Gold in 2018. There seems to have been a few articles and comments made in the last few weeks around why she has never even been nominated. I reckon Nine will run with that next year and campaign strongly for her to get it.

  6. I have a feeling that Molly could’ve given the big speech when Samuel won the first logie but he seemed to have gone missing from the table? Gudinski and others went up on the stage with Sam and gave a speech but there was no Molly to be seen? Must’ve been out having a break!

  7. I think Samuel said everything he could (he lost his place in his notes and then just threw them up in the air and invited Molly to speak). I don’t think anyone expected Molly to go on for so long, though (they really should have wrapped him up, or just allowed him to present the hat, which was actually a nice touch).

    I’d like to see Jessica Marais win next year, to be honest. Of all of this year’s nominees, she’s the only one who didn’t score their first nomination either this year or last year (which is remarkable). She’s paid her dues and been nominated for four different programs over the years (“Rafters”, “Love Child”, “Wrong Girl” and “Carlotta”). It’s time!

  8. Yes extremely disappointed by this result. He has not been on tv for 15 months and wins gold logie. Deserved best actor for sure but not gold. What a joke. Absolute Rubbish.

  9. Fantastic winner 🙂 Congrats Sam!

    Very well deserved, his portrayal as Molly Meldrum on “Molly” on Channel 7 last year was brilliant.

    Part 1 of the telemovie pulled in 2.1m viewers in the 5 cities too

  10. The West Australian newspaper here in Perth just tweeted the news article at 10:11pm WST and the Logies haven’t finished as we are of course on the 2 hour delay.

  11. A surprise win, I guess I can’t get them right every year. I would have liked to hear Samuel speak more, rather than have his moment of glory hijacked by Molly. Overal, apart from Hughseys opening, quite dull comapred to last years.

    1. It’s a TV awards night, not a cancer fundraiser. He was on TV for 2 x 90 minute episodes that aired over 12 months ago but he’s named the most popular personality in Australia? Nope.

        1. She’s probably proud I get my spelling correct in online comments. And as a cancer survivor I know how little of the funds go to where they need to. So yeah, mum’s proud.

      1. >> It’s a TV awards night, not a cancer fundraiser.

        You mean, just like Carrie Bickmore in 2015?

        >> He was on TV for 2 x 90 minute episodes that aired over 12 months ago but he’s named the most popular personality in Australia? Nope.

        You mean, there was a Facebook campaign just like Hamish Blake in 2012?

        The Logies are a sham – and have been for years.

      2. “Molly” was just the catalyst that forced Australia to acknowledge a long, quality career. I prefer to think he won it for the body of his work.

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