“Forty years I’ve been in this business, and for 25 maybe 30 times I have sat in this room and wondered what it’s like sitting on this fancy table down here,” Emdur said.
“S--t, I just remembered, I did say that if I won this, I would have all the nominees tattooed on my arse live tomorrow morning. So, see you on the morning show tomorrow, right? Sorry Sylvie I know we had some fancy hotel time planned but looks like I will be doing squats all night.”
Larry Emdur is showered in confetti as he collects the Gold Logie.Credit: Seven Network
Emdur said he loved working in the industry. “I love being in TV and I love being on TV and I have never done anything else and I never wanted to do anything else. Whether it is sitting on The Morning Show couch talking to Lindy Klim about her new product, a face mask for vulvas, or a 150kg truck driver who just won a terracotta bird bath on price is right, I love it.
“Being TV’s most axed man, there has been time for self-doubt. Red Symons, we saw earlier, the first time I got to host Hey Hey it’s Saturday and Red came up to me beforehand and said, if your eyes were any closer together they’d be in the one socket. So times like that, I think I shouldn’t be in this business. It is about my shows, The Chase, The Morning Show, 17 years we have been doing our thing,” he said.
“My TV wife, Kylie Gillies, thank you for absolutely everything. We clicked 17 years ago and we never unclicked. To my real family, my mum and my two sisters, I love you so much, to my late dad, who on the first day going to Channel 7 he said, just be nice to everyone. That was 40 years ago and I remember it to this day. After a while he said, hey how it is going, and I said Dad, there are so many assholes in this business.”
Emdur has been in the business so long he doesn’t need to tell his kids to go to be in awards nights speeches. “They’re 30 and 28, they can do whatever they like.”
He said his kids hadn’t watched free-to-air TV for about 15 years but were proud of him. “Apparently it’s rhyming slang now that if you’re going on a bender, you’re going on a Larry Emdur, so they’re proud of me for that.
He also thanked his wife Sylvie. “After Price is Right, she stuck by me. To my fellow nominees, you guys are all rockstars, and worthy to be up here, I love you all. I had the names of my fellow nominees stitched into the pocket of my suit jacket, because I want to remember this night, this campaign. It is so special to me.,” he said, showing the audience the stitched names. “Let’s get on a Larry Emdur everyone.”