It had been less than two weeks since Samuel Johnson had taken out the 2017 Logie for Best Actor for his portrayal of Molly Meldrum in Molly but already, it had gone walkabout.
He’d put the silver statue to work (his Gold Logie safely at home) at The Brunswick Hotel, his local pub, so customers could take selfies with it – a percentage of all drinks sold during the two-week loan period going to his sister Connie’s Love Your Sister cancer charity.
However Sam told The Herald Sun he had one very important loan condition – if the trophy was lost or stolen the pub would need to donate 50 cents from every drink sold for a lifetime. Which would have been great for cancer research, not so great for the pub’s bottom line… and it almost nearly became a reality.
On Wednesday evening, the statue went missing after two men had asked to take a photo with it. Thankfully, Police managed to track down the coveted TV prize and return it to the pub.
“We got it back,” publican Richard Cruk told Channel Nine. “It had a little bit of a break [from the pub] overnight – a sleepover at the police station – but it’s back here safe and sound.”
“I’ll give it a polish tonight and put it back behind the bar.”
According to Police, the statue had been thrown into the bushes at a nearby golf course and the two men responsible arrested. However, Sam did not wish to pursue charges.
The Logie is now back on the job doing what it does best, collecting coins and notes all in the name of breast cancer research.
