It’s hard to imagine what Australia’s TV landscape would look like without this year’s TV WEEK Logie Hall Of Fame inductee Brian Walsh.
The television executive, who sadly passed away in March aged 67, helped Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce and Nicole Kidman become household names.
Brian sadly passed away in March aged 67.
(Image: Getty)When he was at Network 10, Brian played a key role in transforming Neighbours, after it was axed by Channel Seven, into a global phenomenon. And he was the creative force behind one of the most iconic TV ad campaigns of all time – the Simply The Best NRL season launch in 1990 featuring US superstar Tina Turner.
After joining Foxtel in 1995, Brian went on to oversee several big dramas for the network, including TV WEEK favourite Wentworth, Deadline Gallipoli, The Kettering Incident, A Place To Call Home (after it was canned by Seven) and more recently Upright, The End, Colin From Accounts and The Twelve.
Actress Marta Dusseldorp dedicated her Most Outstanding Actress nomination for The Twelve to the late TV executive.
“I cried three times [after her nomination was announced] just remembering him,” Marta, 50, tells TV WEEK. “He was such a mentor for me and such a believer for so many people.”
Brian played a key role in transforming Neighbours.
(Image: Getty)From the outset, Marta says Brian really championed the legal drama The Twelve, this year’s Logie Award winner for Most Outstanding Drama.
“He was so passionate about The Twelve,” she says. “He rang me and said, ‘I’ve got this great show and I’d love you to be a part of it.’ He was a very open, collaborative man and he loved actors. He absolutely adored actors and you really felt that.”
Marta adds that Brian would often sneak onto the set of a drama, as he did for The Twelve.
“I was on set and could feel something – Brian was standing in the doorway and he gave me a wink and a smile,” she recalls. “I cherish it [the memory].”
