Industry luminary, the late Brian Walsh, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at TV Week Logie Awards next Sunday.
Becomes the first to represent Subscription TV in the roll call of 39 years of recruits and the sixth to be recognized posthumously.
Walsh, who died suddenly on March 16 of the year and was Executive Director of Drama at Foxtel Group but had decades in the industry, including spearheading an inspirational marketing campaign for Neighborhood 2.0, saving it from the Sydney cleaver and helping it become a global phenomenon.
He joined Foxtel in 1995, commissioning successful shows including Love My Way, SLiDE, Satisfaction, Australia’s next supermodel, Tcorner, Selling Houses Australia, Deadline Gallipoli, The Great Australian Bake Off, The Real Housewives of Melbourne, Gogglebox, A place to call home, Secret City, Wentworth, Upright, Deadline Gallipoli, The Kettering Incident, The End, Love Me, Colin from Accounts AND The Twelve – the most nominated drama this year.
Walsh has launched countless careers behind and in front of the camera throughout his career, continuing to work right through to the end.
As said Amanda Laing, Chief Commercial and Content Officer of Foxtel Group TV tonight“Walshie’s” vision and contributions went far beyond that.
“There weren’t enough hours in the day for all the things he was doing, to connect with people, to keep up with what was happening in the industry, to make connections from one person to another,” she said
“There were so many facets to what he was doing, not just his work for Foxtel, but the industry, with AACTA, writers, talent, musicians, producers and of course he loved theatre. The thing that continues to shock me is the sheer volume of things he was involved in and the number of people he worked with and connected with on a daily and frequent basis.
“See the cast of The Twelve and that fabulous jury. A combination of well-known talents and new talents. That was one of his many gifts – his ability to bring these ensembles together and identify new and emerging talent…. it’s part art / part science. It’s not something you can teach.
Laing says Walsh’s passion for Australian storytelling meant he was always offering information to multiple departments and disciplines within Foxtel, even as the restructuring has seen changes to his corporate role.
“He never said, ‘I’m not responsible for that,’ and walked away. That’s why, even as the formal role has changed and several reorganizations have occurred, people across the company have still come to him for guidance and sage advice, and he’s always made time for all of them.”
TV Week Logie Awards 7pm red carpet / 7:30pm ceremony Sunday July 30th on Seven.
