HAZEL PHILLIPS PETITION for 2026 LOGIES HALL OF FAME
The issue
Hazel Phillips OAM.
I'm her son, Scott.
My Mum has worked as an interviewer in Hollywood, where she interviewed numerous stars, such as Bing Crosby, Paul Newman, Omar Sharif, Fess Parker, Peter Graves, Eve Arden, Agnes Moorhead and the cast of Hogan's Heroes including Bob Crane. My brother and I went with her, so we got to go to Disneyland and walk down Hollywood Boulevard.
Mum has the apparent distinction of playing the world's second lesbian character on TV, after Toni Lamond. The character Marie Crowther on the serial Number 96.
She has appeared in numerous films including the Australian film Belinda in 1988, The Set in 1970 and more recently in 2021, the Netflix film, Love and Monsters, and scheduled in a Paramount film starring Sam Neill.
She is often depicted as Australia's answer to Betty White in terms of career success and longevity.
Mum started her career at radio 2UW, having won a talent contest for Miss Television in Australia.
Active in television since its inception in Australia, she became one of the first personalities on Network Seven in 1963.
Mum made her break into show business in the Revue 60 and Revue 61, a regular weekly show, the Tonight Show starring Digby Wolfe, singing with the Claire Poole Singers with Helen Zerefos and many other singers. Mum reflects that "The harmonies were wonderful."
Then a role on the talk show Beauty and the Beast opposite beast, Eric Baume. Mum shared the panel with Maggie Tabberer, Dita Cobb and Pat Firman and often argued with Eric, mainly calling him out on being sexist at a time when that was taboo on prime time TV.
After leaving the Seven Network she hosted her own midday talk show, Girl Talk, for four years, appearing at the Bull and Bush Theatre Resturant nightly in William Street.
The producers of Girl Talk took a big step in sending Mum overseas to interview all the stars and she was the last person to interview Sharon Tate before she was murdered.
Mum also appeared on The Barry Crocker Show with Barry Crocker on the fledgling Network Ten. Girl Talk was a daily show for which she won the Gold Logie Award for the most popular female personality on Australian television in 1967. This was won jointly with Graham Kennedy who won the male award. She was the second female star to win that honour after entertainer Lorrae Desmond, who won in 1962.
Mum had guest roles on numerous television shows including Number 96 1973 (as a lesbian sharing a flat with Vera)
Matlock Police 1972-73
Ryan 1973
Until Tomorrow 1975 (180 episodes)
Fields of Fire 3 1989
A Country Practice 1990,
G.P. 1991-93
Pacific Drive 1996-97,
The Comedy Game 1971
Birds in the Bush 1972
Boney 1972
Brides of Christ 1991
Chopper Squad 1978
Fire 1995,
Little White Lies 1996,
The Wayne Manifesto 1997
Misery Guts 1998
Walking Emily Home 2000
She also began to appear on the satirical Mavis Bramston Show, where she became a regular after having to choose between Bramston and Beauty and the Beast.
Films include The Set 1970. In the lead role, she swam naked across the pool which garnered headlines in the Daily Mirror for weeks.
Belinda 1988
Mortified 2007
Trinkets 2012
The End 2020
Also in locally-shot blockbuster films like
Monster Problems 2020 Netflix
Upright 2022 Netflix
Irreverent 2022 Netflix
Portable Door 2023 Netflix
And starred in a Gold Coast student movie, Edna.
Theatre roles starting from 1956 include The Circle, Henry V, Pride and Prejudice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and stage versions of Grease and The Mavis Bramston Show. She starred in the national tour of the hit musical, The Boys From Syracuse, with Ted Hamilton, Nancye Hayes, and David Williams. She co-wrote the musical Hot Pants with David Mitchell.
She also had an act that she toured with stories of her life, singing combined with jokes and re-capping her career.
In 1969 appeared in Lie Back and Enjoy It with Carol Raye at the Phillip Theatre in Sydney.
She guested on numerous Telethons to raise money for several worthy causes.
Appeared with Denise Drysdale on talk shows and had a show she wrote with Denise called Independent Women.
Appeared on This is Your Life, Ten Network.
Guested on Mike Walsh Show
Ray Martin today show, being interviewed, singing and doing comedy skits.
She also featured in and wrote a one- woman show in 2002 titled Marilyn and Me at the Little Theatre on the Gold Coast.
In 2005 she received the Order Of Australia Medal for contributions to the arts.
Getting her Australian citizenship papers was a delight for her.
In 2020, she spoke to the Studio 10 program about gender pay gaps in the entertainment industry, stating female television hosts were paid less than their male counterparts, and that in the 1960s she had been paid less than one-tenth of the salaries paid to stars like Graham Kennedy and Don Lane.
In 2011, performed in the fifth series of Australia's Got Talent, singing the Frank Sinatra song You Make Me Feel So Young and the Marilyn Monroe song, Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend. She reached the semi-finals, but was eliminated in the public vote.
Hazel also performed and played piano in When We Are Married at Sydney's Marian Street Theatre, and acted in It Runs in the Family with me and Steven Tandy for the Comedy Players, Gold Coast.
In 2008 she wrote her autobiography, "Black River, Bright Star." The publishers, Zeus Publications went out of business, but we are looking to re-release her "tell-all" book as many people are still wanting to purchase it.
Do you think she deserves to be nominated for the Logies Hall of Fame?
If you do, please sign and thank you so much.
If you have voted, I am reading every vote and comment to mum in her nursing home. She is now 95 years of age and your comments are bringing her much joy.
If you would like to vote, please just click on this link.
458
The issue
Hazel Phillips OAM.
I'm her son, Scott.
My Mum has worked as an interviewer in Hollywood, where she interviewed numerous stars, such as Bing Crosby, Paul Newman, Omar Sharif, Fess Parker, Peter Graves, Eve Arden, Agnes Moorhead and the cast of Hogan's Heroes including Bob Crane. My brother and I went with her, so we got to go to Disneyland and walk down Hollywood Boulevard.
Mum has the apparent distinction of playing the world's second lesbian character on TV, after Toni Lamond. The character Marie Crowther on the serial Number 96.
She has appeared in numerous films including the Australian film Belinda in 1988, The Set in 1970 and more recently in 2021, the Netflix film, Love and Monsters, and scheduled in a Paramount film starring Sam Neill.
She is often depicted as Australia's answer to Betty White in terms of career success and longevity.
Mum started her career at radio 2UW, having won a talent contest for Miss Television in Australia.
Active in television since its inception in Australia, she became one of the first personalities on Network Seven in 1963.
Mum made her break into show business in the Revue 60 and Revue 61, a regular weekly show, the Tonight Show starring Digby Wolfe, singing with the Claire Poole Singers with Helen Zerefos and many other singers. Mum reflects that "The harmonies were wonderful."
Then a role on the talk show Beauty and the Beast opposite beast, Eric Baume. Mum shared the panel with Maggie Tabberer, Dita Cobb and Pat Firman and often argued with Eric, mainly calling him out on being sexist at a time when that was taboo on prime time TV.
After leaving the Seven Network she hosted her own midday talk show, Girl Talk, for four years, appearing at the Bull and Bush Theatre Resturant nightly in William Street.
The producers of Girl Talk took a big step in sending Mum overseas to interview all the stars and she was the last person to interview Sharon Tate before she was murdered.
Mum also appeared on The Barry Crocker Show with Barry Crocker on the fledgling Network Ten. Girl Talk was a daily show for which she won the Gold Logie Award for the most popular female personality on Australian television in 1967. This was won jointly with Graham Kennedy who won the male award. She was the second female star to win that honour after entertainer Lorrae Desmond, who won in 1962.
Mum had guest roles on numerous television shows including Number 96 1973 (as a lesbian sharing a flat with Vera)
Matlock Police 1972-73
Ryan 1973
Until Tomorrow 1975 (180 episodes)
Fields of Fire 3 1989
A Country Practice 1990,
G.P. 1991-93
Pacific Drive 1996-97,
The Comedy Game 1971
Birds in the Bush 1972
Boney 1972
Brides of Christ 1991
Chopper Squad 1978
Fire 1995,
Little White Lies 1996,
The Wayne Manifesto 1997
Misery Guts 1998
Walking Emily Home 2000
She also began to appear on the satirical Mavis Bramston Show, where she became a regular after having to choose between Bramston and Beauty and the Beast.
Films include The Set 1970. In the lead role, she swam naked across the pool which garnered headlines in the Daily Mirror for weeks.
Belinda 1988
Mortified 2007
Trinkets 2012
The End 2020
Also in locally-shot blockbuster films like
Monster Problems 2020 Netflix
Upright 2022 Netflix
Irreverent 2022 Netflix
Portable Door 2023 Netflix
And starred in a Gold Coast student movie, Edna.
Theatre roles starting from 1956 include The Circle, Henry V, Pride and Prejudice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and stage versions of Grease and The Mavis Bramston Show. She starred in the national tour of the hit musical, The Boys From Syracuse, with Ted Hamilton, Nancye Hayes, and David Williams. She co-wrote the musical Hot Pants with David Mitchell.
She also had an act that she toured with stories of her life, singing combined with jokes and re-capping her career.
In 1969 appeared in Lie Back and Enjoy It with Carol Raye at the Phillip Theatre in Sydney.
She guested on numerous Telethons to raise money for several worthy causes.
Appeared with Denise Drysdale on talk shows and had a show she wrote with Denise called Independent Women.
Appeared on This is Your Life, Ten Network.
Guested on Mike Walsh Show
Ray Martin today show, being interviewed, singing and doing comedy skits.
She also featured in and wrote a one- woman show in 2002 titled Marilyn and Me at the Little Theatre on the Gold Coast.
In 2005 she received the Order Of Australia Medal for contributions to the arts.
Getting her Australian citizenship papers was a delight for her.
In 2020, she spoke to the Studio 10 program about gender pay gaps in the entertainment industry, stating female television hosts were paid less than their male counterparts, and that in the 1960s she had been paid less than one-tenth of the salaries paid to stars like Graham Kennedy and Don Lane.
In 2011, performed in the fifth series of Australia's Got Talent, singing the Frank Sinatra song You Make Me Feel So Young and the Marilyn Monroe song, Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend. She reached the semi-finals, but was eliminated in the public vote.
Hazel also performed and played piano in When We Are Married at Sydney's Marian Street Theatre, and acted in It Runs in the Family with me and Steven Tandy for the Comedy Players, Gold Coast.
In 2008 she wrote her autobiography, "Black River, Bright Star." The publishers, Zeus Publications went out of business, but we are looking to re-release her "tell-all" book as many people are still wanting to purchase it.
Do you think she deserves to be nominated for the Logies Hall of Fame?
If you do, please sign and thank you so much.
If you have voted, I am reading every vote and comment to mum in her nursing home. She is now 95 years of age and your comments are bringing her much joy.
If you would like to vote, please just click on this link.
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Petition created on 12 August 2025