From winning the Gold Logie in April, to losing his beloved sister, Connie, to cancer in September, 2017 was a year Samuel Johnson will never forget. For four years, the popular actor had passionately supported Connie’s tireless efforts to raise funds for cancer research, embodying the name of the charity they co-founded: Love Your Sister. When Connie died, millions mourned with him. “I relished the chance to conduct Connie’s final public symphony,” Samuel tells WHO of organising the mother-of-two’s memorial service in Melbourne on Sept. 23. “I wasn’t grieving, I was too obsessed with making everything perfect.”
“She didn’t want to be glorified, or known as an inspiration, she wanted to be remembered as a mum.”
The Molly star nominates organising the memorial as his “most important job of the year,” but on a lighter note, he also recalled his “Biggest Awkward” on Logies night in April, when Molly Meldrum joined him on stage: “It’s not every day you get bumrushed by Molly,” Sam, who was named Victorian of the Year, tells WHO. “I’m a bit deaf and Molly’s a chronic mumbler, so I don’t think either of us really knew what was going on!”
For more on Samuel Johnson’s candid look-back at his year of triumph and loss, pick up this week’s issue of WHO, on sale now.
