Winner 2006 Melbourne Airport Best Newcomer Award

Sammy J (aka Sam McMillan) made his national television debut at the age of 15 on Channel Nine's Hey Hey it's Saturday. To this day he denies any connection between his appearance and the axing of the show several weeks later. After four years of gentle reflection, Sammy formally entered the comedy circuit in 2003, winning the Champagne Comedy award for 'Most Promising New Comedian on the Melbourne Comedy Scene'.

In 2004 Sammy J was invited to appear as a regular on ABC TV's comedy series Stand Up! Soon afterwards, he was selected to join The Comedy Zone, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's showcase of emerging talent. This run of good luck ended in 2005, when Sammy appeared as a cast member on the national sketch comedy series Let Loose Live. To this day he denies any connection between his appearance and the axing of the show several weeks later.

An accomplished musician, Sammy has composed over one hundred original comedy songs and released two albums of his material, receiving nationwide radio play. He has both directed and appeared in the Melbourne University Law Revue, featured on the musical comedy DVD Laughapoolooza, and regularly tours throughout Australia. In 2006, Sammy took out the 'Best Newcomer' award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for his debut solo show, Sammy J's 55 Minute National Tour, which went on to play to a packed house at the Famous Spiegeltent.

A WORD FROM SAMMY J

In October 2006 I jetted off to the UK to visit the Brighton Comedy Festival, with the bill generously footed by Melbourne Airport. After a week in London I headed down to the coast and had a great time soaking up the atmosphere at the Brighton Festival. I then continued travelling up through Reading, Oxford, Nottingham, and - why not? - Paris and Berlin to top it all off. The highlight was certainly the chance to perform in Oxford to a university crowd, and the huge sigh of relief I breathed after realising the Poms were laughing at my jokes.

I'd like to thank all at Melbourne Airport and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival who made the trip possible; I'm sure many more will benefit from this generous prize in future. As for me, I'm already planning to return soon. On that note, would it be possible to invent a new prize, the "Previous Best Newcomer Award", which is worth about the same amount of money??? Many thanks once again, and I look forward to seeing you at a show!

Sammy J