Larry Emdur’s unexpected new chapter: The beloved The Morning Show star faces a major career turning point that began with a simple idea
For almost two decades, Larry Emdur has been a familiar face on The Morning Show. But one of the biggest surprises of his career has come from something he never intended to become a serious business.
What began as a birthday idea involving just 60 bottles of whisky for 60 friends has now grown into a company valued at around $10 million, with plans to take the Australian brand into the US.
And for Larry, the unexpected success is another chapter in a career he once described as little more than a series of “happy accidents”.
From a 60th birthday idea to a $10 million business
The story began when Larry was approaching his 60th birthday.
Rather than simply celebrating with a traditional party, the television veteran decided he wanted to make something memorable for his friends.
His idea was simple: create 60 bottles of his own whisky and give one to each of his 60 friends.
“I just wanted to make 60 bottles of whisky for 60 friends for my 60th birthday,” Larry explained.
What he did not expect was for the project to become something much bigger.
“It was only ever meant to be a little bit of fun for my mates, but we accidentally created one of Australia’s favourite new whiskies.”
That “little bit of fun” is now turning into a serious international business.
The brand with a piece of Larry’s childhood in its name
Larry’s whisky company, The Ben Buckler Whisky Company, takes its name from Ben Buckler in Bondi, the area where he grew up.
For Larry, the name represents much more than a location.
It reflects the working-class childhood he had in Sydney and the carefree years when his biggest ambition was simply to surf.
“The Ben Buckler is a nod to that place, those memories and the kind of Australian spirit I grew up around,” he said.
He describes that spirit as relaxed, generous and slightly cheeky — qualities he wanted the brand to embody.
A Shark Tank star backs Larry’s next move
The latest development has taken the venture well beyond Australia.
Canadian businessman and Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec has invested in the company through a SAFE — a “simple agreement for future equity”.
The deal places the value of the business at approximately $10 million and gives the brand a pathway towards expansion into the United States.
For Larry, the development appears to have been a particularly satisfying moment given how modestly the whole idea began.
Sharing the news with his followers, the television star described the investment as bringing “more headlines and more momentum” for the young whisky company.
“Exciting times ahead for little Benny,” he wrote.
Kylie Gillies couldn’t resist a joke
Larry’s Morning Show co-host Kylie Gillies was among those celebrating his latest career development.
Referencing Herjavec’s involvement, Kylie joked that he “knows a winner when he sees it”.
She also teased Larry about the possibility of future trips to New York becoming a business expense.
Larry, naturally, played along — replying that she was absolutely right.
Their exchange offered a glimpse of the lighthearted approach Larry has maintained throughout the whisky venture.
Fiji was only the beginning
The US expansion isn’t the only sign that Larry’s whisky experiment has grown beyond his original plans.
The Ben Buckler whisky is also set to be available at resorts in Fiji, giving the Australian brand another international market.
What started as something Larry created for friends has therefore taken him from a birthday celebration to overseas shelves and a multimillion-dollar valuation.
The career he almost never had
Perhaps the most remarkable part of Larry’s story is that he never set out to build a major television career in the first place.
Growing up in Bondi, he wanted to be a surfer.
He has previously admitted that he struggled at school and left at 16. At one stage, he came close to becoming a garbage collector because he believed the hours would leave him plenty of time to surf.
Then an unexpected opportunity came along: an overnight job as a copy boy at The Sun newspaper.
That seemingly ordinary job became the first step towards a career in media.
“There’s been some bombs”
Looking back on more than four decades in television, Larry has never pretended that every part of his career was a success.
In a 2025 conversation with Mark Bouris on Straight Talk, he admitted that there were plenty of moments when he thought his television career should have ended.
“I have no qualifications,” Larry said, reflecting on how unlikely his career path had been.
“There’s been some bombs as well, believe me.”
He went even further, acknowledging that he had hosted programs he considered among the worst shows on television.
“There’s plenty of times when I probably should have been gone,” he said.
Yet somehow, he kept finding the next opportunity.
“A chain of happy accidents”
Larry ultimately described his career as either fate or a chain of happy accidents.
That description now seems particularly fitting.
The teenager who once dreamed of spending his days surfing unexpectedly found himself building a four-decade television career. And the television host who only wanted to make a few bottles of whisky for his friends has now helped create a business valued at $10 million.
For Larry, perhaps the biggest lesson is that some of life’s most important chapters are the ones you never planned to write.