Australian TV Icon Bert Newton Dies at 83

Australian entertainment icon Bert Newton died on Saturday while undergoing palliative care at a private clinic in Melbourne.

Newton, 83, was a veteran performer, whose long career spanned across television, stage, and radio. He led Australia through the early days of television on a diet of frothy, vaudevillian entertainment.

On his part, Entertainment reporter Peter Ford, who is a long-time friend of Newton broke the news on Twitter, saying Newton didn’t get “the last chapter he deserved”. Ford revealed that he’d received a phone call from Newton’s wife, Patti, early tonight before 9 pm.

https://twitter.com/mrpford/status/1454385006743146505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1454385006743146505%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smh.com.au%2Fculture%2Ftv-and-radio%2Faustralian-tv-icon-bert-newton-dies-aged-83-20211030-p594ly.html

“It wasn’t totally unexpected,” he said, referring to Newton’s deteriorating health and operation this year, saying 2021 had been a “horrific year” for the Newton family. “It’s been a horrible, horrible last chapter.”

Just days ago, Patti posted a photo of Newton with his grandchildren by his bedside, with the caption, “That’s what Happiness Is”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVZSUz4JOVU/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=ec5f8216-7ba1-42ad-9b73-e78f567973ae

Ford described the tragic death as the “end of an era” in Australian show business.

The TV legend has hosted more Logie awards nights – 19 – than anyone else. He was born on 23 July 1938 in the Melbourne suburb of North Fitzroy.