Bert Newton

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Bert Newton
Born 23 July 1938 (1938-07-23) (age 69)
Fitzroy, VIC, Australia
Occupation Television personality
Spouse Patti McGrath
Children Matthew and Lauren

Albert Watson "Bert" Newton, AM, MBE, (born 23 July 1938), is an Australian television, radio, film, stage performer and author.

Contents

[edit] Childhood

Newton was born in Fitzroy, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria in Australia. Born Albert Watson Newton.

He was educated at St Joseph's Marist Brothers College which is Roman Catholic. In his early years he had thoughts of entering the priesthood.

[edit] Radio

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Newton's first paid radio appearance was on 3XY on June 10, 1952 as a schoolboy, doing advertisements dressed as a clown with Doug McKenzie, later to become "Zag" in Zig and Zag.

"... there was a radio program on 3XY Melbourne called Scouting Around, compered by the late Tom Jones. One week the broadcast was recorded at our Scout Hall, and as the direct result of this, I began to appear on 3XY".

This led to regular appearances on a Saturday morning children's show, in which he worked with Stan Rofe and McKenzie.

In May 1954, 3XY employed him as a junior announcer (aged 15); by 1955 he was presenting In Melbourne Speaks.

He began a morning progamme on 3UZ in 1976. The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd appointed Newton as general manager of 3DB in 1986, which he combined with on-air appearances until 1988.

[edit] Television

[edit] Early Television Career

Newton began his television career at Melbourne's HSV-7, hosting The Late Show.[1] For several years Newton worked with former manager Mason Jarrett whilst trying to find work on numerous television stations.

A young Bert Newton (right), with Graham Kennedy during an episode of In Melbourne Tonight.
A young Bert Newton (right), with Graham Kennedy during an episode of In Melbourne Tonight.

Newton left HSV-7 and went to GTV-9 in early 1959 to host a daytime television program In Melbourne Today..[2] After appearing in a live commercial on In Melbourne Tonight with his friend Graham Kennedy at Easter 1959, he began to make regular appearances on the show and assumed hosting duties on some episodes. This began a lifelong association with Kennedy.

In January 1962 the national Graham Kennedy's Channel 9 Show (a one-night-a-week national version of IMT) was cancelled and replaced by the similar The Channel 9 Show, hosted by Bert Newton.[3]

Starting 1975 Don Lane hosted his own variety show on GTV-9. Newton was cast in the role of sidekick and "barrel boy". Newton was dubbed "Moonface" on the show, and the nickname stuck. The Don Lane Show ended in 1983.

On the Don Lane Show Newton would frequently appear in outlandish costumes, often sending up celebrities. One of the most memorable events on the show was when Bert Newton sent-up Demis Roussos, and Roussos was sent on to the set while Newton was doing the impersonation.

[edit] The Logies

Newton hosted the Logies, the Australia television industry awards, for 18 years.

On those nights he was the star, rather than a 'second banana'.

He famously said to Muhammad Ali "I like the boy", not knowing that "boy" could be interpreted as a racial slur.

In 1973 American actor Michael Cole, best known for his role in the TV series The Mod Squad, accepted an award while obviously drunk and ended his barely coherent thank-you speech with a four-letter word.

Newton once again hosted the TV Week Logie Awards in 2006. After the awards he had a fall and injured himself. The injury was visible for a number of Bert's Family Feud Episodes.

[edit] The Bert Newton Show

Newton briefly hosted his own program, The Bert Newton Show, recorded in Sydney for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was not a success, and he returned to working with Kennedy.

[edit] Ford Superquiz

In 1981, Newton (and wife Patti) presented a quiz show, Ford Superquiz, produced by the Reg Grundy organisation for the Nine Network.

[edit] New Faces

In 1976 Newton replaced long-running compere Frank Wilson on the amateur talent program "New Faces".

[edit] Tonight With Bert Newton

Tonight With Bert Newton was a short-lived attempt to bring back the spirit of IMT.

[edit] Good Morning Australia

In 1992 Newton moved into daytime television with Good Morning Australia (GMA) on Network Ten, a show which revived Newton's celebrity status and which was a continuing success for Ten. The show was a mix of infomercials, interviews and innuendo which was primarily ad-libbed. Unusually for television the show was broadcast live-to-air on Mondays and Tuesdays and for the rest of the week live-to-tape (recorded complete and aired later).[4]

[edit] Bert's Family Feud

In 2006, Newton returned to the Nine Network and hosted Bert's Family Feud, a revised version of Family Feud for 2006 and some of 2007, until the show was cancelled on May 8, 2007. The show's voiceover was Simon Diaz who works at MIX101.1 which is the radio station once known as 3DB where Bert once worked.

[edit] 20 to 01

In October 2005, Channel Ten announced that Good Morning Australia would be cancelled at the end of the year, after a 14 year run. Although he was offered ongoing employment (in an unclear role) at Channel Ten, Newton stated that he would return to Channel Nine in 2006. He hosts the new series of 20 to 1 taking over from Bud Tingwell.

[edit] What A Year

Image:.jpg
Newton with Julia Zemiro hosting "What a Year".

Another program, in a similar vein to 20 to 1, is What A Year hosted by Newton and comedian Julia Zemiro in 2007, replacing previous hosts Mike Munro and Megan Gale. The program takes a light-hearted look at a chosen year in history, revisiting major events and pop culture from the year. The series with Newton and Zemiro was scheduled into the competitive Monday 7.30pm timeslot but was 'axed' after only one episode due to poor ratings.

[edit] Other media

Newton's stage appearances include Professor Marvel/the Wizard of Oz in "The Wizard of Oz", Cogsworth in "Beauty and the Beast", Franz Liebkind in "The Producers" and Max in "The Sound of Music". In 2008 he will play the Wizard of Oz in the Melbourne production of "Wicked".

His film roles include

Newton published Bert! Bert Newton's Own Story in 1979.

[edit] Honours and awards

Newton was the first Melbourne-born King of Moomba in 1978.[5]

Newton was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1979.

On 12 June 2006 he was made a member of the Order of Australia "for service to the entertainment industry as a presenter, actor and comedian, and through support for a range of medical research and charitable organisations"[6][7] .

"For Bert" was written by GTV-9's musical director Brian Rangott. The lyrics include:

Everything I do,
I do for Bert -
[...]
Some may think Bert's not much,
But they like his gentle touch -
Everything I do,
I do for Bert!

In 1997 Newton was the subject of a "This Is Your Life" tribute. His wife Patti was honoured with her own tribute in 2001.

The Best of Bert Newton was aired in 2002. Channel Nine Salutes Bert Newton was broadcast in early 2004, depicting the career of Newton from his earliest days.

In 2001 he was awarded a Centenary Medal.

Newton received eighteen Logies, including four Gold Logies and one special gold.

The four Gold Logies - 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1984 - were for his roles in The Don Lane Show. He was also nominated for the Gold Logie in 2006 for his role in Good Morning Australia, and again nominated in 2007 for his roles in 20 to 1 and Bert's Family Feud.

Show business awards include a Mo Award (1997), a Television Society of Australia award (1981 and 1983), three Penguin Citations and three Pater ("Professional Excellence in Television and Radio Arts and Sciences) awards for radio.

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of television in Australia, Channel 9 ran a show titled "50 Years, 50 Stars", where they looked back at the Top 50 stars of Australian television. Bert Newton was listed as the #1 Australian TV star of the past 50 years.

[edit] Family and personal life

In 1964 Newton was hospitalised after suffering a nervous breakdown and was given LSD at the Sacred Heart hospital in Moreland; he has written "believe me, I got nothing out of it'.

Newton lived at home with his mother until the age of 36. In 1974 he married Patti McGrath, whom he had known since they worked together in radio and later at HSV-7. They were married at St Dominic's Parish Church in Camberwell, with Graham Kennedy as best man. According to the police, there were ten thousand people outside the church.

The Newtons have a son, Matthew, and a daughter, Lauren. Matthew Newton is an actor and has appeared in a number of Australian films and television dramas. On 4 November 2006 Lauren married swimmer Matt Welsh in Melbourne.[8]

In December 1993, Newton admitted to having had a gambling problem. An article published in The Sydney Morning Herald in July 2004 said: "One day in late 1993, he woke up to read the front-page story he had been dreading: he was broke and owed $1 million." Newton sold two houses and agreed to pay creditors 40 cents in the dollar. Most of the money was owed to institutions or companies, banks, law firms and the Tax Office, rather than to individuals.

On 14 June 2004 Newton was caught drink driving in Camberwell, Melbourne, with a low-range reading of 0.058%, and said he had learnt his lesson.[9]

Newton's charity interests include the Gawler Foundation, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Sir Edward Dunlop Medical Research Foundation, the Bone Marrow Donor Institute, Guide Dogs Victoria and World Vision Australia.[citation needed]

[edit] Further reading

  • Newton, Bert (1977). Bert! Bert Newton's Own Story. Toorak, Victoria, Australia: Garry Sparkes & Associates. ISBN 0-9080-8124-3. 
  • Lane, Don (2007). The Don Lane story. Frenchs Forest, NSW: New Holland Publishers. 

[edit] References

  1. ^ Blundell, Graeme (2003). King: The Life and Comedy of Graham Kennedy. Sydney: Pan Macmillan. ISBN 0-7329-1165-6. 
  2. ^ Blundell, Graeme: op. cit., p. 169.
  3. ^ Blundell, Graeme: op. cit., p. 232.
  4. ^ The cult of Bert October 23, 2002
  5. ^ Craig Bellamy, Gordon Chisholm, Hilary Eriksen (17 February 2006) Moomba: A festival for the people.: http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/rsrc/PDFs/Moomba/History%20of%20Moomba.pdf PDF pp 17-22
  6. ^ Australian Government "It's an Honour" website. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
  7. ^ Governor General of Australia website - Order of Australia (AM) award. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
  8. ^ "Newton and superfish Welsh tie the knot", News.com.au, November 5, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-29. 
  9. ^ "Bert booked for drink-driving", Sydney Morning Herald, June 18, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-07-29. 

[edit] External links

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