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Bert Newton.

Albert Watson Newton

Bert Newton — Actor
Born Melbourne, Australia
Died Melbourne, Australia
Citizenship Australia
Would Be 88 yr If Living

6 min read

Reading time

1,104

Words

Published

7

Awards

TL;DR

Bert Newton hosted Australia’s TV Week Logie Awards for many years and earned four Gold Logie trophies for Most Popular Personality. Starting as a radio announcer, he became a fixture on Australian television with shows like In Melbourne Tonight and Good Morning Australia. He died on October 30, 2021 at age 83.

Identity & family.

KIN · 2

Names, aliases, and relatives of Bert Newton — birth name, kin, and personal ties.

Birth Name Albert Watson Newton
Nicknames Moonface
Aliases Mr Bert Newton
Spouses
Patti Newton
Children
Matthew Newton

At a glance.

STATS

Bert Newton by the numbers — life, work, and family.

83 Years lived
7 Awards
1 Marriage
1 Child

Who was Bert Newton?

BIOGRAPHY

Bert Newton — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.

Early life

In the 1950s, Bert Newton began his career as a teenage radio announcer in Melbourne, working alongside Vernon Jackson. He attended Samaritan Catholic College. This early start in broadcasting led to a six-decade television career.

Career

Newton first gained national attention as a panelist on In Melbourne Tonight in 1957. He later co-hosted The Graham Kennedy Show in 1972. He hosted the TV Week Logie Awards for decades, winning four Gold Logies. In 1979, he was appointed MBE. He also hosted Good Morning Australia from 1993 to 2006, and did not miss a day until his 2005 hospitalization. In 2006, he hosted Bert’s Family Feud on the Nine Network.

Personal life

Newton married Patti in 1974, and they remained together until his death. They had two children, Matthew Newton and Lauren Newton. Matthew is an actor. In 2008, his grandson Sam Albert Newton Welsh was born. In 2005, Newton and Rove McManus shared a public kiss for the World Vision Tsunami appeal, raising $10,000.

Legacy

Newton won four Gold Logie Awards and hosted the TV Week Logie Awards for decades. He was appointed MBE in 1979, received the Centenary Medal, and became a Member of the Order of Australia. Across his career, he hosted variety shows and charity telethons.

Awards & honors.

AWARDS · 4

Every award, honor, and recognition received by Bert Newton — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.

  • Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE – 1979 Queen's Birthday Honours
  • Centenary Medal
  • Member of the Order of Australia
  • Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television

Notable quotes.

QUOTES · 2

A wall of memorable lines from Bert Newton — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.

  • There Are Many Faces That I Know from the Screen but Don’t Know Them Personally. You Might Feel the Same Way? You Know, ‘Where’s This Old Poof Come From?’

  • Speaking of Young Talent, Graham Kennedy Was Always the Sort of Man Who Nurtured Young Talent. He Enjoyed Giving Young People a Chance on Television, He Was a Great Mentor, He Mentored a Lot of Young People. You Knew If You Went to His Dressing Room It Was Locked, He Will Be Inside Doing Some Mentoring. Don Lane Was a Mentor Too. He Did a Hell of a Lot of Mentoring.

Did you know?

FACTS · 10

Little-known facts about Bert Newton — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.

  1. He began as a radio announcer in his early years and worked with the late Vernon Jackson.

  2. For many years, he hosted Australia’s top TV award program, the Logie Awards. In 1973, he was famously upstaged by hopelessly drunk American actor Michael Cole, best known for The Mod Squad.

  3. During the Australia Unites telethon in January 2005, he shared a lengthy kiss with Rove McManus after a caller pledged $10,000 if they kissed on air.

  4. He was admitted to the hospital on June 8, 2005, suffering from a virus, forcing stand-ins to host Good Morning Australia for the first time in 14 years.

  5. At the 2006 TV Week Logie Awards, he slipped on gold confetti and fell off the stage, suffering a sprained hand, bruised nose and forehead, and a sore knee. TV viewers did not see the fall because the show had ended.

  6. He was awarded MBE in the 1979 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to the performing arts.

  7. He was the first man to appear naked on Australian television in the 1970s, on the Nine Network.

  8. He became father-in-law of Matt Welsh.

  9. He hosted Bert’s Family Feud on the Nine Network in 2006.

  10. He was the father of actor Matthew Newton and Lauren Newton.

You wanted to know.

FAQ · 29

Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Bert Newton.

Audited & updated by

Olivia Brooks

Senior Staff Writer & Biography Editor

Olivia has 6 years of experience writing biographical profiles and still approaches every subject like it's the first one. She covers everyone from debut musicians to Hall of Fame athletes to novelists most people have never heard of. She finds something worth reading in all of them. Her drafts tend to come in already clean, which her editor appreciates. She says good writing is just good thinking written down. Hard to argue with that.

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