Bert Newton funeral live updates Dan Andrews Eddie McGuire pay tribute to TV icon

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Matthew Newton has paid tribute to his father from New York, where he remains due to the pandemic, via a eulogy read out by family friend and long-time Newton collaborator Peter Smith.

“I am very sorry that due to the pandemic I can’t be with you to celebrate,” he said. “Growing up, I never really watched Bambi or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I didn’t want to â€" what fascinated me were the movies that created the black and white glow from my dad’s office.

“A lot has been said about my dad’s sharp wit, but my two favourite lines weren’t said on TV, or even in front of an audience. Once was in a doctor’s office and there were only two people in the room â€" one was a doctor, the other was an 11-year-old me.”

While Matthew kept the line under wraps, he pointed to his father’s unrivalled ability to make people laugh.

“Dad wanted to pop the tension of an awkward situation, see another human being light up and laugh. It was a superpower and he always tried to use it for good.”

The Newtons: Bert and Patti with daughter Lauren and son Matthew in 1986.Credit:Getty

Matthew also touched upon how Bert wasn’t just a fun-time father, but also a man who could be relied upon when the going got tough.

“Everyone knows he was a great entertainer but what people don’t know is that he would be there in the tough times too â€" no one knows that more than me.

“Over the last 10 years, while I have lived abroad, Dad and I would play our conversational songs over Zoom and FaceTime, which allowed me to connect and reconnect with my whole family, especially Dad.

“Our final conversation was different from the usual and we both knew it. We just said how much we loved each other. During this wonderful chat my mother was pottering around in the background, adding her two cents in, as usual.

“At one point she took something into another room and the second she left, Dad leaned in and whispered, ‘I think she’s poisoning my food, Matthew.’

“We both laughed and laughed until we cried. Although given why we’re here today, Mum, perhaps I should’ve taken him more seriously.”

In summing up, Matthew honoured the enduring partnership and great love between his father and mother.

“You two were a team, are a team, and even though you’re not on stage together anymore, the show must go on. Dad was the ultimate host or compere â€" never presenter, a term he loathed.

“I’m going to really miss jamming with you, mate. Here’s looking at you, kid.”

Eddie McGuire has delivered a moving eulogy on stage at St Patrick’s Cathedral.

“I speak on behalf of those who worked with him, the consummate compere. To Graham Kennedy, he was Herbie, to Don Lane he was Moonface, to all of us he was our Bert.”

McGuire paid tribute to Bert’s “generosity of spirit.”

“He gave himself to make a show work, a segment pop, to give everything for his beloved audience.”

McGuire also recalled the long-buried anecdote of Newton visiting a man dying of HIV in a hospital ward and gifting him one of his beloved Gold Logies.

“It finally makes sense now to the family,” joked McGuire. “Bert had won 36 Logies, but Patti could only find 17.”

Eddie McGuire pays tribute to Bert Newton. Credit:Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“Bert was a giant, among the givers of the world, he stands tallest. He has more than paid rent for the space he occupied on this planet.”

McGuire also touched on the special personal relationship he shared with Bert.

“Bert was such a legend to be acknowledged by him was to feel like you made it.

“When he named his toupee Eddie I was honoured and gratified. First, he knew who I was, second because I’d been part of his act and finally because it was pure Bert. He supported you on your best day, but also on your worst because Bert knew both.”

In a eulogy spanning more than five minutes, McGuire touched on the history of Australia’s greatest showman.

“He cut his 21st cake on TV and stayed there his entire life. Bert never stopped evolving, never stopped learning. He is the least jaded old-fashioned performer you would ever meet.”

“To watch Bert with the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. and Debbie Reynolds was to watch kindred spirits on live television.”

He also reflected upon Bert’s long-standing relationship with the Logies. “To watch Bert at the Logies was a highlight of the year, to watch him glide onto the stage like a dancer.”

He then read tributes from a long list of famous faces including Paul Hogan. Continuing, McGuire said Bert was “the first Melburnian to become the King of Moomba. He was a star on the wireless, he loved his footy, his Fitzroy, and his horses. He looked forward not back.

“In passing, he had been recognised by the Prime Minister, afforded a State Funeral by his state of Victoria.

“Showbusiness will never be the same, the young boy from Fitzroy who became a star, then a legend, then an institution and now our greatest memory of the golden years of television.

“Forever our Bert.”

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has taken to the stage to pay tribute to Bert Newton. Here’s an edited version of his speech.

“Bert Newton had the gift of faith and I can’t help but think he would be so honoured with full mass here at St Patrick’s cathedral.

Bert Newton was a great entertainer, and life itself was his stage. He was always there, omnipresent, on our screens and in our homes.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews speaking at Bert Newton’s funeral. Credit:Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

To Australia, Bert wasn’t just a man on a screen or an actor on a stage â€" he was someone we all felt we knew.

Families were drawn in by Bert’s warmth and inviting ease, he was more than talent, he was trust.

His story is the story of Australian television.

When things went off script, when a show went off the rails Bert thrived. He was in his element, witty, cheek, and clever.

A master of his craft, but true to himself at the same time. A highly skilled and authentic entertainer, one people respected and revered.

He was a pioneer, an icon, a legend. But Bert’s story is so much more. A shy working-class kid from no apologies, no prisoners North Fitzroy, who loved trams and going to the pictures.

His life changed when the 7th Brunswick Boys Scouts took him to see his first live radio broadcast.

When Bert walked into the 3XY Spring Street studios, he was just trying to get his Scouts Badge but he had found his calling.

Every night for six months, but would come back to 3XY in awe.

“He was a pioneer, an icon, a legend. But Bert’s story is so much more,” said Premier Dan Andrews.Credit:

While his career spanned TV, radio and stage, Bert dedicated a lifetime to mentoring others, sharing his wisdom and experience, behind the scenes. To this day, his legacy endures in the young actors, broadcasters and entertainers he helped along the way.

But everyone knows when we think and speak of Bert Newton, we are reflecting on a double act: Bert’s partnership with Patti is a story for the ages.

Christmas 1974 and Bert flies from Melbourne to LA, and eventually on to New York to board a cruise ship. He is hoping the woman he loves but hasn’t seen for some time will accept this proposal of marriage.

She did just that.

Bert and Patti were partners in every way: husband and wife, parents and grandparents, best friend, entertainers, performers and soul mates.

He was a boy from North Fitzroy who made it all the way to the top, a man of unmatched talent, who led a life that was full. He entertained his audience because he respected his audience, he lived his values; compassion and kindness, generosity and empathy.

We are richer for his life and poorer for his passing.”

Bert was a longtime man of faith and a devout Catholic, so today’s funeral begins with a welcoming from Very Reverend Werner Utri, Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral.

“I’d like to warmly welcome you here today, those in the cathedral and joining us from afar,” he said. “I’d like to begin by acknowledging those with us today, first and foremost his wife Patti, daughter Lauren, son-in-law Matt, and grandchildren.

“Bert’s son Matthew and wife Katherine were unable to join us as they are in New York.”

Reverend Utri also welcomed the political heavyweights in the room: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Prime Minister Scott Morrison, as well as an assortment of ministers.

Reverend Utri then honoured the multi-faceted Bert Newton and “the many roles he played in our lives â€" husband, father, grandfather, colleague, friend, entertainer and as a man of faith.”

One of the biggest questions ahead of today’s service is around Matthew Newton. Would Bert and Patti’s son return from New York, where he has lived for several years now, to bid his father farewell in person?

A source close to the family has told me the answer is almost certainly no. “He has written a message, and Pete Smith will read that out,” she said.

Singer Rhonda Burchmore has arrived at the cathedral in East Melbourne, as has former treasurer Peter Costello, comedian Andy Lee with his partner Rebecca Harding, and Essendon great Matthew Lloyd.

Rhonda Burchmore arriving at the cathedral. Credit:Simon Schluter

Victorian Liberal leader Matthew Guy has arrived, as has former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Prime Minister Scott Morrison are still to come.

Rebecca Harding and Andy Lee. Credit:Simon Schluter

Labor leader Anthony Albanese says Bert Newton had “a rare gift that made himself part of the family”.

“Later on I met him backstage at Wicked and it was as if I had known him my whole life,” Albanese said. “He was much more than a star because stars are distant.”

The passing of Bert Newton sent shockwaves through the industry, as Australian TV hosts and comedians paid tribute to the man who paved the way for so many.

Fellow TV legend Larry Emdur was quick to point out that for anyone thinking of making it in showbusiness, Bert was the benchmark.

“I always wanted to be as awesome a host as Bert, it’s taken me 40 years in the business to work out there will actually never ever be another Bert, ever,” wrote Emdur.

Meanwhile, Sunrise weatherman Sam Mac recalled a 2015 chance meeting with Newton.

“There was something magical about Bert Newton. His pure charm and charisma burst through the TV screen like nobody else. That voice, that face, we all felt like we knew him ...

“I don’t get starstruck often but being face to (moon)face with Bert was surreal.”

Channel Ten’s Angela Bishop, who was a mainstay on Good Morning Australia alongside Bert, also joined the chorus of those mourning Bert’s passing.

Bert’s appeal and quick wit was remembered by the comedy community, with Good News Week presenter Paul McDermott calling Newton “a leading inspiration in comedy performance and television.”

And former Triple J presenter Scott Dooley highlighted how important Bert was for up and coming comedians in Australia.

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