The sad news was confirmed by entertainment reporter and friend Peter Ford on Saturday night.
“I have very sad news ….Showbiz icon Bert Newton has died at age 83,” he wrote on Twitter.
“It was remarkable career on TV, stage & radio. Sadly he didn’t get the last chapter he deserved. He was a great mentor & friend to me.”
Newton’s death comes after he had part of his leg amputated in May as the result of a toe infection which became a serious medical issue.
Bert, a Logie Hall of Fame inductee, quadruple Gold Logie-winning entertainer and a radio, theatre and television personality, is survived by his wife, Patti, two children and multiple grandchildren.
Last Sunday, Patti shared an image of her husband enjoying a visit from the youngsters as he lay in a hospital bed.
“That’s what happiness is,” the photo was captioned.
In July, Patti revealed Bert had also suffered “a couple of complications” following the surgery but was “doing well with a little rehab and lots of laughs and love”.
Vale Bert Newton
The entertainer has also battled several major health issues in the past.
In 2012, he spent six months in recovery after having quadruple bypass surgery.
A year earlier, he spent more than a week in hospital after developing pneumonia.
Newton has long been regarded as one of Australia’s most iconic and much-loved personalities.
With a career that spanned almost 70 years, Newton started as a radio personality before making his name in television.
Newton and Kennedy’s life-long professional association started after they filmed a live TV commercial together on In Melbourne Tonight in 1959.
From there, the pair made many joint TV appearances, before teaming up on Graham Kennedy’s Channel 9 Show in 1960 and 1961.
In 1975, Newton was cast as Don Lane’s sidekick and “barrel boy” on The Don Lane Show.
It was here that the entertainer earned the well-known nickname “Moonface”, and he remained a much-loved part of the variety show until it ended in 1983.
“Don saved my career, and I’ll never forget him for that. He came into my life at a pretty low moment professionally,” Newton told Woman’s Day in 2019.
“We’d never worked together before, but the moment those cameras came on, we clicked. Working with Don was magic. Actually, Channel Nine didn’t want me to do Don’s show. I’d been so associated with Graham Kennedy, they were looking for someone else, but Don insisted.
From there, Newton went on to front a range of shows including New Faces, before becoming the host of Channel 10’s Good Morning Australia in 1992.
The role revived Newton’s career, and the show enjoyed a successful 14-year run before it was cancelled in 2005.
From there, the TV star hosted Bert’s Family Feud, 20 to 1 and What A Year, as well as making several other appearances on various shows.
Newton also starred in a range of stage productions during his remarkable career, most notable being his role as The Wizard in Wicked, which played from 2008 to 2011.
His achievements in the entertainment industry earned him a host of awards and recognitions.
In 2006, Newton was made a Member of the Order of Australia “for service to the entertainment industry as a presenter, actor, comedian, and through support for a range of medical research and charitable organisations”.
He was also named as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 for his dedication and service to the performing arts.
However Newton is probably best remembered for his career-long association with the Logies.
He holds the record for both the most Logies hosted and the most Logies hosted in a continuous run, with his association with the long-running awards night going back to 1959.
He was also nominated for the Most Popular Light Entertainment Personality gong in 1993 for his role in Good Morning Australia.
Throughout his stellar entertainment career, Newton’s wife Patti has been by his side.
The couple tied the knot in 1974 after meeting through work and went on to have two children, Matthew and Lauren.
In recent years, Newton became grandfather to Lauren and husband Matt Welsh’s six children - Sam, Eva, Lola, Monty, Perla and Alby.
“Patti is my oldest friend,” Bert told Now To Love at the 2018 Logie Awards.
Speaking of the secret behind their long-lasting romance, Patti said laughing with each other - and at each other - had kept them strong.
“I think you have to have a good sense of humour, that’s something I do have, I’m always ribbing him about something,” she told Woman’s Day in 2015.
“I know that he doesn’t do the dishwasher very well, but the reason I know that is because if he did do it well, I’d ask him to do it more!”
“If anything happens to either of us, whichever one it is will find it very difficult because we’ve been in one another’s pockets for well over 50 years.”
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