Don Lane - the Lanky Yank who won Australia's heart
FROM a showman who kept variety alive on Australian television, to a tragic footy fan, "Lanky Yank" Don Lane is being remembered by those who knew and loved him.
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IT had been one of those long, bumpy flights from Los Angeles to Australia, the kind of ride that Don Lane thought might be his last.
It was the early 1980s, as his TV partner Bert Newton remembered it, and things were looking rough for the "Lanky Yank".
"Don said later, when things got really tough he thought to himself, 'Well, Bertram . . . this is your opportunity to talk about the real Don Lane'. Well I guess that moment is now," Newton said in leading tributes to the star yesterday.
From a "triple threat" showman, who kept variety alive on Australian television, to a tragic footy fan, who loved league and championed the American NFL, Lane was honoured by those who loved him on and off the small screen.
Gallery: Don Lane's life and career
Just shy of his 76th birthday, Lane died after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, an illness which claimed the sharp wit but not the "tactile" sensibilities of a man who loved women and who loved him in return.
Tall, dark and handsome, Lane charmed his way onto television, winning over as many TV executives as easily as he slayed the ladies.
"I remember going to interview him when I was a young journalist and he was so sexy, I almost fainted," one-time girlfriend and biographer Janise Beaumont recalled.
Born Morton Donald Isaacson in New York, rising to headlining a Hawaiian cabaret club, Lane first found fame as a song and dance man on Australian late night TV in the 1960s - a six-week fill-in stint which turned into a 40-week contract with Channel 9 and a career spanning stage and screen.
Using today's lexicon, Newton called him "the original triple threat" and the most "generous performer I have ever worked for".
The duo would work for the first time together on The Don Lane Show, where the chemistry was instant and lasted a professional lifetime.
"That chemistry . . . it came from the fact we were very different people and he was that generous a performer," Newton said.
"He didn't mind where the laughs were coming from or who was get- ting them."
His laconic, self-effacing style, mixed with a dash of US brash earned Lane 15 Logies and in 2003 a place in the Australian TV Hall of Fame.
Video: Don's career highlights
Nine CEO David Gyngell described Lane as one of Australia's "finest all-round entertainers . . . a stalwart of the industry and a great mate to so many of us here at Nine".
Ms Beaumont said while many of Lane's showbiz pals had "dropped off like flies" after he was admitted to a Sydney care facility , he remained a loving, funny, touchy feely man trapped on the inside.
Newton revealed he had not spoken to the man he credits with reviving his career since late last year.
Even then, it was a phone conversation between the man Lane dubbed "Moonface" and the tall, dark, handsome import Australia came to love. "I haven't seen Don for more than 12 months . . . in recent times it has been family only, and I understand that, but we had a wonderful conversation that went for about an hour. I didn't think . . . it would be the last time we'd speak together. All I can say is I can't think of anyone who I liked more in the industry, anyone I enjoyed working with, more than Don Lane."
Lane's passion for American football and basketball found a home on the ABC, where he continued to win fans and a new audience for the sports he loved. Former ABC sports boss Gerry O'Leary remembers a "true gentleman" whose passion for sport captured a nation.
Friends told The Daily Telegraph the entertainer's health had taken a dramatic turn for the worse in recent days, with ex-wife and manager Jayne Ambrose and adult son PJ by his side.
He will be farewelled at a private funeral tomorrow, with details of a public memorial to be announced.
