Patti Newton preparing for emotional Logies night without Bert
On a night full of memories and emotion, Patti will present the inaugural Bert Newton Award at the Logies, honouring her beloved husband.
Fiona Byrne
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Patti Newton hopes to do her beloved husband, TV legend Bert Newton, proud when she presents the award named in his honour at the TV Week Logie Awards on Sunday night.
On a night full of memories and emotion, Patti will present the inaugural Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter at the gathering of the Australian TV industry on the Gold Coast.
After a TV career that spanned more than 60 years, during which he became known as the face of the Logies, Bert passed away on October 30, 2021 aged 83 following a long battle with ill health.
“Bert loved the Logies, he really did love the Logies,” Patti said.
“He hosted 20 of them and he took risks and he was very happy to do so, and loved it when things went wrong. I remember Mike Willesee ringing him after he hosted the Logies (in 1986) and saying ‘how did you do it so many times? It is the most daunting thing I have ever done,’ and a lot of people felt like that because it is a big night and that is what I am a little bit concerned about for me.
“Walking out on to that stage, it is what Bert did so well, it is not what I do well and I am just hoping that I can do him proud because I don’t want to let him down.
“Bert embraced those big events where there was a huge audience and it was a bit daunting, but he just seemed to not get nervous and loved them. That is how he felt about the Logies, it was special for him.”
Patti said through Bert’s association as the event’s host on 20 occasions, a four time Gold Logie winner and a member of the Logies Hall Of Fame, the awards ceremony had been of great significance to the Newton family since 1967.
Bert first hosted the awards in 1967 and one of the awards he handed out that night was to Patti as Most Popular Female in Victoria.
“We are absolutely tickled pink that with this award his name will always be associated with the Logies, because they meant such a lot to him,” Patti said.
“I have so many memories from the awards over the years. The year (1972) Roger Moore attended, there were a number of well-known international guests and they had their agents with them.
“They were so impressed with Bert (who was hosting that year) they said ‘you have to come overseas, you have to come to the States, you would be a knockout and we will steer you in the right direction’ and Bert said ‘Oh, thank you,’ and then he went off to the crew party and never thought another thing of it.
“Later I said to him ‘I think that was a genuine offer’ and he said, ‘I don’t want to go and live in America, I love Australia, I’d rather be here,’ so that is how he felt.”
Of his four Gold Logie wins, Patti said Bert’s last win in 1984, which was presented by the then Prime Minister Bob Hawke, was “very special”.
“When you win a Gold Logie you are excited about them all. I don’t think one overshadows the other,” Patti said.
“But the last one he got meant a lot, he was most excited about it because he did not think he had a chance and when they announced him he really was shocked.”
Patti said while Bert was a celebrated sidekick on TV in the court of the Logies he reigned supreme.
“He was always second banana to Graham (Kenney) and second banana to Don (Lane) but at the Logies he was the king,” she said.
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