‘He was brave’: Adelaide carer Char Weeks, pays tribute to media legend Philip Brady

She’s the latest to pay tribute to the Australian media personality, who she said brought out the best in both of them.

Australian media personality Philip Brady’s Adelaide carer has paid tribute to him following his death saying caring for him brought out the “very best in both of us”.

Char Weeks, met the radio and TV legend while she was caring for her mother Alison — who had advanced dementia.

“For over a decade, Philip and I frequented the same coffee shop,” she wrote on LinkedIn.

She said he would pat her dog, Goliath. Then one day she invited him to say hello to her mother, who was a fan of his.

Philip Brady, who died after a battle with cancer, with his carer Char Weeks. Picture: LinkedIn

“Without hesitation, Philip left his seat, pulled a fan card from his pocket and autographed it before handing it to my mother with his cheery, ‘Hello Alison’,” Ms Weeks wrote.

Philip Brady, before he died from his battle with cancer, hosted exclusive coffee gatherings he titled the Brady Bunch, these are the badges. Picture: LinkedIn

“He wrote on that fan card, ‘God loves you, Alison’. She was gone not long after that.”

Eventually, Ms Weeks would go on to befriend Philip, who died on February 11, aged 85 after a short battle with cancer.

She said Philip an “intensely private person”.

“Philip and I often joked that he only liked to be the centre of attention when he wasn’t the centre of attention,” Ms Weeks said.

“He was enough to light up any room, so it was no surprise that he preferred his home lighting to be muted, if not switched off.

“He was never wasteful … One of his favourite instructions was: ‘Can you turn off that light?’.”

Philip hosted exclusive gatherings with people (and dogs) he called the “Brady Bunch”.

“Membership of the Brady Bunch was exclusive and apparently highly sought after,” Ms Weeks explained.

“Membership hopefuls would only be admitted following a yet to be determined period of initiation that included regular attendance.

“Applications were considered at a meeting of a select committee comprising Philip and his golden retriever, Oro.”

All members, of which there was anywhere up to 28, were expected to wear their membership badge or risk Philip not paying for their coffee.

“No Brady Bunch gathering would be complete without the obligatory group photo being testimony to the number of attendees and the popularity of the club,” Ms Weeks said.

Philip Brady was a radio legend who died on February 11, 2025.

Ms Weeks cared for Philip, after he was diagnosed with cancer on December 5.

“To have been able to look after Philip on this last journey has filled my soul with a joy that I have never before experienced,” she said.

“Being with Philip Brady has brought out the absolute best in me. And, I hope, also in him.

“Throughout those last weeks, I watched him fade from life. I watched him struggle for the barest of breaths.

“He was matter of fact as he came to terms with the finality of his cancer. ‘I don’t think that I’m long for this world,’ he’d said.

“He was brave. He was pragmatic … Towards the end, he’d ask hopefully, ‘Do you think it will be tonight?’

“He’d had enough.”

Originally published as ‘He was brave’: Adelaide carer Char Weeks, pays tribute to media legend Philip Brady