Albert Watson Newton (23 July 1938 – 30 October 2021) was an Australian media personality. He was a Logie Hall of Fame inductee, quadruple Gold Logie–winning entertainer, and radio, theatre and television personality and compère.
Newton was known for his collaborations opposite Graham Kennedy and subsequently Don Lane on their respective variety shows, and appearances with his wife, singer Patti Newton.
Newton started his career in radio broadcasting, primarily as an announcer, before becoming a star and fixture of Australian television since its inception in 1956, and was considered both an industry pioneer icon and one of the longest-serving television performers in the world.
Newton was known for his association with both the Nine Network and Ten Network on numerous variety shows, including In Melbourne Tonight, New Faces, Good Morning Australia, 20 to 1 and game show Bert's Family Feud.
Newton was born in Fitzroy, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, to Joseph (Joe) and Gladys Newton. He had three brothers (Tom, Jack and Bob) and two sisters (Alice and Elizabeth). He was educated at St Joseph's Marist Brothers Roman Catholic college. In his early years, he had thoughts of entering the priesthood and remained an active Roman Catholic.
Newton's first paid radio appearance was as a schoolboy on Melbourne radio station 3XY on 10 June 1952, doing advertisements dressed as a clown with Doug McKenzie, who later became Zag in Zig and Zag.
"... there was a radio program on 3XY Melbourne called Scouting Around, compered by the late Tom Jones. One week, the broadcast was recorded at our Scout Hall, and as the direct result of this, I began to appear on 3XY." This led to regular appearances on a Saturday morning children's show, in which he worked with disc jockey Stan Rofe and McKenzie.
In May 1954, 3XY employed him as a junior announcer (aged 15); by 1955, he was presenting Melbourne Speaks, a vox pop program recorded on the streets of Melbourne's CBD. After GTV-9 purchased 3AK in April 1961, all GTV-9 personalities were expected to present programs on 3AK. Graham Kennedy and Newton hosted a two-hour morning program. He began a morning program on 3UZ in 1976. The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd appointed Newton as general manager of 3DB in 1986, which he combined with on-air appearances until 1988.
Newton began his television career in 1957 at Melbourne's HSV-7, hosting The Late Show. Newton left for GTV-9 in early 1959 to host In Melbourne Today. After appearing in a live commercial on In Melbourne Tonight with his friend Graham Kennedy in 1959, he began to make regular appearances on the show and assumed hosting duties on some episodes. This began a lifelong association with Kennedy.
From 1959 to 1960, he hosted The Bert Newton Show (later retitled Hi-Fi Club) on GTV-9, a series aimed at teenagers.
From 1960 to 1961, Newton appeared in the national Graham Kennedy's Channel 9 Show (a weekly national version of IMT). In January 1962, the show was cancelled and replaced by the similar The Channel 9 Show, hosted by Newton.
From 1975 to mid-1992 Newton mainly appeared on the Nine Network.
In 1975 Newton was cast in the role of sidekick and "barrel boy" on The Don Lane Show. He was dubbed "Moonface", and the nickname stuck. Newton frequently appeared in outlandish costumes, often sending up celebrities. Newton memorably sent up Demis Roussos, who was sent on set while Newton was doing the impersonation. Newton remained on the show until it ended in 1983.
Newton briefly hosted his own program, The Bert Newton Show, recorded for the ABC. It was not a success, and he returned to working with Kennedy.
In 1976, Newton replaced long-running compere Frank Wilson on Nine's amateur talent program New Faces. The show was a success, and lasted until 1985. In 1992, Newton hosted another version of New Faces; however, it did not last for long.
In 1981, Newton (and wife Patti) presented a quiz show, Ford Superquiz, produced by the Reg Grundy organisation for the Nine Network.
Tonight with Bert Newton was a short-lived attempt to bring back the spirit of IMT. It aired in 1984. The Bert Newton Show was created for the Seven Network in 1989 as an attempt to woo some of the audience away from The Midday Show with Ray Martin. This, however, did not rate well and was only on air for that year.
In 1992, Newton moved into daytime TV as host of The Morning Show, which was soon renamed Good Morning Australia (GMA) on Network Ten. The show revived Newton's celebrity status and was a continuing success for Ten. GMA was a mix of interviews, music, cooking segments and infomercials. It was broadcast live-to-air on Mondays and Tuesdays, but for the rest of the week live-to-tape (recorded complete and aired later). GMA was cancelled in late 2005 after a 14-year run. Although Newton was offered ongoing employment at Network Ten, he stated that he would return to the Nine Network in 2006.