The Brisbane Lions mourn the passing of Australian entertainment icon and loyal ‘Royboy’ Bert Newton, who was official farewelled today with a State Funeral in Melbourne.
Newton grew up in Fitzroy and was a passionate supporter of the Fitzroy Football Club. He famously drove Fitzroy Legend Kevin ‘Bulldog’ Murray to Channel 7 for an interview immediately after he’d claimed the 1969 Brownlow Medal.
Although his interest in the Lions admittedly waned following the merger between his beloved Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears in 1997, there’s no disputing Newton’s enormous contribution to the Fitzroy Football Club – let alone the entire Australian entertainment industry.
Australian actor Gil Tucker – most notable for his role on the television crime drama Cop Shop – connected with Newton due to their mutual love of the Lions and kindly penned the following tribute for lions.com.au following his friend’s sad passing:
"I first met Bert on 3 August 1986 when we held the first Fitzroy Football Club "Giant Fightback Variety Night" at Festival Hall (see poster). My good friend John Preston introduced me to Fitzroy when I came down from Sydney to work in the theatre and television industry. Fitzroy was very much a struggling club at the time and a group of us got together to try to help raise money.
We assembled a terrific cast including John Waters, Greg Champion, Stephen Cummings, the stars from Prisoner, Flying Doctors and Daddy Cool. This was also the night when Kylie stepped out from the Neighbours backing group and first sang ‘Locomotion’, which of course became an overnight sensation.
Bert rang me prior to this to see if he could assist in any way. I suggested to him that as his time was limited, that he could draw the raffle for us. This was the time when raffles were about the only thing between the Lions and oblivion. On the night, Bert got his son Matthew to draw the raffle, and of course he drew out his own ticket!
"Redraw!" “Redraw"! was the call from the auditorium, which he duly did. Bert came backstage after the show and we all had a great laugh about it.
Even though this my first meeting with him, he made you feel as if you had known him for years. He was never looking over your shoulder to see if there was a more important person in the room, which is rare indeed for a person of his stature.
A few years later, Bert generously invited me onto his morning show to talk about my herb business. Amongst other things, I sold garnishing flowers which Bert ate and promptly fell off his chair – never one to miss an opportunity.
It was however his love of Fitzroy that unified us. Bert was very proud of his nephew, John Newton, who played 12 games for the Lions from 1971-73.
Although he wasn't able to get to many games due to his commitments, he was very knowledgeable about the game and was often seen at the cricket club at Fitzroy.
I attended many Logies nights and was able to see Bert up close. He was never a threat to anyone. He worked with – as he always had – the other persons interests at heart, which somehow seemed to lift everyone up to his level. We are certainly the lesser for his passing."
- Gil Tucker
