The making OF MOONFACE
INSIDE THE ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER OF A TELEVISION PIONEER
Born in Fitzroy, Melbourne on July 23, 1938, Albert Watson Newton appeared destined for the spotlight from an early age.
At 13, Bert scored his first professional gig on local radio station, 3XY. He voiced an on-air advert during a broadcast from his scout hall.
Bert quickly became a fixture on the radio network’s Saturday morning children’s show. By 1954, at the age of 15, he was employed as a junior announcer and it appeared that, even at such a tender age, Bert’s potential was already being recognised.
Small-screen opportunities soon came knocking, which Bert jumped at. Believing he no longer had a voice for radio, he made his first foray into television as a host on Channel HSV-7’S variety show, The Late Show.
“Back in the ’50s, first up you had to sound quite British on Australian radio. But all of a sudden overnight, you had to become American … ‘Oh baby hey, ready to rock’ and it wasn’t me,” Bert told ABC Radio in 2013. “I thought, ‘I can just see myself being taken off-air.’ Television came along, and thank God!”
Describing the change as an “exciting time”, Bert made $50 a week and provided his own suits and transport.
“It was pretty good money for a young bloke,” he said.
Several years later, Bert moved over to rival network GTV-9 to host daytime television program,
In Melbourne Today. During that era, a live appearance alongside Graham Kennedy sowed the seeds for a future on-air partnership, with the mates making many sideby-side appearances on both radio and television.
By 1962, Bert was handed the reins as host of The Channel 9 Show and then truly came of age when he signed on to variety program, The Don Lane Show, in 1975. During this period, Bert won his first two Gold Logies. It was also
where he earned the enduring nickname ‘Moonface’.
Bert’s impressive run on The Don Lane Show lasted until 1983, but along the way he landed a slew of other hosting gigs including fronting The Bert Newton Show, Ford Superquiz and Tonight With Bert Newton.
In 1975, Bert took over the helm of amateur talent show, New Faces, hosting until it ended in 1985. He added two more Gold Logies to his collection along the way.
Bert defected from Nine to Network Ten in 1992, moving back to daytime television as
‘I ALWAYS ENDEAVOURED TO PRESENT A PROGRAM THAT I WOULD ENJOY WATCHING’
the host of Good Morning Australia. An instant hit, GMA ran for an impressive 14 years. Bert also picked up another Logie for his efforts, winning Most Popular Light Entertainment Personality.
After GMA, Bert signed a new contract with Nine, which would see him host shows such as Bert’s Family Feud and 20 to 1.
“I’ve always endeavoured when I’ve done television work … to present a program that I would enjoy watching at home,” Bert reflected. “You hope that the tastes of the audiences are the same! Sometimes it’s worked, sometimes it hasn’t.”
Although Bert never held another permanent television contract after the early 2010s, he remained a prominent presence in the Australian media landscape and held the record for hosting the most TV Week Logies at 19 times.
Outside of television, Bert established himself as a seasoned stage and musical theatre performer. Since the 1990s up until 2015, Bert starred in numerous national productions, including The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music, Wicked, The Producers and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
In 2006, Bert was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to entertainment.
It is with great sadness the entertainment industry and generations of Australians have now said farewell to one of the pioneering legends of Australian television.