FAREWELL MR LOGIES

Australia’s most beloved star kept us smiling, laughing and watching him for six decades

- JENNY BROWN

It was a life lived large, full of love, laughter and the most extraordinary highlights, and you can be sure Bert Newton, the most beloved of all our stars, is still beaming that brilliant smile as we prepare for his final farewell show.

He was affectionately called Moonface, and to many of us he glowed just as bright, lighting up our TV screens with charm and boundless energy to bring joy to generations of Aussies. But he was so much more than a television star.

There was and always will be just one Bert.

FAMILY MAN

One of the last great showmen, he always lit up the room. Just a few days before his death, Bert was still smiling through the terrible pain he endured after a life-saving leg amputation in May, in a heartwarming photo with his grandchildren.

Even in his last moments Bert, 83, showed his enormous heart and unending love for his family, with wife Patti, 76, revealing that she believes he chose to quietly pass away alone just moments after she left him – to spare her the pain of that final, heartbreaking farewell. “We have to make sure that the love he gave us stays with us forever,” a heartbroken Patti told their six grandchildren the day after their “Poppy” died.

Patti tells how Bert would love that he is going to be farewelled with a state funeral in Melbourne.

“All our hearts are breaking because he was just the most wonderful man,” she says.