He may not have been able to attend his father’s funeral in person, but Matthew Newton was sure to give Bert Newton a heartwarming goodbye in a letter read aloud on his behalf during the TV icon’s state funeral.
WATCH: Matthew Newton’s Letter For father Bert’s Funeral
“I’m very sorry that due to the pandemic I can’t be with you all there to celebrate dad,” the letter from Matthew began.
“Growing up, I never really watched Bambi or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or a lot of other kids movies you could name. I didn’t want to. What fascinated me were the movies that created that black and white glow radiating through the doorway of my dad’s home office – that’s where I wanted to be.
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“So by the age of 10, my dad had introduced me to Humphrey Bogart, the Marks Brothers, Eliza Cook Junior, Katharine Hepburn, Frank Sinatra and on and on. They were our buddies, and dad and I began a back and forth conversation about them that would continue without a break for the next 34 years.
“Swapping old showbiz stories and legends was how he and I, two Catholic Australian men of different generations, expressed our love and affection for one another. We exchanged the same stories and bits, hundreds of them, over and over, not caring that we already knew them, just loving to hear them again and again.
“More importantly, hearing the other person tell them again. They were the conversational equivalent of playing our favourite songs. We were jamming together and we loved it. It was our secret club.
“I remember proudly telling dad when I was a kid, ‘Hey, the books on my shelf in my bedroom and the books on the shelf in your office are all about the same sort of things, dad.’ To which he replied, ‘Absolutely.’ Of course, the other way of saying that was, ‘Matthew, you stole half my library.’
“A lot’s been said about my dad’s sharp wit, but my two personal favourite off-the-cuff lines of his weren’t said on television or even in front of a proper audience.
“In fact, there was only one single person present. One was a doctor, the other was an 11-year-old me. Now, these lines don’t have a place in today’s proceedings as both edge towards being a little risque.
“But what I love about them is they were said to people who weren’t going to further his career or write a great review. Dad purely wanted to pop the tension of an awkward situation and see another human being light up and laugh.
“I honestly believe that that was the thing, apart from his family, that made dad the happiest. It was a superpower, and he always tried to use it for good. Over the last 10 years, while I’ve lived abroad, dad and I would play our conversational songs over Zoom and FaceTime, tools that allowed me to connect and, in a way, re-connect with my whole family – but especially with dad.
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“Everyone knows he was a great entertainer, but what a lot of people don’t know about dad was that he wouldn’t just be around for the laughs. Those close to him experienced how he’d show up in the tough times too. No one more than me.
“One final conversation a few days before we lost him was different from the usual and we both knew it. But change was never directly stated, but the stories and the laughs and just said how much we loved each other.
“During this wonderful chat, my mother was pottering around in the background adding her two cents every now and again and doing lovely things for dad, as usual. At one point, she took something into another room and the second she left dad leaned into the phone camera and whispered, ‘I think she’s poisoning my food, Matthew.’
“Well, we both laughed and laughed until we cried. Although given why were here today, mum, perhaps I should have taken him more seriously!
“Well, now, as much as dad would have loved that tag, it really doesn’t work, does it, mum, because, you know, there’s not a lioness in the world who loved, supported and cherished her lion as much as you did.
“You two were a team – are a team – and even though your partner isn’t on stage anymore, the show goes on and you’ll be okay. Mainly because you’ll have Lauren’s 97 children to take care of you.
“Truly, though, his grandkids became dad’s new favourite thing on the planet and Sam, Eva, Lola, Monty, Perla and Alby gave him a new lease of life in his seventh and eighth decade.
“Dad was the ultimate host – never a presenter – a term he loathed. And if he was here today, he would be entertaining, moving, sincere and mischievous, expertly saving everyone all the feelings of awkwardness and embarrassment.
“And that’s how he’d want this day to be with a wink, not a tear. So with that in mind, Albert Watson Wilburforsce Patrick Thomas Francis Archibald Kenneth John Aloysius Peter Newton, I’m going to really miss jamming with you, mate. Here’s looking at you, kid.”
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