Bert Newton was estimated to have won an impressive 36 Logie Awards throughout his TV career, but according to Patti, only 17 are accounted for. So what happened to the rest of them?
That mystery was addressed recently on The Morning Show, during their coverage of the entertainment icon’s state funeral in Melbourne.
‘[Patti] reckons he has 36 Logies, but you can only find 17 around the house,’ said co-hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gilles.
‘There are a lot of people around Melbourne with those things on the mantelpiece thanks to Bert Newton.’
Bert passed away on October 30, aged 82, after several years of declining health.
In the days following the legendary entertainer’s death, his friend, entertainment reporter Peter Ford, revealed Bert had confided in him that he’d given away some of his Logies.
Ford said that Bert made him promise he wouldn’t report on it until after he died, and said that Bert confided to him that he’d “probably broken some kind of Logie law, they’re going to come after me.’
It was revealed that Bert had gifted one of his Gold Logies to a dying AIDS patient in Melbourne back in 1990.
Speaking to Melbourne radio station 3AW earlier this month, Ford said that Bert had even visited the patient at the Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital – a place few others wanted to go.
‘I went out to the hospital and there was a sort of buzz in the air. As soon as I walked in, I could tell it was a different mood and place to what it normally was,’ Ford recounted of Bert’s visit.
Ford added that Bert had gone around the wards visiting the patients and left behind one of his four Gold Logies.
Eddie McGuire also spoke about Bert giving away his Logies, recounting Ford’s story while delivering a eulogy at Bert’s funeral.
‘Peter told the story, sworn to secrecy until Bert said he’d carked it, of Bert hearing a man dying from AIDS at a time when sufferers were stigmatised and isolated,’ the 57-year-old media personality said.
‘Not only did Bert visit and spend hours with every person in the ward, but gave the man one of his beloved Gold Logies.’
‘An amazing gesture, one that lifted the morale of all in the depths of their despair, the only reward being that Bert gave those on their worst day something to remember as their best.’
He added that ‘Patti had never heard the story until last week’, but it went ‘some way’ to explaining the missing Logies.
‘It did, however, go some way to solve a family mystery. Bert had won some 36 Logies over his career, but the family could only find 17. Suddenly it all made sense,’ said Eddie.
Image: Nine News
This article first appeared on Over60.