The late Bert Newton will be honoured in Melbourne tonight when the theatre district goes dark to commemorate his outstanding contribution to the city’s arts community.
As reported by Time Out, the lights of some of Melbourne’s famous theatres will be dimmed from 7:30pm this Thursday, November 11th, for one minute to celebrate Newton’s legacy.
The act of dimming the lights is a longstanding tradition and is only done for those who have immensely contributed to the theatre industry. The participating venues – the Princess, Regent, Athenaeum, and Comedy theatres – were reportedly unanimous in their decision to bestow this honour on Newton.
The beloved Aussie entertainer was born in Fitzroy in 1938. His first foray into the entertainment industry came while working at the radio station 3XY at the age of 15, which was based out of the aforementioned Princess Theatre.
Newton was a pivotal figure in the later revival of Melbourne’s theatre scene. He performed at most of the city’s major venues in a wide variety of productions, including notably Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, The Producers, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Wicked.
“Bert made an enormous contribution to the theatre, and we should be forever grateful that so many of his iconic performances were on the stages of Melbourne’s east end theatres,” Jason Marriner, CEO for the Marriner Group, who control five of landmark heritage theatres, said.
Newton passed away on October 30th, aged 83. He had been fighting illness since 2020 and one of his legs had to be amputated below the knee earlier this year.
The late star is also been given the high honour of a state funeral service. It will take place this Friday, November 12th, and will be held at St Patrick’s Cathedral in East Melbourne, a stone’s throw from the theatre district that will dim their lights for him. The service will be livestreamed from 10am and can be viewed here.
Check out The Best of Bert Newton:
