Bert Newton's troubled son Matthew has spoken about his estrangement from his father in a touching eulogy, which was read out at the TV icon's state funeral in Melbourne on Friday.
In the eulogy, which was read aloud by Bert's long-time friend, radio and television announcer Peter Smith, Matthew spoke about the pair 'reconnecting' over Zoom and FaceTime after he moved to New York several years ago.
Matthew said social media had helped him to 'connect' with his family.
Father and son: While he wasn't present for his father's funeral in Melbourne on Friday, Matthew Newton still wrote a touching eulogy for his beloved dad, Bert
'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 reconnect with my whole family, but especially with Dad,' he said.
He added that his father was always there for him in the 'tough times', and said he had depth beyond his reputation as a larrikin.
'Everyone knows he was a great entertainer, but what a lot of people don't know about Dad is that he wouldn't just be around for the laughs,' Matthew continued in his eulogy.
Losing touch: The 44-year-old troubled actor hinted at a tumultuous relationship with his late father, as he spoke about them reconnecting. Pictured at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada in September 2017
'Those close to him experienced how he'd show up in the tough times, too. No one more than me.'
He also spoke about their 'final conversation' a few days before Bert's death, and admitted it 'was different from the usual, and we both knew it'.
'The change was never directly stated, but we eschewed the stories and the laughter, and just said how much we loved each other,' he continued.
'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 reconnect with my whole family, but especially with Dad,' Matthew said
'During that 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 we're here today, Mum, perhaps I should've taken him more seriously!'
'Everyone knows he was a great entertainer, but what a lot of people don't know about dad is that he wouldn't just be around for the laughs,' Matthew continued in his eulogy. Pictured during a TV appearance in New York City in February 2017
Jokes aside, Matthew described his mother as fiercely protective of his father, and added 'there's not a lioness in the world who loved, supported and cherished her lion as much as you did Dad'.
'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 OK, mainly because you'll have Lauren's 97 children to take care of you,' he teased.
Earlier this month, Patti Newton confirmed her son would not return to Melbourne from his home in New York to attend the star's funeral.
Explaining his absence, Matthew began his eulogy by apologising for not being there, saying the pandemic had meant he was unable to travel.
'I'm very sorry that due to the pandemic I can't be with you all there to celebrate Dad,' he said.
Patti, 76, also slammed recent media reports that her TV legend husband was estranged from their son.
'The press are just desperate to find a little glitch into [their relationship],' she told Daily Mail Australia.
'He won't be coming. For no reason. I don't know, I mean maybe he needs to put a statement out to stop everybody thinking that there's a rift or something.'
Bert died aged 83 on October 30 after a well-publicised battle with illness over recent months.
He was hospitalised in March and underwent surgery on his leg in May. He needed surgery after his toe became infected before Christmas.
The infection was 'linked to his diabetes' and was threatening his life, with doctors telling him the surgery was a 'life or death decision'.
Doctors told Bert that if he kept the leg then he would have just 'months to live' rather than years if he chose to amputate.
Patti lashed out at media reports that continue to suggest her son had been estranged from his father in the years before his death.
'There was no rift. He's had many long conversations with Bert in the hospital and that was all fine,' she said.
The beloved singer, who is 76, said Matthew would be held-up by the Covid-19 pandemic, which continues to cause havoc across the United States.
'It's just the logistics of it all, and with Covid, and with everything else,' she said.
Patti revealed Matthew was able to see his father regularly while he was alive via video calls.
'But he didn't personally, so I would find that a bit sad if the time that he saw him was when he wasn't really alive.'
Patti revealed Matthew had spoken to Bert in his final days via video conference where they would discuss his famous father's relationships with some of Hollywood's hottest stars of his era.
'He had the best conversations. They're both into movies and things, so they talked about old movies and I think the height of the conversation was about Glenn Ford because Bert was the only one that Glenn Ford would speak to and Matthew had heard the story and he wanted to hear it again,' she said.
'I've had so many conversations with him. We had a conversation last night and all the family were here. (The media) want to make it a rift, but
