Tributes have flooded in for George Negus after the veteran present affairs journalist died on the age of 82 after battling Alzheimer’s illness.
Channel 9’s 60 Minutes program introduced the information of the veteran journalist’s loss of life on Tuesday.
George’s former Immediately Present co-host Liz Hayes has since paid tribute to the 60 Minutes broadcaster in a candy message.
Showing on A Present Affair on Tuesday, Liz gushed that the 9News star was ‘really distinctive’ as she shared some heartfelt phrases.
‘George was a potent human being and, in my life, somebody I’ll always remember. He left his mark irrespective of how he was or the place he was,’ she gushed.
Liz, 68, who hosted the Immediately Present alongside George from 1987 to 1990, added that her former co-star could be remembered for his ‘insatiable curiosity’.
‘He was really distinctive – there was one George and just one George and thats why, in lots of respects, he stood out,’ she stated.
‘He was only a good man. Curious past perception, all the time had questions he wished answered. He introduced enormous character to tv [and] an insatiable urge for food to know extra.’
George Negus’ former Immediately Present co-host Liz Hayes paid tribute to the veteran broadcaster on A Present Affair on Tuesday, saying he was ‘ really distinctive’
Showing on A Present Affair on Tuesday, Liz gushed that the 9News star was ‘really distinctive’ as she shared some heartfelt phrases. Liz is pictured with George Negus (backside left), Lisa Wilkinson (high left) and Karl Stefanovic (high proper)
Liz was joined by George’s former 60 Minutes colleague Ian Leslie, who stated George was the ‘spark’ that made the present affairs present work.
‘We would have liked a stand out, we wanted a spark to get the viewers on aspect,’ he stated.
‘We would have liked a Negus, we wanted that form of city cowboy. That penetrating voice to get the message out. George was the spark that took 60 minutes to he heights it bought to.’
Ian added that seeing his former colleague struck down with Alzheimer’s illness was ‘merciless’.
‘For a person who liked phrases, who liked talking, who liked telling a narrative, and his voice was his lifeblood, [for] that to have been taken away from him is simply extremely merciless and really, very unhappy,’ he stated.
Tributes for the tv icon continued with rocker Jimmy Barnes additionally sharing his ideas on Instagram.
Liz was joined by George’s former 60 minutes colleague Ian Leslie, who stated that George was the ‘spark’ that made the present affairs present work
George (pictured in 2012) introduced 60 Minutes when the present launched in Australia in 1979, by to 1986
Jimmy captioned a photograph of George with a candy tribute to the ‘great man’.
‘We’re extraordinarily saddened to listen to that George Negus has handed away,’ Jimmy wrote.
‘George was a beautiful man who all the time advised it prefer it was – a straight shooter, a gentleman and an enormous music fan.
‘He was a real authentic who can be missed by many. Sending a lot love from our household to Kirsty, Serge, Ned and all his household.
George introduced 60 Minutes when the present launched in Australia in 1979, by to 1986.
He was recognized with dementia about 5 years in the past and since late 2021 had been dwelling in an aged care facility in Sydney’s north.
In a press release, his household stated Negus ‘handed away peacefully surrounded by family members’ in Sydney.
‘Regardless of the challenges ailments like Alzheimer’s inflict on households, we nonetheless shared lovely instances, laughter and happiness collectively in current instances,’ they stated in a press release.
‘We additionally learnt loads.’
He was recognized with dementia about 5 years in the past and since late 2021 had been dwelling in an aged care facility in Sydney’s north
‘Whereas we all know he can be celebrated for his distinctive contribution to journalism, soccer, and the surroundings, he would additionally wish to be remembered for the unimaginable household man he was.’
In the meantime, 60 Minutes added in a press release: ‘An icon of journalism. A legendary broadcaster. A pal to many.
’60 Minutes founding reporter George Negus has sadly died at 82, after a battle with Alzheimer’s illness. We are going to all the time treasure the tales and recollections he gave us all.’
Earlier than his loss of life, Negus’ spouse Kirsty Cockburn relocated to a unit close to the Northern Seashores aged care facility during which he was residing, and visited him day by day.
His founding 60 Minutes colleagues, reporters Ray Martin and Ian Leslie, had additionally visited him there in recent times.
Leslie stated that whereas Negus’ battle with dementia was extensively recognized, his loss of life got here as a ‘hell of a shock’ and he described him as a ‘brother’.
‘It is a very unhappy, unhappy second. Lot of recollections,’ he advised Every day Mail Australia.
‘The three of us had a really, very shut bond again in 1979, after we got here collectively. I had by no means met George earlier than.
‘We immediately got here collectively as a brotherhood, as a result of we sensed this was an incredible time in broadcast historical past, and we felt this deep privilege, you recognize, that we we shared with each other.
‘So, it was like, unexpectedly, you had a few brothers.’
Negus’ fellow founding 60 Minutes colleagues, reporters Ray Martin (left) and Ian Leslie (centre), had visited Negus in recent times. Leslie stated whereas Negus’ battle with dementia was extensively recognized, his loss of life got here as a ‘hell of a shock’ and he described him as a ‘brother’
Channel 9’s 60 Minutes Australia confirmed the information of the veteran journalist’s loss of life on Tuesday
60 Minutes Australia journalist Charles Wooley, who joined this system in 1993, additionally advised how Negus ‘launched the Australian accent to Australian tv present affairs’.
‘Earlier than that, we both spoke just like the BBC or like Bob Menzies,’ Wooley advised Every day Mail Australia.
‘George first raised eyebrows on the ABC along with his unabashed broad Australian accent. However when he went to 60 Minutes that idiomatic fashion quickly turned the home look.
‘It labored and now we do not have to ‘placed on the canine’ in entrance of the digicam.’
‘He slipped away from us a very long time in the past, however his legacy lives on within the Australian language of on a regular basis broadcasting,’ Wooley added.
Negus’ spouse Kirsty Cockburn (left) relocated right into a unit close to the Northern Seashores aged care facility during which he was residing, and visited him day by day. Pictured: Negus and his spouse on the Logies in 2009
Veteran tv journalist Ray Martin, who labored alongside Negus on 60 Minutes in 1978, described him as a ‘highly effective determine’ on Australian TV.
‘He was charismatic, he was loud, he was closely opinionated, he was humorous, however he was only a nice bloke,’ Martin advised 9News.
‘Negus was a powerful character along with his moustache and the jacket over his shoulder as he was reporting in some warfare zone or getting caught into Margaret Thatcher. He was such a larger-than-life character.’
Martin additionally stated 60 Minutes would not have turn out to be one of the crucial profitable exhibits on tv with out Negus.
‘He was very moral and really sincere however he additionally was a fantastic storyteller,’ he added.
9’s director of tv Michael Healy remembered Negus as one among Australia’s largest stars.
‘Immediately, Australia misplaced one among its biggest storytellers. Once you watched a George Negus interview it was considerate, clever, composed. He was all the time in management.’
Fiona Pricey, director of stories and present affairs for 9, added: ‘Like many Australians, I grew up watching George Negus each Sunday evening on 60 Minutes.’
‘He opened Australia’s eyes to the world, he took us to locations we did not know existed, and launched us to the individuals who formed society.’
Veteran tv journalist Ray Martin described Negus as a ‘highly effective determine’ on Australian TV
Simply months earlier than his loss of life, Negus’ son Ned posted a touching Father’s Day tribute on social media to the person he referred to as ‘Negsy’ after a household outing to the seashore.
The publish was accompanied by a photograph of a frail Negus, carrying a cap and sporting his his trademark moustache, warmly embracing his son on September 1.
‘I used to be hesitant to publish this on LinkedIn, because it’s fairly private,’ Ned wrote.
‘However then realised you are all people and there is all the time a spot for sharing human realities together with your skilled community.’
Ned, who’s chief business officer for the A-League soccer competitions, then referred to his father’s Alzheimer’s analysis.
‘He is now non-verbal more often than not (mind-blowing for me but in addition any of you that know him),’ he added.
‘Immediately is Father’s Day in Australia and we had a stroll on the seashore collectively.
‘He was clearly undecided why this explicit stroll was symbolic and typically undecided with whom he was strolling.
‘At one level we stopped, he smiled broadly after which hugged me for fairly a while.
‘It was unhappy, nevertheless it was uplifting to know that even when you possibly can not say what you are feeling, you possibly can nonetheless DO what you are feeling. Love you Negsy.’
Negus was recognized with dementia about 5 years in the past and since late 2021 was dwelling in a Sydney aged facility. He’s pictured with 60 Minutes reporter Liz Hayes
Negus made his final notable public look on the November 2020 memorial service for tv trailblazer Gerald Stone, after the inaugural 60 Minutes government producer died aged 87.
Brisbane-born Negus was a highschool instructor till his late 20s when he started writing for newspapers together with The Australian, adopted by a stint on the ABC’s ground-breaking This Day Tonight.
Negus served as press secretary to attorney-general Lionel Murphy throughout Gough Whitlam’s short-lived Labor authorities and was handpicked by Stone to assist set up 60 Minutes.
Stone had chosen Negus, Leslie and Ray Martin to entrance the information program in 1979, when Kerry Packer imported the format from america to air on his 9 Community.
He labored on this system till 1986, sharing reporting duties with Leslie, Martin, Jana Wendt and, close to the top of his tenure, Jeff McMullen.
At its peak within the Eighties, 60 Minutes was a rankings juggernaut, with a 3rd or extra of the nationwide tv viewers tuning in at 7.30 on a Sunday night.
Negus was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015 ‘for vital service to the media as a journalist and tv presenter, and to conservation and the surroundings’
Negus was the primary host of the ABC’s worldwide present affairs present International Correspondent, fronting this system from 1992 to 1999.
He introduced George Negus Tonight, beforehand often called New Dimensions, on the nationwide broadcaster from 2002 to 2004.
The subsequent yr he started internet hosting Dateline on SBS earlier than turning into a daily panellist on Ten’s The Challenge, adopted by presenting 6.30 with George Negus on the identical community.
Negus was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015 ‘for vital service to the media as a journalist and tv presenter, and to conservation and the surroundings’.
