Australian entertainment mogul Neil Balnaves – who brought Big Brother and Bananas in Pyjamas to TV screens – ha died at age 77 after a tragic boating accident in Tahiti.
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The Mosman millionaire was aboard a tender – a small boat – alongside the yacht when it flipped over in the waves, throwing him under.
The TV mogul had been holidaying on board the Oneworld mega-motor yacht off the Polynesian island when the disaster happened.
Balnaves was best known for running Southern Star Television, which later became Endemol Shine Australia – and being the man behind Big Brother.
He is survived by his wife, Diane Balnaves, who he married in 1971, and his children – son Hamish and daughters Alexandra and Victoria.
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He produced a slew of shows, including Big Brother, Bananas in Pyjamas, Water Rats, and McLeod’s Daughters.
After a string of successes in TV, he went on to become chair of the Ardent Leisure Group – which runs Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast – from 2003 until 2016.
The millionaire also suffered a near-fatal boating accident on the Gold Coast in 2002, which changed his outlook on life.
He broke more than 40 bones during that first accident, leaving him on life support, with family friends saying he had spent the last two decades ‘putting himself back together.
He went on to become a noted philanthropist, with his Balnaves Foundation giving away $20million.
According to the website, the foundation, which was established in 2006, disperses more than $3million annually.
That money is given to eligible organizations that aim ‘to create a better Australia through education, medicine and the arts with a focus on young people, the disadvantaged and indigenous Australia’.
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