Entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins today shared an update on John Farnham’s health struggles following the shock cancer diagnosis of the beloved Australian singer.
Wilkins, an old friend of the 73-year-old hitmaker, became visibly emotional when he revealed that Farnham was preparing for surgery.
“This is an announcement that no one wants to make and certainly no one wants to hear,” Wilkins, 68, told Today’s co-hosts Karl Stefanovic and Ally Langdon.
“Right now he is being prepared. He apparently jokes with the doctors, so it was very curious for him,” he later added with a chuckle.
It’s the latest in a series of emotional blows to Wilkins, who still mourns the loss of several close friends, including Olivia Newton-John, New Zealand singer Margaret Urlich, The Seekers frontwoman Judith Durham and Indigenous Australian singer Archie Roach..
When asked by Langdon how he’s dealing with the bad news, Wilkins candidly replied, “It’s been a rough time. Didn’t sleep much last night.’
Today, entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins, 68, (pictured) got emotional when he revealed that his friend John Farnham, 73, is in a good mood and “joking with the doctors” ahead of his emergency surgery for cancer on Tuesday morning
“Right now he is being prepared. He apparently jokes with the doctors, so it was very curious for him,” he told Today’s co-hosts Karl Stefanovic and Ally Langdon. Pictured: Farnham performing in Fremantle, January 2020
“When these things happen, everyone needs to talk and vent and yell at other people who caught up with the early news,” he added.
On Tuesday morning, news broke that Farnham had been diagnosed with cancer and would be undergoing surgery hours later.
The family of the legendary pop singer released a statement Tuesday morning revealing the shock diagnosis, but it’s clear surgeons are confident the surgery to remove a cancerous tumor will be successful.
It’s the latest in a string of emotional blows to Wilkins, who still mourns the loss of several close friends, including iconic singer Olivia Newton-John (left)
Wilkins also recently collapsed on the Today show when speaking about Newton-John’s death
“We recently found out that John has a cancerous tumor. He was hospitalized this morning for surgery and further treatment,” the statement said.
Farnham, best known for his iconic Australian anthem You’re the Voice, said cancer is something “so many people deal with every day.”
“All I know for sure is that we have the very best healthcare professionals in Victoria, and we can be thankful for that. I know I am,’ he said.
On Tuesday morning, news broke that Farnham had been diagnosed with cancer and would be undergoing surgery hours later. Pictured in Melbourne in June 2015
Veteran entertainment reporter Peter Ford said Farnham’s family is “quietly confident that things will be fine.”
“They don’t want people to panic. His wife is there, his two sons are there with him. The doctors are confident they can get it,” he told Sunrise.
The revelation comes weeks after the Australian music industry was rocked by the death of Farnham’s longtime friend and collaborator, Olivia Newton-John, after her long battle with breast cancer.
Surgeons are confident that surgery to remove the cancerous tumor will be successful. (Pictured: Farnham with Olivia Newton-John in February 2020)
The Farnham family expressed their “love and condolences” to Newton-John’s family in a statement following her death on Aug. 8.
“Behind that iconic smile was a tenacious fighter. A beautiful voice and a loyal friend. She will be greatly missed,” the statement said.
He was the last person to stand on stage with Newton-John, at the Fire Fight Australia bushfire relief concert in February 2020. He performed three songs and a duet with the Grease star..
John, pictured with wife Jillian Billman in 1973, had recently given up his 56-year-old smoking habit and was drinking less alcohol
Farnham also lost longtime friend and manager Glenn Wheatley, 74, who died of complications from Covid-19 in February.
Farnham’s wife Jillian told the Daily Mail Australia at the time that her husband was “too unwell” to talk publicly about the loss of the legendary music producer.
Wheatley masterminded Farnham’s rise in the early 1980s, at a time when the musician was struggling to feed his family.
Farnham is best known for his hit single You’re the Voice, which was released in September 1986
Farnham sang his way into the hearts of Australia as a fresh-faced teenager in the 1960s, but had all but fallen into oblivion before his most famous album Whispering Jack shot him back to the top some 20 years later.
The 1986 album featured one of the country’s most popular pop music anthems, You’re the Voice, and took Farnham to iconic status.
Farnham succeeded Whispering Jack with his hit albums Age of Reason (1988) and Chain Reaction (1990).
Farnham’s family revealed the news of the legendary singer’s cancer diagnosis this morning
His cancer diagnosis isn’t the first time Farnham has faced a major health battle.
In 2019, he had to cancel his Australian tour at the last minute when he was hospitalized with a serious kidney infection.
‘I only realized it too late. I felt uncomfortable. My wife Jill told me to go to the doctor,” he explained at the time.
“I was very unwell there for a while,” he said, adding that he was “well now” and… ‘it gave me a wake-up call to take care of myself a bit more’.
In 2019, he had to cancel his Australian tour at the last minute when he was hospitalized with a serious kidney infection. Pictured performing on Cockatoo Island in November 2019
The kidney infection arose after he had undergone surgery three months earlier, which also caused shows to be cancelled.
Farnham said he has completely overhauled his lifestyle after the health scare, including by quitting smoking and cutting back on alcohol consumption.
After battling the kidney infection, he held a charity concert to support the Australian farming community during the devastating drought, which raised more than $4.4 million.
“We are talking about generations of farmers who lose their property or animals to drought and in some cases lose their lives or hurt themselves,” he said at the time.
Farnham has been recognized with several major honors and awards, including Australian of the Year 1987, Officer of the Order of Australia in 1996 and 19 ARIA Awards including his induction into the Hall of Fame in 2003.
Farnham was born in 1949 in Dagenham, England, and immigrated to Australia at the age of 10 with his family, settling in Melbourne.
Farnham was the last person to take the stage alongside Olivia Newton-John at the Fire Fight Australia bushfire-fighting concert in February 2020