Neil Balnaves dead – Mogul who brought Big Brother & Bananas in Pyjamas to TV dies in freak boat crash aged 77
ENTERTAINMENT mogul Neil Balnaves, who brought Big Brother and Bananas in Pyjamas to TV screens, has died in a boat accident.
Balnaves was killed in Tahiti aged 77 while holidaying on board the Oneworld mega-motor yacht off the Polynesian island.
The millionaire from Sydney was aboard a small boat alongside the yacht when it flipped over in the waves, throwing him under.
It is understood he could not be revived after the accident, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reports.
He is survived by his wife, Diane Balnaves, who he married in 1971, and his children, son Hamish and daughters Alexandra and Victoria.
He produced a series of shows, including Big Brother, Bananas in Pyjamas, Water Rats and McLeod’s Daughters.
The millionaire also suffered a near-fatal boating accident on the Gold Coast in 2002, which changed his outlook on life.
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At the time he said: “How many more houses do I need? Do I want the jet plane? Do I want another yacht? Not really.
“There comes a time when those things stop meaning so much to you.”
He went on to become a noted philanthropist, with his Balnaves Foundation, giving away around £10 million.
Balnaves left school in Adelaide aged 15 and went on to make his fortune in media.
He was a former managing director of the Australian division of the famous animated production company Hanna-Barbera.
Balnaves went on to run Southern Star Television which became Endemol Shine Australia .