Robert Newton | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Newton inThe High and the Mighty (1954) | |
| Born | Robert Guy Newton (1905-06-01)1 June 1905 Shaftesbury,Dorset, England |
| Died | 25 March 1956(1956-03-25) (aged 50) |
| Resting place | Cremated; ashes scattered in the waters ofMount's Bay,Cornwall[1] |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1923–1956 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along withErrol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys.[2] Known for his hard-living life, he was cited as a role model by the actorOliver Reed andthe Who's drummerKeith Moon.[2]
Beginning his career in theatre in the 1920s, Newton appeared in numerous plays in theWest End, includingBitter Sweet byNoël Coward. In 1939 he was Horatio inHamlet at theOld Vic theatre oppositeLaurence Olivier'sPrince Hamlet. After serving in theRoyal Navy during the Second World War, he had his major break on screen playing the lead inThis Happy Breed (1944) and starring in Olivier's version ofHenry V (1944). These appearances saw British exhibitors vote him the 10th most popular British film star of 1944.[3]
Newton is best remembered for his portrayal of the feverish-eyedLong John Silver in the 1950RKO-Disney British adaptation ofTreasure Island, the film that became the standard for screen portrayals of historicalpirates. He starred as Edward Teach (Blackbeard) inBlackbeard the Pirate in 1952 and Long John Silver again in the1954 film of the same title, which spawneda miniseries in the mid-1950s. Born in Dorset in theWest Country of England and growing up in Cornwall near Land's End, his exaggeration of hisWest Country accent is credited with popularising the stereotypical "pirate speech".[2][4][5] Newton has become the "patron saint" of the annualInternational Talk Like a Pirate Day.[6]
Robert Guy Newton[7] was born on 1 June 1905 inShaftesbury,Dorset, a son of the landscape painterAlgernon Newton,R.A. He lived with his family inLamorna nearPenzance,Cornwall, from 1912 to 1918. He attended St. Petroc's preparatory school inBude, where he won a shooting competition in 1916,[8] and thenExeter School andSt. Bartholomew's School inNewbury, Berkshire.[9]
His acting career began at the age of 16 at theBirmingham Repertory Theatre in 1921. He appeared in many repertory shows until he went to Canada where he worked on a cattle ranch for a year.[10]
He returned to England and performed in many plays in theWest End of London, includingBitter Sweet byNoël Coward,The Letter withGladys Cooper, andHer Cardboard Lover withTallulah Bankhead. He also appeared inPrivate Lives on Broadway, taking over the role from his friendLaurence Olivier. From 1932 to 1934, he was the manager of the Shilling Theatre inFulham, London. He had a small role in the filmReunion (1932).
Newton was put under contract toAlexander Korda who cast him in small roles in the cinema filmsFire Over England (1937),Dark Journey (1937),Farewell Again (1937) andThe Squeaker (1937). He also had a part as Cassius in the abandoned version ofI, Claudius and in21 Days (shot in 1937, released 1940). Newton was borrowed by 20th Century Fox forThe Green Cockatoo (1937). Newton had a good role supportingCharles Laughton inVessel of Wrath (1938). He had another strong part inYellow Sands (1939) and had his first film lead inDead Men are Dangerous (1939). He made another with Laughton,Jamaica Inn (1939), playing the romantic male lead, directed byAlfred Hitchcock. In 1939, he played Horatio toLaurence Olivier'sHamlet at theOld Vic, in a production that includedAlec Guinness andMichael Redgrave. Newton kept busy as a film actor, appearing inPoison Pen (1939) andHell's Cargo (1939).
Newton continued primarily as a supporting actor in films, appearing inGaslight (1940),Busman's Honeymoon (1940),Bulldog Sees It Through (1940),Channel Incident (1940) andMajor Barbara (1941), directed byGabriel Pascal from the play byGeorge Bernard Shaw. Newton got another chance as a star inHatter's Castle (1942), oppositeDeborah Kerr andJames Mason. He consolidated his status by playing oppositeAnna Neagle in theAmy Johnson biopicThey Flew Alone (1942), playingJim Mollison.
Newton enlisted in theRoyal Navy and saw active service in the rank of anAble Seaman on boardHMS Britomart, which fought as an escort ship on severalRussian convoys duringWorld War II. After two and a half years in the Royal Navy he was medically discharged in 1943.
On resuming his film career, Newton played the lead inThis Happy Breed (1944), a role played on stage byNoël Coward. Directed byDavid Lean, it was a huge hit. So too was theLaurence Olivier version ofHenry V (1944), in which Newton playedAncient Pistol. These appearances helped British exhibitors vote him the 10th most popular British film star of 1944.[3] During the war, he starred in the West End inNo Orchids for Miss Blandish, which was a hit.[11]
Newton had the star role in a thrillerNight Boat to Dublin (1946), then had a showy cameo role inOdd Man Out (1947); this performance later was immortalised inHarold Pinter's playOld Times. He stayed in leads forTemptation Harbour (1947) andSnowbound (1948). Lean cast him asBill Sikes inOliver Twist (1948), a huge success critically and commercially.
He then made a series of films with Hollywood stars and/or financing:Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948), afilm noir withJoan Fontaine andBurt Lancaster;Obsession (1949), a thriller directed byEdward Dmytryk, playing a cuckolded husband who exacts revenge on his wife. He playedLong John Silver inWalt Disney's version ofTreasure Island (1950), shot in the UK, withBobby Driscoll and directed byByron Haskin. Less well known isWaterfront (1950) in whichRichard Burton appeared in his third film.
His final performance on stage was in the 1950 production ofGaslight withRosamund John at theVaudeville Theatre.
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Treasure Island's success prompted Newton to return to Hollywood. He was one of several British actors inSoldiers Three (1951), an Imperial adventure tale. He returned to Britain forTom Brown's Schooldays (1951) to playThomas Arnold, then was cast by20th Century Fox asJavert in their version ofLes Misérables (1952). In 1951, he was voted the sixth most popular British star in Britain.[12]
Gabriel Pascal gave him the role of Ferrovius inAndrocles and the Lion (1952), another Shaw adaptation. It was made byRKO who cast Newton in the title role ofBlackbeard the Pirate (1952).
Fox asked him back forThe Desert Rats (1953) opposite Richard Burton andJames Mason, playing a drunken school teacher who discovers bravery during World War II. He was one of several names in an airplane disaster movieThe High and the Mighty (1954). He was in an episode ofAlfred Hitchcock Presents playing a tramp blackmailing a business man.
Back in Britain, Newton was given the lead inThe Beachcomber (1954), a remake ofVessels of Wrath, this time in the part originally played byCharles Laughton. He again played Long John Silver in an Australian-made film,Long John Silver (1954). It was shot atPagewood Studios,Sydney, and directed byByron Haskin, who had directedTreasure Island.[13] The company went on to make a 26-episode 1955 TV series,The Adventures of Long John Silver, in which Newton also starred. Earlier in 1954, he quit the filmSvengali for personal reasons to be replaced bySir Donald Wolfit which left him open to a legal action while filming in Australia in 1954.
His last screen appearance was as Inspector Fix inAround the World in 80 Days (1956) oppositeDavid Niven,Shirley MacLaine and the Mexican starCantinflas. It won theAcademy Award for the Best Picture in 1956.
Newton married four times and had three children.[14]
He was accused of kidnapping his son, Nicholas, when he took him to Hollywood in 1951,[15] the year his third marriage ended. After a court battle, Newton's elder son was placed in the custody of his aunt and uncle.[16]
He married his fourth wife, Vera Budnik, in June 1952. They had a son.[17]
Newton suffered in the latter part of his life from chronicalcoholism and died on 25 March 1956 at age 50, following a heart attack inBeverly Hills, California.[18] His body was cremated, and there is a plaque inWestwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery inLos Angeles in his memory. Years later his ashes were scattered into the south coast of Cornwall inMount's Bay, near Lamorna in Cornwall, where his father had spent his childhood.[19]
For several years, Newton was voted by exhibitors as among the most popular British stars at the local box office:
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Family Theatre | Namgay Doola[23] |
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