Robert Newton
| Robert Newton | |
|---|---|
Newton (left) with Robert Stack in The High and the Mighty (1954)
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| Born |
1 June 1905 Shaftesbury, UK |
| Died | 25 March 1956 (aged 50) Beverly Hills, California, US |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Ashes scattered in the waters of Mount's Bay, Cornwall |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1932-1956 |
| Spouse(s) |
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Robert Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for his hard drinking lifestyle, he was cited as a role model by the actor Oliver Reed and The Who drummer Keith Moon.
Newton is best remembered for his portrayal of the feverish-eyed Long John Silver in the 1950 film adaptation of Treasure Island, the film that became the standard for screen portrayals of historical pirates. He would continue to portray Blackbeard in 1952 and Long John Silver again in the 1954 film of the same name, which spawned a miniseries in the mid 50s. Hailing from Dorset in the West Country of southern England, his exaggeration of his West Country accent is credited with popularising the stereotypical "pirate voice". Newton has become the "patron saint" of the annual International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Robert Guy Newton was born in Shaftesbury, Dorset, a son of the landscape painter Algernon Newton, R.A. He was educated in Lamorna near Penzance, Cornwall, then at Exeter School and St Bartholomew's School in Newbury, Berkshire. His acting career began at the age of 16 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1921 and he followed this by performing in many plays in the West End of London, including Bitter Sweet by Noël Coward. He also appeared in Private Lives on Broadway, taking over the role from his friend Laurence Olivier. From 1932 to 1934, he was the manager of the Shilling Theatre in Fulham, London. In 1939, he played Horatio to Laurence Olivier's Hamlet at the Old Vic, in a production that also included Alec Guinness and Michael Redgrave. During the war he starred in the West End in No Orchids for Miss Blandish. His final performance on stage was in the 1950 production of Gaslight with Rosamund John at the Vaudeville Theatre.
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