Robert Newton

Overview

Born
June 1, 1905 · Shaftesbury, Dorset, England, UK
Died
March 25, 1956 · Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (heart attack)
Birth name
Robert Guy Newton
Height
5′ 11¾″ (1.82 m)

Mini bio

Robert Newton was one of the great character actors -- and great characters -- of the British cinema, best remembered today for playing Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1950) and its sequel in 1954. His portrayal of Long John Silver and of Blackbeard, the Pirate (1952) created a persona that was so indelible that his vocal intonations created the paradigm for scores of people who want to "Talk Like a Pirate." The performance overshadows Newton's legacy, which is based on many first-rate performances in such movies as This Happy Breed (1944), Odd Man Out (1947) and Oliver Twist (1948), where his Bill Sykes is truly chilling. Oliver Reed, who played Sykes in the Oscar-winning movie musical Oliver! (1968) was influenced by Newton.
- IMDb mini biography by: Jon C. Hopwood

Family

Spouses
Children
Parents

Trivia

Excessive drinking damaged him, and a highly erratic film career was the result. He often found himself unemployable due to his unreliability. He died at age 50 of alcohol-related causes although the official report was a heart attack.
Often credited with originating the style of speech generally equated with pirates. After his spectacular turn as Long John Silver in the Disney version of Treasure Island (1950), actors playing pirates in film, radio, television and theatre, all tended to use (and still use) the same pseudo-Cornish accent Newton came up with.
Newton's father was an artist and his mother a writer. The family had founded an art supply company, Winsor and Newton, in 1832, with J.M.W. Turner and Queen Victoria as regular customers. Today the company is international in scope with 65% of its business overseas.
Before being cast in "Around the World in 80 Days," it was stipulated in Robert Newton's contract that he remain sober throughout every day of filming. The actor kept his word and didn't consume any alcohol during working hours. However, once the production came to an end, he went on a drinking marathon and it's believed that this was what killed him.
After being signed for the color remake of "Svengali" with a contract clause about his drinking, Newton behaved very irresponsibly on the film and fled to Australia, where he filmed the "Long John Silver" movie and TV shows. When he returned he was sued for $375,000 by the producers of "Svengali," who had replaced him with Donald Wolfit.