Robert Newton

Birthday: 1905-06-01
Deathday: 1956-03-25
Birthplace: Shaftesbury, Dorset, England, UK
Gender: Male
Owned By: Unowned

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.

Credits

Year Title Character
1969-09-19 The Epic That Never Was Captain of Caligula's guard
1956-10-17 Around the World in Eighty Days Mr. Fix
1954-12-16 Long John Silver Long John Silver
1954-08-10 The Beachcomber Ted Wilson
1954-07-03 The High and the Mighty Gustave Pardee
1953-05-20 The Desert Rats Tom Bartlett
1952-12-24 Blackbeard, the Pirate Blackbeard
1952-12-01 Androcles and the Lion Ferrovius
1952-08-14 Les Miserables Etienne Javert
1951-04-17 Tom Brown's Schooldays Thomas Arnold
1951-04-01 Soldiers Three Pvt. Bill Sykes
1950-07-26 Waterfront Peter McCabe
1950-07-19 Treasure Island Long John Silver
1949-08-03 Obsession Dr. Clive Riordan
1948-10-30 Kiss the Blood Off My Hands Harry Carter
1948-06-28 Oliver Twist Bill Sykes
1948-03-23 Snowbound Derek Engles
1947-02-27 Temptation Harbour Bert Mallinson
1947-01-30 Odd Man Out Lukey
1946-01-08 Night Boat to Dublin Capt. David Grant
1944-11-24 Henry V Ancient Pistol
1944-05-28 This Happy Breed Frank Gibbons
1942-06-29 They Flew Alone Jim Mollison
1942-02-02 Hatter's Castle James Brodie
1941-05-14 Major Barbara Bill Walker
1940-08-31 Gaslight Ullswater
1940-07-22 Busman's Honeymoon Frank Crutchley
1940-04-28 Channel Incident Tanner
1940-01-07 21 Days Together Tolly
1939-12-16 Hell's Cargo Cmdr. Tomasou
1939-07-03 Poison Pen Sam Hurrin
1939-05-11 Jamaica Inn James "Jem" Trehearne
1939-02-01 Dead Men Are Dangerous Aylmer Franklyn
1938-03-04 Vessel of Wrath The Controleur
1937-12-01 The Green Cockatoo Dave Connor
1937-11-11 The Squeaker Larry Graeme
1937-07-02 Dark Journey Officer of U-Boat
1937-03-05 Fire Over England Don Pedro
1937-01-05 Farewell Again Jim Carter