Biography:A memorable character actor with a penchant for florid heavies, Newton began acting in British films in the early '30s, and by the end of the decade he was appearing in such notable films as Erich Pommer's Vessel of Wrath (aka The Beachcomber) and Alfred Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn, both starring Charles Laughton. Over the next two decades Newton scored with several impressive films, including Thorold Dickinson's Gaslight (aka Angel Street), Gabriel Pascal's Shaw adaptation Major Barbara, David Lean's This Happy Breed and Oliver Twist, Laurence Olivier's classic Shakespeare production Henry V, Carol Reed's Odd Man Out, Gordon Parry's Tom Brown's Schooldays, Lewis Milestone's Victor Hugo adaptation Les Miserables, and Michael Todd's epic production Around the World in 80 Days. Pirates became something of a Newton specialty in the '50s: after playing Long John Silver in Byron Haskin's Treasure Island, he reprised the role in Haskin's Long John Silver and a 1955 television series ofA memorable character actor with a penchant for florid heavies, Newton began acting in British films in the early '30s, and by the end of the decade he was appearing in such notable films as Erich Pommer's Vessel of Wrath (aka The Beachcomber) and Alfred Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn, both starring Charles Laughton. Over the next two decades Newton scored with several impressive films, including Thorold Dickinson's Gaslight (aka Angel Street), Gabriel Pascal's Shaw adaptation Major Barbara, David Lean's This Happy Breed and Oliver Twist, Laurence Olivier's classic Shakespeare production Henry V, Carol Reed's Odd Man Out, Gordon Parry's Tom Brown's Schooldays, Lewis Milestone's Victor Hugo adaptation Les Miserables, and Michael Todd's epic production Around the World in 80 Days. Pirates became something of a Newton specialty in the '50s: after playing Long John Silver in Byron Haskin's Treasure Island, he reprised the role in Haskin's Long John Silver and a 1955 television series of the same name; he also let out all the stops in the title role of Raoul Walsh's Blackbeard the Pirate.…Expand
