Biography:

Anthony George Newley (born on September 24, 1931 in the London Borough of Hackney; died on April 14, 1999) was an English actor, singer and songwriter.

Career:

Born to a single mother in the London working-class neighborhood of Hackney, Newley was evacuated during the bombing of London and was thereby exposed to the performing arts when he was tutored during this time by George Pescud, a former music-hall entertainer. Though recognized as very bright by his teachers back in London, he was uninterested in school, and by the age of fourteen was working as an office boy when he read an ad for "boy actors." After an audition, he was offered a job including free tuition at the prestigious Italia Conti Stage School. He accepted and his career was launched. His first major film role was as Dick Bultitude in Peter Ustinov's Vice Versa (1948) followed by the Artful Dodger in David Lean's 1948 rendition of Oliver Twist, the classic Charles Dickens tome. He made a successful transition from child star to contract player in British movies of the 1950s (broken up by a short and disastrous stint in the military), to a top-of-the-pops crooner in the 1960s.

During this decade he also added his greatest accomplishments on the London and Broadway stage, in Hollywood films, and British and United States television. In the 1970s he remained active, particularly as a Las Vegas and Catskills resort performer, but his career had begun to flounder. He had taken risks that eventually led to his downfall in Hollywood. Throughout the 1980s and 90s he worked valiantly to achieve a comeback but always one obstacle or another hindered him. Finally it was his health, when cancer began to plague him in the 1980s and returned to claim his life at the age of 67, soon after his becoming a grandfather.

Music:

Newley had a successful pop music career as a vocalist, with two number one hits in 1960: "Why?" and "Do You Mind?" As a songwriter, he won the 1963 Grammy Award for Song of the Year for "What Kind of Fool Am I", but he was also well-known for "Gonna Build a Mountain" and comic novelty songs such as "That Noise" and his version of "Strawberry Fair". He wrote songs that others made hits including "Goldfinger" (the title song of the James Bond film, Goldfinger, music by John Barry), and "Feeling Good", which became a hit for Nina Simone and the rock band Muse (band). With Leslie Bricusse, he wrote the musical Stop the World - I Want to Get Off in which he also performed, earning a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. The play was made into a (poorly-received) film version in 1971, but Newley was unable to star in it due to a schedule conflict. The other musicals for which he co-wrote music and lyrics with Bricusse included The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd (1965) and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), based on the children's book by Roald Dahl.

Newley's many albums combine his talent as a vocal stylist with his abilities as a songwriter. The consensus of critics and fans rates "Pure Imagination", "Ain't It Funny", "Love Is a Now and Then Thing", and "In My Solitude" at the top of the list. Amongst the many compilations now available, the better ones are Anthony Newley: The Decca Years (1959-1964), Once in a Lifetime: The Anthony Newley Collection (1960-1971), and Anthony Newley's Greatest Hits (Deram). When he collaborated with Bricusse, they referred to themselves as the team of Brickman and Newburg, with Newburg concentrating mainly on the music and Brickman on the lyrics. Ian Frasier often did their arrangements and it has been suggested that his contributions were more extensive than has been acknowledged. For the songs from Hieronymous Merkin, Newley collaborated with Herman Raucher.

In 1963 Newley even had a hit comedy album called Fool Britannia!, the result of improvisational satires of the British Profumo scandal of the time by a team of Newley, his then-wife Joan Collins, and Peter Sellers. Newley's contributions to Christmas music are highlighted by his heartfelt rendition of "The Coventry Carol" which appears on many anthologies. He also wrote and sang a hilarious novelty Christmas song called "Santa Claus is Elvis". There is also a notorious album of spoken poetry which has Newley appearing in the nude on the sleeve with a similarly-attired young model.

In his later years as a mature singer Newley recorded songs from Fiddler on the Roof and Scrooge. He enjoyed his final popular success onstage when he starred in the latter musical which showed in London and toured UK cities including Liverpool, Birmingham, and Manchester, in the 1990s. At the time of his death he had been working on a musical of Shakespeare's Richard III.

Newley's vocal style has been recognised as a major influence on that of the early David Bowie. His Cockney accent, which he did not attempt to disguise, combined with the humorous touch evident even in his non-humorous recordings, may even in some measure be responsible for the birth of Punk music nearly twenty years later. In recognition of his creative skills and body of work, Newley was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989.

Acting:

The short-lived 1960 ATV series The Strange World of Gurney Slade in which Newley starred, continues to have a cult following owing to its postmodern premise that the Newley character is trapped inside a television programme. Apart from a repeat of one episode on Channel 4 in 1992, it has not been seen in the UK in recent years. The show's theme tune by Max Harris (composer) may be better-known today than the series itself. The piano figure prominent in the recording was lifted from Mose Allison's song "Parchman Farm".

Newley had memorable turns as Matthew Mugg in the original Doctor Dolittle and the repressed English businessman opposite Sandy Dennis in the original Sweet November. He also hosted Lucille Ball on a whirlwind tour of mod London in the Lucy TV special "Lucy in London." And none who have seen it will soon forget his performance in the autobiographical, Fellini-esque and X-rated Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?, which he also wrote and directed.

His last feature role in the cast of the long-running British TV drama EastEnders was to have been a regular role, but Newley had to withdraw after a few months when his health began to fail.

Personal life:

He was married to Ann Lynn from 1956 to 1963, but the marriage ended in divorce. He then was married to the actress Joan Collins from 1963 to 1971. The couple had two children, Tara Newley and Sacha Newley. His third wife was former air hostess Dareth Rich, and they also had two children, Christopher and Shelby.

Newley had been raised by his mother Grace and, from the age of eight onward, by his stepfather, whose name was Ronald Gardner. The latter wound up in Beverly Hills working as a chauffeur for London Towne Livery Service LTD, owned and operated by actor Gerald Peters. Gardner soon ran off with a household employee of Newley's collaborator Leslie Bricusse, leaving Grace single again. Newley searched with the help of a detective and found his biological father George Kirby and effected a bittersweet reunion with the man who was a complete stranger to him, but who had secretly followed his son's career with fatherly pride all along. Newley bought his father a house in Beverly Hills, in the hopes that he would reunite with Grace--but it was not to be.

Newley died on 14 April 1999, in Jensen Beach, Florida from renal cancer at the age of 67. He was said to have expired in the arms of his companion, the designer Gina Fratini. He was survived by his four children, a granddaughter Miel, and his mother Grace, then in her mid-90s.

Newley's life is the subject of a biography by Garth Bardsley called Stop the World (London: Oberon, 2003). Also, tinged with bitterness but relevant to the subject of Newley's life are Joan Collins's interesting autobiographies Past Imperfect and Second Act.

Filmography:

Actor:

Soundtrack:

Writer:

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Director:

Producer:

Discography:

• 1960   Love Is a Now & Then Thing   Decca 
• 1961   Tony   Decca 
• 1964   In My Solitude   RCA
• 1965   Who Can I Turn To?   RCA Victor 
• 1966   Newley Recorded   RCA Victor 
• 1966   The Genius of Anthony Newley   London
• 1967   Anthony Newley Sings Songs from Doctor Doolittle   RCA Victor
• 1969   The Romantic World of Anthony Newley
• 1970   For You   Bell  
• 1971   Pure Imagination   MGM
• 1972   Ain't It Funny   MGM
• 1985   Mr. Personality 
• 1992   Too Much Woman
• The Singers and His Songs   United Artists