--- name: "Anthony Newley" canonical: "https://film.one/person/anthony-newley" roles: ["Actor"] born: "24 September 1931" died: "14 April 1999" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-20T04:52:11.147741+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Anthony Newley Actor. Born 24 September 1931 in London, England, UK. Died 14 April 1999. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 24 September 1931, London, England, UK - **Died:** 14 April 1999 - **Also known as:** Antony Newley, Anthony George Newley - **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 other - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 82 (1), 1960s 50 (1) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Newley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q573709, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0627969/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/81409 ## Fi1m on Anthony Newley > Anthony Newley was a songwriter who acted, and every line comes with a wink to the stalls. A fine Artful Dodger as a boy, he oversells as a grown man on screen; his best work is in songs sung by others. The wink. Anthony Newley cannot land a line in *Doctor Dolittle* (1967) without letting the camera know he has landed it, and since his Matthew Mugg sings most of the worst of the film's dozen songs, in an Irish accent, there is a great deal of landing. It is the habit of a man who learned his trade in front of live audiences and never trusted a lens to notice him on its own. Our review found he wore out his welcome before the first hour was up, and we hold to that: by the third number we were tired of him and slightly cross with the film for keeping him in the middle of the frame. He had been on screen since childhood: an uncredited part in *Henry V* (1944), then the Artful Dodger in David Lean's *Oliver Twist* (1948), the role that made him a screen presence. After national service and more film work in the 1950s he became a pop singer with British chart hits, and in 1961 he wrote, with Leslie Bricusse, and starred in the stage musical *Stop the World – I Want to Get Off*, which went to Broadway. *The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd* followed in 1965. By the time of *Dolittle* he was a songwriter who acted, singing songs Bricusse wrote, and they are pleasant, wordy numbers short of tunes, each one oversold by a man determined that it should land. The partnership at its best is *Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory* (1971), for which the two of them wrote the songs and Newley stayed off screen. 'Pure Imagination' and 'The Candy Man' have outlasted everything he did in front of a camera. Given a tune and someone else to sing it, he wrote plainly and well; given a camera and his own face, he oversold. The selling got worse. The consensus on *Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?* (1969) is that it is self-parody of a kind that damaged him, and nothing we know of it makes us want to argue. Later stage shows such as *The Good Old Bad Old Days* (1972) were found preachy, and the career ended in Las Vegas cabaret. The big, unguarded emotional delivery and the Cockney vowels he kept from Hackney turned up again in British performers who came after him, and that is a legacy of a kind. Our advice is to listen rather than watch. Put on the Wonka songs; if you must have him on screen, find the boy in *Oliver Twist* and stop there. ## Biography Anthony Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. Born in London on 24 September 1931, he trained at the Italia Conti Stage School and made his screen debut as a child. He played the Artful Dodger in David Lean's *Oliver Twist* (1948). Newley appeared in numerous British films during the 1950s before achieving success on stage and in song. With Leslie Bricusse he created the musical *Stop the World – I Want to Get Off* (1961), which transferred to Broadway and yielded the hit 'What Kind of Fool Am I?'. He played Matthew Mugg in the film *Doctor Dolittle* (1967) and contributed songs to *Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory* (1971). Newley died in Jensen Beach, Florida, on 14 April 1999. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, masterworksbroadway.com, rottentomatoes.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) ### Performed in (1) — the average rests on these - *Doctor Dolittle* (1967), Fi1m 50, as Matthew Mugg — [page](https://film.one/film/doctor-dolittle.md) ### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited - *Henry V* (1944), Fi1m 82, as Boy in English Camp (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/henry-v-1944.md) ## Complete filmography (76) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Lakes* (1997), series, as The Bishop - *Style Challenge* (1996), series, Actor - *Anna Lee* (1994), series, as Frederick Slinger - *Gone to Seed* (1992), series, as DI Keet - *Boris and Natasha* (1992), as Sal Manelli - *Tonight at 8.30* (1991), series, as George Pepper, Henry Gow - *Polly: Comin' Home!* (1990), as Dabney Mayhew - *Coins in the Fountain* (1990), as Alfred Bancroft - *Dors: The Other Diana* (1990), Actor - *The Upper Hand* (1990), series, as Nick, Nick Murray - *The Garbage Pail Kids Movie* (1987), as Captain Manzini - *Stagecoach* (1986), as Trevor Peacock - *Outrage!* (1986), as Victor Coles - *Alice in Wonderland* (1985), series, as Mad Hatter - *The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1985), series, as Phil Halloran - *Blade in Hong Kong* (1985), as Tommy T - *Murder, She Wrote* (1984), series, as Insp. Frost - *Malibu* (1983), as Wilson Mahoney - *Fame* (1982), series, Actor - *Simon & Simon* (1981), series, Actor - *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), series, as Peter Riddley-Smythe - *CBS Library* (1979), series, as Doctor Doolittle - *Hart to Hart* (1979), series, Actor - *Sammy Stops the World* (1978), Writer, Original Music Composer - *Happy Birthday, Las Vegas* (1977), Actor - *Peter Pan* (1976), Music, Songs, Original Music Composer - *The Old Curiosity Shop* (1975), as Daniel Quilp - *It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time* (1975), as Sweeney - *Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory* (1971), as Songs · Lyricist, Writer - *Summertree* (1971), Director - *Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?* (1969), as Heironymous Merkin · Director, Writer, Producer, Original Music Composer - *Sweet November* (1968), as Charlie Blake - *Doctor Dolittle* (1967), as Matthew Mugg — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/doctor-dolittle.md) - *Lucy in London* (1966), as Anthony Armstrong Fitz-Faversham - *Stop the World: I Want to Get Off* (1966), Writer, Songs, Lyricist - *The Small World of Sammy Lee* (1963), as Sammy 'Lee' Leeman - *Stryker of the Yard* (1961), series, Actor - *The Strange World of Gurney Slade* (1960), series, as Gurney Slade · Writer, Creator - *In the Nick* (1960), as Dr Newcombe - *Let's Get Married* (1960), as Dickie Bird - *Jazz Boat* (1960), as Bert Harris - *The Anthony Newley Show* (1960), series, Actor - *Killers of Kilimanjaro* (1959), as Hooky Hook - *The Heart of a Man* (1959), as Johnnie - *The Bandit Of Zhobe* (1959), as Cpl. Stokes - *Idol on Parade* (1959), as Jeep Jackson - *The Lady is a Square* (1959), as Freddy - *The Man Inside* (1958), as Ernesto - *Tank Force!* (1958), as Private "Tiger" Noakes - *High Flight* (1957), as Roger Endicott - *How to Murder a Rich Uncle* (1957), as Edward - *Fire Down Below* (1957), as Miguel - *The Good Companions* (1957), as Maurice Milbrau - *The Battle of the River Plate* (1956), as Radio Operator, Tairoa, Prisoner on Admiral Graf Spee - *X: The Unknown* (1956), as LCpl. 'Spider' Webb - *The Last Man to Hang* (1956), as Cyril Gaskin - *Port Afrique* (1956), as Pedro - *Colonel March of Scotland Yard* (1956), series, as Ned - *The Cockleshell Heroes* (1955), as Marine Clarke - *The Blue Peter* (1955), as Fred Starling - *Above Us the Waves* (1955), as Engineer, X2 - *The Weak and the Wicked* (1954), as Bob Baden - *Up to His Neck* (1954), as Tommy - *Those People Next Door* (1953), as Bob Twigg - *Top of the Form* (1953), as Percy - *Jack of What Trade?* (1952), as Mike Edwards - *Highly Dangerous* (1950), as Operator (uncredited) - *Don't Ever Leave Me* (1949), as Jimmy Knowles - *A Boy, a Girl and a Bike* (1949), as Charlie Ritchie - *Vote for Huggett* (1949), as Dudley - *The Guinea Pig* (1948), as Miles Minor - *Oliver Twist* (1948), as Artful Dodger - *Vice Versa* (1948), as Dick Bultitude - *The Adventures of Dusty Bates* (1947), as Dusty Bates - *Henry V* (1944), as Boy in English Camp (uncredited) — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/henry-v-1944.md) - *Emmett Kelly Jr.'s Circus*, as The Ringmaster ## Gallery - ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Anthony Newley in Amsterdam, hoodfdrol in Doctor Dolittle Datum : 14 d (1967)](https://film.one/media/person/1235520/gallery-d5b3c27b9f25.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Anthony Newley in Amsterdam, hoodfdrol in Doctor Dolittle Datum : 14 d (1967) — Ron Kroon / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Anthony_Newley_in_Amsterdam%2C_hoofrol_in_Doctor_Doolittl_%28kop%29%2C_Bestanddeelnr_920-9272.jpg/1280px-Anthony_Newley_in_Amsterdam%2C_hoofrol_in_Doctor_Doolittl_%28kop%29%2C_Bestanddeelnr_920-9272.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Anthony Newley](https://film.one/media/person/1235520/gallery-0fb7ccff1740.jpg) Anthony Newley — Ron Kroon / Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Anthony_Newley_%281967%29.jpg/1280px-Anthony_Newley_%281967%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Photo of guest star Anthony Newley and Tom Jones from the television program This is Tom Jones. (1969)](https://film.one/media/person/1235520/gallery-2367434fe731.jpg) Photo of guest star Anthony Newley and Tom Jones from the television program This is Tom Jones. (1969) — ABC Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Anthony_Newley_Tom_Jones_1969.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 1972: Best Original Song Score (nominated), for *Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory* ### Other awards — 0 won, 7 nominated - Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical 1965: Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (nominated) - Tony Award for Best Original Score 1965: Tony Award for Best Original Score (nominated), for *The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd* - Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical 1963: Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (nominated) - Tony Award for Best Author 1963: Tony Award for Best Author (nominated), for *Stop the World – I Want to Get Off* - Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical 1963: Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (nominated), for *Stop the World – I Want to Get Off* - Tony Award for Best Musical 1963: Tony Award for Best Musical (nominated), for *Stop the World – I Want to Get Off* - Tony Award for Best Original Score 1963: Tony Award for Best Original Score (nominated), for *Stop the World – I Want to Get Off* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/anthony-newley