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 Newtons legacy which is based on many firstrate 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 Oscarwinning movie musical Oliver 1968 was influenced by Newton