Derek John Newark (8 June 1933 – 11 August 1998) was an English actor in television, film and theatre.
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Early life and military service
Derek Newark was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in 1933, the youngest of three sons to George William Newark (1894-1972) and Ella Marie (née Finch) (1897-1962).
Newark began his working life with the Merchant Navy in 1949 and later joined the Union-Castle Line as a trainee steward. In the early 1950s he attempted to launch a career in comedy, appearing in several small shows and talent competitions in London, while working as an assistant salesman at a tailor's shop.
In 1953 Newark received his National Service papers, and he subsequently served in the Coldstream Guards. In March 1955 he was appointed to a three year short service commission with the Royal Army Service Corps, eventually being promoted to Lieutenant. While stationed in Malaya, Newark was a regular contributor to the Gurkhas’ Forces Radio, developing the on-air character of "Jackie Styles".
Stage career
At the end of his three year commission, Newark returned to England in 1958. He subsequently began studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and graduated in 1960.
Newark was one of several members of the RADA class of 1960 who participated in a 10-week season of performances in Bangor, Northern Ireland, organised by the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA) and Bangor Borough Council, starting in July 1960. The group presented performances of Mr. Kettle and Mrs. Moon, Agatha Christie's The Hollow, and Ben Travers's Rookery Nook.
In early 1961, Newark joined the English Stage Company, appearing in several productions at the Royal Court Theatre, which the company had purchased in 1956. In February, he played Jasperino in the Jacobean tragedy The Changeling; the first staging of the play since the 17th century. Following this, in April, Newark was among the cast for an English translated production of Jean-Paul Satre’s The Condemned of Altona, retitled simply to Altona, at the Royal Court, preceded by a short tour to cities like Liverpool and Newcastle.
From the summer of 1961 until early 1962, Newark was a member of the resident company of the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, first appearing in a two week run of J. B. Priestley's When We Are Married, as well as productions of Harold Pinter's The Caretaker, and A. A. Milne's Toad of Toad Hall. Among Newark's contemporaries at this time were Bridget Turner, Mark Eden, and Ian McKellen.
In the 1970s, Newark became involved with the Royal National Theatre. While there he was part of the company that opened its current South Bank home and was a cornerstone of the residential company that worked in the smaller Cottesloe Theatre under Bill Bryden's direction. His most important roles there were Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream and the world premiere of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross where he played Shelley Levene (a role later played on screen by Jack Lemmon). At the National he also appeared as Malcolm in Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce, which transferred to the West End and then Broadway. He also created the role of Roote in Harold Pinter's play The Hothouse which premiered in 1980 in a production directed by the playwright.
Film and television career
Newark appeared in a large number of film and television roles, his first being a 1961 production of Sergeant Musgrave's Dance for ITV's Play of the Week. Between 1964 and 1975 he appeared in series including The Baron (1967), The Avengers (three episodes in the 1960s), Department S, Z-Cars (six episodes between 1969 and 1972), Barlow in the regular role of Det. Insp. Tucker (1974–1975) and various other minor roles. He appeared in episodes two to four of the first Doctor Who story An Unearthly Child in 1963, and later appeared opposite Jon Pertwee in the 1970 story Inferno. Newark also played the role of Spooner, an ill-tempered former Red Devil turned professional wrestler in the series Rising Damp.
Amongst later work on television, he starred in the second series of Juliet Bravo as Councillor Jack Winterbottom. In 1982, Newark played Martin Bormann in the TV series Inside the Third Reich. He appeared as W. C. Fields with Caroline Quentin in the 1983 Channel 4 play Hollywood Hits Chiswick. His final TV role was in an episode of The Bill, broadcast in October 1996.
In the cinema Newark appeared opposite Oliver Reed in Michael Winner's The System (1964), as well as Jessard, sidekick to Sgt. Johnson (Sean Connery) in the police drama The Offence (Sidney Lumet, 1972).
Personal life and death
Newark met his future wife, Jean, while she was stationed in Singapore as a teacher with the Royal Army Educational Corps, and they were married after he returned to the UK in 1958. They divorced in 1988.
Newark died of a heart attack, brought on by liver failure after years of alcoholism, on 11 August 1998 at Charing Cross Hospital, aged 65. His remains were cremated, and his ashes were scattered into the River Thames outside the Royal National Theatre.
Filmography
Theatre work
Bedroom Farce (1977)
The Hothouse (1980)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1982)
The Mayor of Zalamea (1982)
Glengarry Glen Ross (1983)
Golden Boy (1984)
