Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Blast from the Past: Anthony Newley


'To the unwashed public, Joan Collins is a star. But to those who know her, she's a commodity who would sell her own bowel movement.'
Anthony Newley


Ever since I discovered that repeats of The Graham Norton Show were airing on my cable's BBC I've been catching up.  I recently watched an episode from this past December featuring Joan Collins.  Not only did the 88 year old Collins still look great, she's as sharp and witty as ever.  


Collins was promoting a recent documentary on her life that aired in the UK.  I watched a few Youtube clips of Collins last summer when researching my post on actor Oliver Tobias who co-starred with Collins in The Stud.  I found a copy of 'This is Joan Collins' on-line and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  Collins has lived a large and fascinating life


I had heard of  Joan's husband Anthony Newley, but didn't really know much about him.  I was surprised that the documentary included a close-up of Newley's butt sunbathing out in the yard.  I didn't necessarily think he was good looking, but there was something about him that had me intrigued.  Collins also talked about her role, and Newley's nude scene in his film Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?

Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?

Chalk & Cheese

Heironymus Merkin (Anthony Newley) screens an autobiographical movie of his life, growth, and moral decay.


While researching this piece I learned a bit about Newley and Collins marriage, as well as a few other unsavory parts of the actor and comedians life.  Newley was a huge start at one time, especially in Europe, and although his stardom never hit the same heights in the US, Collins most certainly did. In addition to  her relationship with Newley, Collins has a ton of great stories in the documentary and I especially loved hearing about her life in Hollywood after she first moved from the UK.  Although I was never a huge fan of Collins, the documentary was an interesting watch.

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