Derek Newark

Derek Newark (8 June 1933—11 August 1998) was an English actor.

He appeared in a large number of film and television roles, including The Baron (1967), The Avengers (three episodes in the 1960s), Z-Cars (six episodes between 1969 to 1972), Barlow at Large in the recurring 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. Later he appeared opposite Jon Pertwee in the 1970 story Inferno. Newark also played the role of Spooner, an ill-tempered former Red Devil (Britain's elite paratroopers) turned professional wrestler in the series Rising Damp.

In the 1970s he became more involved in the theatre, spending nearly a decade at the Royal National Theatre. While there he was part of the company that opened the current 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) and Malcolm in Alan Ayckbourn's 'Bedroom Farce', which also played in the West End and on Broadway. He also a created the role of Roote in Harold Pinter's play 'The Hothouse' which premiered in 1980 in a production directed by Pinter himself. Pinter went on to play the part himself in a later revival. In 1982, he played Martin Bormann in the TV series, based on Albert Speer's 'Inside the Third Reich'.

In the cinema Newark was particularly effective as Jessard, Sgt. Johnson's (Sean Connery) sidekick in the powerful police drama The Offence (Sidney Lumet 1972).

Derek Newark died of a heart attack, brought on by liver failure after years of alcoholism, on 11 August 1998 in West London.