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Long John Silver was a human man.
Description[]
As colorful in speech and wit as in appearance, this one-legged buccaneer from the golden age of piracy was not as evil a man as his reputation (born of having been the quartermaster of Captain Flint) made him out to be, and he discovered within himself a soft spot for a boy by the name of Jim Hawkins, whose life he saved on several occasions. Though capable of being a fierce pirate captain, John Silver was also an excellent cook and could be found as an innkeeper in Bristol when not at sea. A novel entitled Treasure Island about his first adventure with Jim Hawkins kept him famous in the modern-day, where numerous people portrayed Long John on stage and on film, including two actual scoundrels, Captain Hook and Peg-Leg Pete.
Behind the scenes[]
Long John Silver, one of the most memorable filmed renditions of the character from R. L. Stevenson's novel, appeared in the 1950 film Treasure Island. This portrayal (which the actor reprised on several occasions, none of them owned by Disney) was so definitive that it set the mark for the "pirate accent" so well-known ever since.
In the original novel, whose John Silver is remarkably close to the movie portrayal, a little more background is given about him; he is most notably said to have a cunning wife of African descent who manages his inn and other businesses on land when he is at sea.
Portrayed By[]
- Robert Newton (Treasure Island, Long John Silver, The Adventures of Long John Silver)