Barbara Fan
Admin
LV
12
- Messages
- 10,202
- Reaction score
- 23,156
- Awards
- 28
- Location
- Scotland
- Member Since
- 2000
- Favourite Movie
- Witness, Vertigo, Spellbound
Dame Joan Collins has said allegations that her ex-husband Anthony Newley was a paedophile are "absolutely untrue" after her son made the claim in a national newspaper.
Artist Sacha Newley told the Sunday Times: "He was a paedophile. My father was drawn to youthfulness; he thought innocence was an aphrodisiac."
He his father's sexual desires as “dangerous” and “destructive”. But Dame Joan, 84, rubbished her son’s claims.
She said in a statement: "As far as I'm concerned this is absolutely untrue. I have nothing further to add."
The actress' daughter, Tara, also spoken out against her brother, and said she was "deeply upset" by his allegations against their late father.
Newley died in 1999 Credit: Harry Dempster /Getty / Hulton Archive
The 54-year-old said: "I was shocked by my brother's comments. From my end, I don't recognise the man he is describing. I had an incredibly close relationship with my father and am deeply upset by these false allegations."
Singer-songwriter Newley, who died aged 67 in 1999 following a battle with cancer, was Dame Joan's second husband. They were married in 1963 but divorced seven years later.
Rumours had swirled for years in Hollywood about his sexual interests but nothing was ever proved.
Sacha, 52, told The Sunday Times he believes his father's 1969 film Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe And Find True Happiness? was "a confession of paedophilia".
Describing growing up in Hollywood, Sacha said he was often exposed to sex. He said: "My father put sex front and centre. He exposed me to all of that - it was absolutely inappropriate."
He added: "My father was a great, flawed talent. He was a classic sex addict."
Newley was best known for his music, which included co-writing hit songs Feeling Good and James Bond theme tune Goldfinger. He also co-wrote and starred in musicals Stop The World - I Want To Get Off and The Roar Of The Greasepaint - The Smell Of The Crowd.