Alex Newton, who moved to Point Dume in the 1940s, died on Oct. 27 at his home on Whitesands Place. He was 91.
Newton was born and raised in Illinois. He attended Princeton University, where he graduated in 1937.
Newton and his family lived in a Chicago suburb and following World War II decided there was a better life and better weather to be found in Southern California. He bought a small house from his cousin and moved the family from the Midwest to El Segundo. The family soon moved to Malibu following a raft trip up to the area.
“We landed on the beach and I looked up there and said, ‘This is the spot,'” Newton told The Malibu Times in an interview last year while celebrating his 90th birthday party at Saddlepeak Lodge. “It was beautiful. There was nobody at all.”
Newton walked up a path from the beach (what is now Wildlife Road and Whitesands Place) and decided he must move the family to the secluded beach oasis away from the hustle of the city. The next day, Newton went to a real estate agent to inquire about the property. Following a brief negotiation, Newton purchased an acre and a half of beachfront property for $200 less than the $3,300 asking price.
Newton and his wife, Harriet, built two houses on the property. A circle area was also built for horses. When speaking with The Malibu Times last year, Newton described an early Malibu where there were few trees and his closest neighbor lived approximately a half-mile away.
Newton described himself as an entrepreneur and was involved in a variety of businesses including property development and a mail order business. Among other things, Newton and friend Paul Cornell knew the inventor of the garage door opener and they secured the exclusive distributorship rights to sell the product in Los Angeles. “He was an interesting guy who did things his way, but had a heart of gold,” Newton’s son, Alexander “Skip” Newton, said this week.
Newton is survived by his children, Vicki, Alexander “Skip” and his grandchildren, Rory and Emily. He was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, who died in 2004.