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Richard Basehart
Actor

Richard Basehart

31 Aug 1914Born
17 Sep 1984Died
70Age at death
110Credits

Biography

John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred in the 1960s television science fiction drama Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, in the role of Admiral Harriman Nelson.

One of his most notable film roles was the acrobat known as "the Fool" in the acclaimed Italian film La strada directed by Federico Fellini. He also appeared as the killer in the film noir classic He Walked by Night (1948), as a psychotic member of the Hatfield clan in Roseanna McCoy (1949), as Ishmael in Moby Dick (1956), and in the drama Decision Before Dawn (1951).

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He was married to Italian Academy Award-nominated actress Valentina Cortese, with whom he had one son before their divorce in 1960. Cortese and Basehart also costarred in Robert Wise's The House on Telegraph Hill (1951).

Basehart was also noted for his deep, distinctive voice and was prolific as a narrator of many television and movie projects ranging from features to documentaries. In 1980, Basehart narrated the mini-series written by Peter Arnett called Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War that covered Vietnam and its battles from the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945 to the final American embassy evacuation on April 30, 1975. He appeared in the pilot episode of the television series Knight Rider as billionaire Wilton Knight. He is the narrator at the beginning of the show's credits.

In 1971, Basehart played "Captain Sligo", a comical Irishman with a pet buffalo who negotiates a flawed but legal cattle purchase and unconventionally courts a widow with two children, played by Salome Jens, in CBS's western series, Gunsmoke, with James Arness. Basehart appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone, Hawaii Five-O, and as Hannibal Applewood, an abusive schoolteacher in Little House on the Prairie in 1976.

In 1972, he appeared in the Columbo episode Dagger of the Mind in which he and Honor Blackman played a husband-and-wife theatrical team who were loose parodies of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. In the feature realm, he played a supporting role as a doctor in Rage (1972), a theatrical feature starring and directed by George C. Scott. He made a few TV movies including Sole Survivor (1970) and The Birdmen (1971). Both were based on true stories during World War II.

He died at age 70 following a series of strokes. One month before his death, Basehart was an announcer for the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Known for

Filmography

The 80 most recent of 110 credits.

  1. 2002The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel FullerFilm: Cpl. Denno (archive footage) (uncredited)
  2. 1983Save the PandaFilm: Narrator (Voice)
  3. 1982Knight Rider: Knight of the PhoenixFilm: Wilton Knight
  4. 1982Knight RiderSeries: Wilton Knight (1 episode)
  5. 1982Egypt: Quest for EternityFilm: Narrator (Self)
  6. 1981Mr. MerlinSeries (1 episode)
  7. 1981MasadaSeries: Modern-Day Narrator (voice, uncredited) (2 episodes)
  8. 1980Marilyn: The Untold StoryFilm: Johnny Hyde
  9. 1979Being ThereFilm: Vladimir Skrapinov
  10. 1979The RebelsSeries: Duke of Kentland (2 episodes)
  11. 1979Tales of the UnexpectedSeries: Slade (1 episode)
  12. 1979Planet MarsFilm: Narrator
  13. 1978The Great Bank HoaxFilm: Manny Benchly
  14. 1978Vega$Series (1 episode)
  15. 1978W.E.B.Series (8 episodes)
  16. 1978The Critical ListSeries: Matt Kinsella (2 episodes)
  17. 1978A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's CourtFilm: King Arthur
  18. 1977The Love BoatSeries: Stan Ellis (1 episode)
  19. 1977The Island of Dr. MoreauFilm: Sayer of the Law
  20. 1977Flood!Film: John Cutler
  21. 1977How the West Was WonSeries: Colonel Flint (2 episodes)
  22. 1977Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model?Film: Elliott Osborn
  23. 197621 Hours at MunichFilm: Willy Brandt
  24. 1976Mansion of the DoomedFilm: Dr. Leonard Chaney
  25. 1976Time TravelersFilm: Dr. Joshua Henderson (1871)
  26. 1975Valley ForgeFilm: Gen. Washington
  27. 1975Joe ForresterSeries (1 episode)
  28. 1975Medical StorySeries: Dr. Charles Galpin (1 episode)
  29. 1975Judgment: The Court Martial of Lt. William CalleyFilm: George Latimer
  30. 1974Little House on the PrairieSeries: Hannibal Applewood (1 episode)
  31. 1974The First Woman PresidentFilm: Woodrow Wilson
  32. 1973ManeaterFilm: Carl Brenner
  33. 1973The BirdmenFilm: Schiller
  34. 1973...and millions will die!Film: Dr Douglas Pruitt
  35. 1972RageFilm: Dr. Roy Caldwell
  36. 1972The Bounty ManFilm: Angus Keough
  37. 1972The Streets of San FranciscoSeries: Bishop Tim Farrow (1 episode)
  38. 1972Chato's LandFilm: Nye Buell
  39. 1972Assignment: MunichFilm: Maj. Barney Caldwell
  40. 1971The Death of Me YetFilm: Robert Barnes
  41. 1971ColumboSeries: Nicholas Framer (1 episode)
  42. 1971City Beneath the SeaFilm: The President
  43. 1971They've Killed President Lincoln!Film: Host / Narrator
  44. 1970Dan AugustSeries: Prof. Theodore Rye (1 episode)
  45. 1970The Andersonville TrialFilm: Henry Wirz
  46. 1970Sole SurvivorFilm: Brig. Gen. Russell Hamner
  47. 1969Hans BrinkerFilm: Dr. Boeker
  48. 1969Love Is a Funny ThingFilm: Acteur
  49. 1969Marcus Welby, M.D.Series: Professor Andrew Kirkcastle, Reece Sutton (1 episode)
  50. 1969Hawaii Five-OSeries: Murdock (1 episode)
  51. 1968The Rise and Fall of the Third ReichFilm: Narrator
  52. 1967IronsideSeries: Noel Seymour (1 episode)
  53. 1967Jacqueline Susann and the Valley of the DollsFilm
  54. 1965National Geographic SpecialsSeries: Narrator (voice) (1 episode)
  55. 1965The Satan BugFilm: Dr. Gregor Hoffman
  56. 1965Let My People Go: The Story of IsraelFilm: Narrator (voice)
  57. 1964Trial at NurembergFilm: Narrator
  58. 1964Four Days In NovemberFilm: Narrator (voice)
  59. 1964Voyage to the Bottom of the SeaSeries: Adm. Harriman Nelson (110 episodes)
  60. 1963Kings of the SunFilm: Ah Min
  61. 1963The Yanks Are ComingFilm: Narrator (voice)
  62. 1963Arrest and TrialSeries (1 episode)
  63. 1962Combat!Series: Capt. Steiner (2 episodes)
  64. 1962The Alfred Hitchcock HourSeries: Philip Townsend, Miles Crawford (1 episode)
  65. 1962HitlerFilm: Adolf Hitler
  66. 1961The Savage GunsFilm: Steve Fallon
  67. 1961Ben CaseySeries (1 episode)
  68. 1960Visa to CantonFilm: Don Benton
  69. 1960Route 66Series (1 episode)
  70. 1960For the Love of MikeFilm: Father Phelan
  71. 1960Portrait in BlackFilm: Howard Mason
  72. 1960Playhouse 90: The Hiding PlaceFilm: Martin Lambert
  73. 1960Five Branded WomenFilm: Eric Reinhardt
  74. 1959The Ambitious OneFilm: George Rancourt
  75. 1959The Twilight ZoneSeries: Adam Cook (1 episode)
  76. 1959Jons und ErdmeFilm: Wittkuhn
  77. 1959RawhideSeries: Tod Stone (1 episode)
  78. 1958Love and TroublesFilm: Paolo Martelli
  79. 1958Naked CitySeries: Lester Bergson (1 episode)
  80. 1958The Brothers KaramazovFilm: Ivan Karamazov

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.