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Richard Basehart

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 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). 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Richard Basehart, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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Born:
Aug 13, 1914 In Zanesville, Ohio, U.S.
Movie/TV Credits:
90
First Appeared:
In the movie Repeat Performance 1947-05-22
Latest Project:
Movie The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller 2002-07-02
Known For
Poster of Knight Rider
Poster of Little House on the Prairie
Poster of Columbo
Poster of The Twilight Zone
Filmography
Movie The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller Cpl. Denno (archive footage) (uncredited) 2002-07-02
Movie Knight Rider: Knight of the Phoenix Wilton Knight 1982-09-26
Series Knight Rider Unknown 1982-09-26
Series Masada Narrator 1981-04-05
Series Mr. Merlin Unknown 1981-10-07
Movie Marilyn: The Untold Story Johnny Hyde 1980-11-10
Series Tales of the Unexpected Unknown 1979-03-24
Movie Being There Vladimir Skrapinov 1979-12-19
Movie The Rebels Duke of Kentland 1979-05-14
Series W.E.B. 1978-09-13
Series Vega$ Unknown 1978-09-20
Movie The Great Bank Hoax Manny Benchly 1978-11-01
Series How the West Was Won Unknown 1977-02-06
Movie Flood! John Cutler 1977-06-05
Movie The Island of Dr. Moreau Sayer of the Law 1977-07-13
Series The Love Boat Unknown 1977-09-24
Movie Time Travelers Dr. Joshua Henderson (1871) 1976-03-19
Movie 21 Hours at Munich Willy Brandt 1976-12-25
Movie Mansion of the Doomed Dr. Leonard Chaney 1976-10-01
Movie Judgment: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William Calley George Latimer 1975-01-12
Series Joe Forrester Unknown 1975-09-09
Series Medical Story Unknown 1975-09-04
Series Little House on the Prairie Unknown 1974-09-11
Movie Maneater Carl Brenner 1973-12-09
Movie ...And Millions Die! Dr Douglas Pruitt 1973-01-01
Movie The Birdmen Schiller 1973-11-08
Movie Assignment: Munich Maj. Barney Caldwell 1972-04-30
Movie Chato's Land Nye Buell 1972-05-25
Movie The Bounty Man Angus Keough 1972-10-31
Series The Streets of San Francisco Unknown 1972-09-23
Movie Rage Dr. Roy Caldwell 1972-11-22
Series Columbo Nicholas Framer 1971-09-15
Movie City Beneath the Sea The President 1971-07-16
Movie The Death of Me Yet Robert Barnes 1971-10-26
Movie Sole Survivor Brig. Gen. Russell Hamner 1970-01-09
Movie The Andersonville Trial Henry Wirz 1970-05-17
Movie Love Is a Funny Thing Acteur 1969-12-12
Movie Hans Brinker Dr. Boeker 1969-12-14
Movie The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Narrator 1968-03-06
Series Hawaii Five-O Unknown 1968-09-20
Series Ironside Unknown 1967-03-28
Movie The Satan Bug Dr. Gregor Hoffman 1965-03-26
Series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Adm. Harriman Nelson 1964-09-14
Movie Four Days In November Narrator (voice) 1964-10-07
Series Arrest and Trial Unknown 1963-09-15
Movie Kings of the Sun Ah Min 1963-12-18
Series Combat! Unknown 1962-10-02
Movie Hitler Adolf Hitler 1962-03-21
Series Ben Casey Unknown 1961-10-02
Movie The Savage Guns Steve Fallon 1961-11-01
Movie Five Branded Women Eric Reinhardt 1960-03-15
Movie Portrait in Black Howard Mason 1960-07-27
Series Route 66 Unknown 1960-10-07
Movie Visa to Canton Don Benton 1960-12-26
Movie For the Love of Mike Father Phelan 1960-08-28
Series Rawhide Unknown 1959-01-09
Movie Jons und Erdme Wittkuhn 1959-03-04
Movie The Ambitious One George Rancourt 1959-10-14
Series The Twilight Zone Unknown 1959-10-02
Series Naked City Unknown 1958-09-30
Movie The Brothers Karamazov Ivan Karamazov 1958-02-20
Movie Love and Troubles Paolo Martelli 1958-12-19
Movie Miracles of Thursday Martino 1957-08-22
Movie Time Limit Maj. Harry Cargill 1957-10-23
Movie Finger of Guilt Reginald 'Reggie' Wilson 1956-06-01
Movie The Extra Day Joe Blake 1956-01-01
Movie Moby Dick Ishmael 1956-06-27
Series Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre Unknown 1956-10-05
Movie Canyon Crossroads Larry Kendall 1955-01-01
Series Gunsmoke Unknown 1955-09-10
Movie The Golden Vein Ing. Stefano Manfredi 1955-09-30
Movie The Swindle Picasso 1955-10-07
Movie The Stranger's Hand Joe Hamstringer 1954-01-20
Movie The Good Die Young Joe Halsey 1954-03-02
Movie La Strada Il 'Matto' 1954-09-23
Movie Jailbirds Doctor Stefano Luprandi 1954-09-18
Movie Titanic George S. Headley 1953-04-11
Movie Fourteen Hours Robert Cosick 1951-04-01
Movie The House on Telegraph Hill Alan Spender 1951-05-12
Series Hallmark Hall of Fame Unknown 1951-12-24
Movie Decision Before Dawn Lt. Dick Rennick 1951-12-21
Movie Fixed Bayonets! Cpl. Denno 1951-11-21
Movie Outside the Wall Larry Nelson 1950-02-08
Movie Roseanna McCoy Mounts Hatfield 1949-10-12
Movie He Walked by Night Roy Martin / Roy Morgan 1949-02-06
Movie Reign of Terror Maximilian Robespierre 1949-10-15
Movie Tension Warren Quimby 1949-11-25
Series Studio One Unknown 1948-11-07
Movie Repeat Performance William Williams 1947-05-22
Movie Cry Wolf James Caldwell Demarest 1947-08-19