Acting
Richard Basehart
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.
Filmography
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
Film · 2002
Save the Panda
Film · 1983
Knight Rider: Knight of the Phoenix
Film · 1982
Bix: Ain't None of Them Play Like Him Yet
Film · 1982
Egypt: Quest for Eternity
Film · 1982
Knight Rider
Series · 1982
Mr. Merlin
Series · 1981
Masada
Series · 1981
Marilyn: The Untold Story
Film · 1980
Being There
Film · 1979
Land of Celtic Ghosts
Film · 1979
Planet Mars
Film · 1979
Tales of the Unexpected
Series · 1979
The Rebels
Series · 1979
The Great Bank Hoax
Film · 1978
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Film · 1978
Vega$
Series · 1978
W.E.B.
Series · 1978
The Critical List
Series · 1978
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Film · 1977
Flood!
Film · 1977
Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model?
Film · 1977
The Love Boat
Series · 1977
How the West Was Won
Series · 1977
Mansion of the Doomed
Film · 1976
21 Hours at Munich
Film · 1976
Time Travelers
Film · 1976
Judgment: The Court Martial of Lt. William Calley
Film · 1975
Valley Forge
Film · 1975
Joe Forrester
Series · 1975
Medical Story
Series · 1975
The First Woman President
Film · 1974
Little House on the Prairie
Series · 1974
The Birdmen
Film · 1973
Maneater
Film · 1973
...and millions will die!
Film · 1973
Rage
Film · 1972
Assignment: Munich
Film · 1972
The Bounty Man
Film · 1972
Chato's Land
Film · 1972
The Streets of San Francisco
Series · 1972
They've Killed President Lincoln!
Film · 1971
City Beneath the Sea
Film · 1971
The Death of Me Yet
Film · 1971
Columbo
Series · 1971
Sole Survivor
Film · 1970
The Andersonville Trial
Film · 1970
Dan August
Series · 1970
Hans Brinker
Film · 1969
Love Is a Funny Thing
Film · 1969
Hawaii Five-O
Series · 1969
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Series · 1969
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Series · 1969
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Film · 1968
Jacqueline Susann and the Valley of the Dolls
Film · 1967
Ironside
Series · 1967
The Satan Bug
Film · 1965
Let My People Go: The Story of Israel
Film · 1965
National Geographic Specials
Series · 1965
Four Days In November
Film · 1964
Trial at Nuremberg
Film · 1964
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Series · 1964
Kings of the Sun
Film · 1963
The Yanks Are Coming
Film · 1963
Arrest and Trial
Series · 1963
Hitler
Film · 1962
Combat!
Series · 1962
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Series · 1962
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Series · 1962
The Savage Guns
Film · 1961
Ben Casey
Series · 1961
Portrait in Black
Film · 1960
Visa to Canton
Film · 1960
Five Branded Women
Film · 1960
For the Love of Mike
Film · 1960
Playhouse 90: The Hiding Place
Film · 1960
Route 66
Series · 1960
Jons und Erdme
Film · 1959
The Ambitious One
Film · 1959
Rawhide
Series · 1959
The Twilight Zone
Series · 1959
The Brothers Karamazov
Film · 1958
Love and Troubles
Film · 1958
Naked City
Series · 1958
Time Limit
Film · 1957
Miracles of Thursday
Film · 1957
So Soon to Die
Film · 1957
Moby Dick
Film · 1956
The Intimate Stranger
Film · 1956
The Extra Day
Film · 1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Series · 1956
The Swindle
Film · 1955
Canyon Crossroads
Film · 1955
Cartouche
Film · 1955
The Golden Vein
Film · 1955
Gunsmoke
Series · 1955
La Strada
Film · 1954
The Good Die Young
Film · 1954
The Stranger's Hand
Film · 1954
Jailbirds
Film · 1954
Titanic
Film · 1953
Decision Before Dawn
Film · 1951
The House on Telegraph Hill
Film · 1951
Fixed Bayonets!
Film · 1951
Fourteen Hours
Film · 1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Series · 1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Series · 1951
Outside the Wall
Film · 1950
He Walked by Night
Film · 1949
Tension
Film · 1949
Reign of Terror
Film · 1949
Roseanna McCoy
Film · 1949
Studio One
Series · 1948
Repeat Performance
Film · 1947
Cry Wolf
Film · 1947