Richard Basehart
Known for Acting · 111 credits
- Born
- 1914-08-31
- Died
- 1984-09-17
- Place of birth
- Zanesville, Ohio, USA
- Also known as
- John Richard Basehart
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). 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.
Known For
TV Shows (33)
Columbo
1971
as Nicholas Framer
Little House on the Prairie
1974
as Hannibal Applewood
The Love Boat
1977
as Stan Ellis
Ironside
1967
as Noel Seymour
Hawaii Five-O
1968
as Murdock
Knight Rider
1982
as Wilton Knight
The Twilight Zone
1959
as Adam Cook
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1962
as Philip Townsend / Miles Crawford
Rawhide
1959
as Tod Stone
Tales of the Unexpected
1979
as Slade
Naked City
1958
as Lester Bergson
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as David Manning
Combat!
1962
as Capt. Steiner
Route 66
1960
Gunsmoke
1955
as Captain Aron Sligo
Marcus Welby, M.D.
1969
as Professor Andrew Kirkcastle / Reece Sutton
Studio One
1948
as Matt Donovan
Ben Casey
1961
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
1964
as Adm. Harriman Nelson
Vega$
1978
The Streets of San Francisco
1972
as Bishop Tim Farrow
How the West Was Won
1977
as Colonel Flint
Arrest and Trial
1963
Joe Forrester
1975
Mr. Merlin
1981
Dan August
1970
as Prof. Theodore Rye
Medical Story
1975
as Dr. Charles Galpin
Masada
1981
as Modern-Day Narrator (voice, uncredited)
National Geographic Specials
1965
as Narrator (voice)
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Conway / General Washington
The Rebels
1979
as Duke of Kentland
The Critical List
1978
as Matt Kinsella
W.E.B.
1978
Movies (78)
Love Is a Funny Thing
1969
as Acteur
Fourteen Hours
1951
as Robert Cosick
The Savage Guns
1961
as Steve Fallon
Moby Dick
1956
as Ishmael
Valley Forge
1975
as Gen. Washington
Assignment: Munich
1972
as Maj. Barney Caldwell
Being There
1979
as Vladimir Skrapinov
Repeat Performance
1947
as William Williams
Kings of the Sun
1963
as Ah Min
Time Travelers
1976
as Dr. Joshua Henderson (1871)
The Intimate Stranger
1956
as Reginald 'Reggie' Wilson
The Island of Dr. Moreau
1977
as Sayer of the Law
The Brothers Karamazov
1958
as Ivan Karamazov
Let My People Go: The Story of Israel
1965
as Narrator (voice)
...and millions will die!
1973
as Dr Douglas Pruitt
Flood!
1977
as John Cutler
City Beneath the Sea
1971
as The President
He Walked by Night
1949
as Roy Martin / Roy Morgan
La Strada
1954
as Il 'Matto'
Titanic
1953
as George S. Headley
The Andersonville Trial
1970
as Henry Wirz
Chato's Land
1972
as Nye Buell
Hitler
1962
as Adolf Hitler
21 Hours at Munich
1976
as Willy Brandt
The Satan Bug
1965
as Dr. Gregor Hoffman
Rage
1972
as Dr. Roy Caldwell
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
2002
as Cpl. Denno (archive footage) (uncredited)
Reign of Terror
1949
as Maximilian Robespierre
Cry Wolf
1947
as James Caldwell Demarest
Marilyn: The Untold Story
1980
as Johnny Hyde
Fixed Bayonets!
1951
as Cpl. Denno
Maneater
1973
as Carl Brenner
Mansion of the Doomed
1976
as Dr. Leonard Chaney
The Golden Vein
1955
as Ing. Stefano Manfredi
Sole Survivor
1970
as Brig. Gen. Russell Hamner
Roseanna McCoy
1949
as Mounts Hatfield
Decision Before Dawn
1951
as Lt. Dick Rennick
The Great Bank Hoax
1978
as Manny Benchly
Knight Rider: Knight of the Phoenix
1982
as Wilton Knight
The Death of Me Yet
1971
as Robert Barnes
Time Limit
1957
as Maj. Harry Cargill
The Stranger's Hand
1954
as Joe Hamstringer
The Birdmen
1973
as Schiller
So Soon to Die
1957
as Lionel Amblin
Miracles of Thursday
1957
as Martino
The Bounty Man
1972
as Angus Keough
Four Days In November
1964
as Narrator (voice)
Love and Troubles
1958
as Paolo Martelli
Portrait in Black
1960
as Howard Mason
Playhouse 90: The Hiding Place
1960
as Martin Lambert
Five Branded Women
1960
as Eric Reinhardt
The Extra Day
1956
as Joe Blake
Jons und Erdme
1959
as Wittkuhn
Judgment: The Court Martial of Lt. William Calley
1975
as George Latimer
The Swindle
1955
as Carlo
Outside the Wall
1950
as Larry Nelson
Visa to Canton
1960
as Don Benton
The House on Telegraph Hill
1951
as Alan Spender
The Good Die Young
1954
as Joe Halsey
For the Love of Mike
1960
as Father Phelan
The Ambitious One
1959
as George Rancourt
Canyon Crossroads
1955
as Larry Kendall
Hans Brinker
1969
as Dr. Boeker
Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model?
1977
as Elliott Osborn
Bix: Ain't None of Them Play Like Him Yet
1982
as Self
The First Woman President
1974
as Woodrow Wilson
Jacqueline Susann and the Valley of the Dolls
1967
Tension
1949
as Warren Quimby
They've Killed President Lincoln!
1971
as Host / Narrator
Jailbirds
1954
as Doctor Stefano Luprandi
Egypt: Quest for Eternity
1982
as Narrator (Self)
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
1968
as Narrator
Trial at Nuremberg
1964
as Narrator
Cartouche
1955
as Il conte Jacques de Maudy
The Yanks Are Coming
1963
as Narrator (voice)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
1978
as King Arthur
Land of Celtic Ghosts
1979
as Himself
Planet Mars
1979
as Narrator
About 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… With 111 credits spanning from 1947 to 2002, Richard Basehart has appeared in 78 films and 33 TV shows.
Fans searching for Richard Basehart movies, Richard Basehart filmography, or the latest projects starring Richard Basehart can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Richard Basehart Movies
- Love Is a Funny Thing (1969) — as Acteur
- Fourteen Hours (1951) — as Robert Cosick
- The Savage Guns (1961) — as Steve Fallon
- Moby Dick (1956) — as Ishmael
- Valley Forge (1975) — as Gen. Washington
Where to Watch Richard Basehart Films
Most Richard Basehart movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Richard Basehart, check our movies catalogue and browse page.