Richard Basehart - Turner Classic Movies

Richard Basehart

Actor

About

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Birth Place

Zanesville, Ohio, USA

Born

August 31, 1914

Died

September 17, 1984

Cause of Death

Succession Of Strokes

Biography

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Entered film by way of Broadway in 1947, making his mark in the gritty "He Walked by Night" (1948) and proving his versatility in several international productions, notably Federico Fellini's poignant masterpiece "La Strada" (1954). He garnered secondary fame as the star of the Irwin Allen-produced "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (ABC, 1964-1968), playing a subamire captain. Basehart's...

Filmography

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Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980)

Being There (1979)

Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model? (1977)

The Great Bank Hoax (1977)

The Island Of Dr. Moreau (1977)

Photos & Videos

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La Strada (1954) — (Movie Clip) The Fool Will Perform

Repeat Performance (1947) — (Movie Clip) The Stars Look Down

Family & Companions

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Stephanie Klein

Wife

Married from 1940 until her death in 1950.

Valentina Cortese

Wife

Actor. Married in 1951; divorced in 1960.

Diana Basehart

Wife

Married from 1962 until his death.

Biography

Entered film by way of Broadway in 1947, making his mark in the gritty "He Walked by Night" (1948) and proving his versatility in several international productions, notably Federico Fellini's poignant masterpiece "La Strada" (1954). He garnered secondary fame as the star of the Irwin Allen-produced "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (ABC, 1964-1968), playing a subamire captain. Basehart's second wife was actress Valentina Cortese.

Filmography

Cast (Feature Film)

Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980)

Being There (1979)

Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model? (1977)

The Great Bank Hoax (1977)

The Island Of Dr. Moreau (1977)

Time Travelers (1976)

21 Hours At Munich (1976)

Chancellor Willy Brandt

The Terror of Dr. Chancey (1975)

Dr Leonard Chaney

Valley Forge (1975)

General George Washington

...And Millions Will Die! (1973)

Maneater (1973)

Chato's Land (1972)

Dr. [Roy] Cardwell

Columbo: Dagger of the Mind (1972)

The Bounty Man (1972)

Assignment: Munich (1972)

City Beneath The Sea (1971)

The Birdmen (1971)

The Death of Me Yet (1971)

Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1968)

The Satan Bug (1965)

Dr. Hoffman/Ainsley

Four Days in November (1964)

Kings of the Sun (1963)

Il bidone (1962)

The Savage Guns (1962)

Passport to China (1961)

Five Branded Women (1960)

Capt. Reinhardt

Portrait in Black (1960)

L' Ambitieuse (1959)

The Brothers Karamazov (1958)

Time Limit (1957)

Maj. [Harry] Cargill

Moby Dick (1956)

Finger Of Guilt (1956)

Canyon Crossroads (1955)

La Strada (1954)

The Good Die Young (1954)

La Mano dello Straniero (1953)

Fourteen Hours (1951)

The House on Telegraph Hill (1951)

Decision Before Dawn (1951)

Lt. Dick Rennick

Outside the Wall (1950)

Roseanna McCoy (1949)

Mounts Hatfield

Warren Quimby [also known as Paul Southern]

The Black Book (1949)

Maximilien Robespierre

He Walked by Night (1948)

Repeat Performance (1947)

William Williams, the poet

Cry Wolf (1947)

Cast (Special)

Egypt: Quest for Eternity (1982)

The Judge (1963)

Judge Daniel Zachary

The Paradine Case (1962)

For the Love of Mike (1960)

Father [Francis] Phelan

Cast (TV Mini-Series)

The Rebels (1979)

The Critical List (1978)

Life Events

Photo Collections

The Black Book - Lobby Card Set

Here is a set of Lobby Cards from Walter Wanger's The Black Book (1949, aka Reign of Terror), starring Robert Cummings. Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.

Tension - Lobby Card Set

Here is a set of Lobby Cards from MGM's Tension (1949), starring Audrey Totter, Richard Basehart, and Cyd Charisse. Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.

Videos

La Strada (1954) — (Movie Clip) The Fool Will Perform Innocent Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina, directed by her husband Federico Fellini) has run away from her employer/owner (barnstorming entertainer Zampano, Anthony Quinn) and wandered into a nearby town where she sees a Catholic festival, then one of his rivals (Richard Basehart as “Il Matto,” or “The Fool”), in the worldwide hit La Strada, 1954.

Repeat Performance (1947) — (Movie Clip) The Stars Look Down John Ireland’s narration from the novel by William O’Farrell, schticky city-scape yields quickly to Joan Leslie in trouble, then into a becoming mink, and a New Year’s celebration where she meets partying Richard Basehart as William, Virginia Field as Paula, Benay Venuta as Bess, in the long underrated Noir Repeat Performance, 1947.

Repeat Performance (1947) — (Movie Clip) People Do Live Things Over We have reason to infer that William (Richard Basehart) may be lover as well as friend to actress Sheila (Joan Leslie) to whom she’s just confessed, at a New Year’s party, to killing her husband, prompting them to visit her intrepid producer Friday (Tom Conway) when things get metaphysical, John Ireland narrating, in Repeat Performance, 1947.

He Walked By Night (1948) -- (Movie Clip) How About My Army Discharge? Officer Rawlins (John McGuire) catches crook Davis Morgan (Richard Basehart) nearly in-the-act, leading to the fateful shooting incident in He Walked By Night, 1948, featuring cinematography by John Alton.

Titanic (1953) -- (Movie Clip) I Must Be On That Ship Quick survey of passengers, starting with Miss Stanwyck as fictional "Julia Sturgess" and ending with Clifton Webb as her husband, others including Frances Bergen, Richard Basehart and Thelma Ritter as the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown figure, departing Cherbourg, April 10, 1912, in Titanic, 1953.

Titanic (1953) -- (Movie Clip) Iceberg Dead Ahead! Director Jean Negulesco recreates 11:40 P.M., April 15, 1912 in the North Atlantic, Barry Bernard as the officer on duty, Brian Aherne the captain, Clifton Webb, Thelma Ritter, Richard Basehart among passengers taking note, in 20th Century Fox's Titanic, 1953.

Black Book, The (1949) -- (Movie Clip) Dictator Of France D'Aubigny (Robert Cummings), posing as executioner Duval, led by Fouche (Arnold Moss) through the bakery to the secret lair of Robespierre (Richard Basehart), in Anthony Mann's The Black Book (a.k.a. Reign Of Terror), 1949.

Brothers Karamazov, The (1958) -- (Movie Clip) Nothing Can Be Immoral Director Richard Brooks brings in Dostoyevsky characters, Richard Basehart as Ivan, pestered by Smerdyakov (Albert Salmi) as he greets his brother's bride Katya (Claire Bloom), then Maria Schell as Grushenka, accompanying evil dad Fyodor (Lee J. Cobb), in The Brothers Karamazov, 1958.

Rage (1972) -- (Movie Clip) The Army's Position In This Wyoming GP Cardwell (Richard Basehart) confronts public health official Spencer (Barnard Hughes) and Army doc Holliford (Martin Sheen), about death of the son of his patient (director and star George C. Scott), who won't admit they were victims of a chemical weapon accident, in Rage, 1972.

Rage (1972) -- (Movie Clip) They Have To Run Some Tests Kenneth Tobey and Paul Stevens are Army brass, Robert Walden a forthright chemical weapons researcher, discussing Wyoming sheep rancher Dan (director and star George C. Scott) and his son, both accidentally exposed, their own doctor (Richard Basehart) not yet aware of their prognosis, in Rage 1972.

Finger Of Guilt (1956) -- (Movie Clip) You Film People The opening from un-credited director Joseph Losey, a blacklisted American ex-pat working in England, introducing Richard Basehart as American movie producer Reggie, now working in England, explaining his troubles to his doctor (Basil Dignam), in Finger Of Guilt, 1956.

Finger Of Guilt (1956) -- (Movie Clip) The Big Producer Act Actress Kay (Constance Cummings), confirming that she’s the woman with whom he had the affair that caused him to leave Hollywood for England, tangles with producer Reggie (Richard Basehart), who’s now being blackmailed by somebody in Newcastle, in Finger Of Guilt, 1956.

Fourteen Hours - (Original Trailer) Richard Basehart threatens to jump off the ledge of his fourteenth floor hotel room in Fourteen Hours (1951).

Cry Wolf - (Original Trailer) Barbara Stanwyck comes to claim her late husband's estate and uncovers a mystery involving Errol Flynn in Cry Wolf (1947).

Savage Guns, The - (Original Trailer) Mexican bandits threaten the local ranchers in The Savage Guns (1962).

Being There - (Original Trailer) Peter Sellers gave perhaps his greatest performance in Hal Ashby's wicked satire Being There (1979).

Tension - (Original Trailer) A man (Richard Basehart) who had planned to murder his wife's lover becomes the prime suspect when somebody beats him to it in Tension (1949), directed by John Berry, co-starring Audrey Totter.

Time Limit - (Original Trailer) An officer is court-marshaled under suspicion of collaborating with the North Koreans in Time Limit (1957) directed by Karl Malden.

House on Telegraph Hill - (Original Trailer) A concentration camp survivor assumes a dead woman's identity but gets caught in a wealthy family's intrigues in The House on Telegraph Hill (1951).

Decision Before Dawn - (Original Trailer) Two German POW's are sent back into Germany to gather intelligence for the U.S. Army in Decision Before Dawn (1951).

Companions

Stephanie Klein

Wife

Married from 1940 until her death in 1950.

Valentina Cortese

Wife

Actor. Married in 1951; divorced in 1960.

Diana Basehart

Wife

Married from 1962 until his death.

Bibliography

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