Richard Basehart | |
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Basehart in 1969
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Born |
John Richard Basehart August 31, 1914 Zanesville, Ohio, United States |
Died | September 17, 1984 Los Angeles, California, United States |
(aged 70)
Cause of death | Stroke |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1942–84 |
Spouse(s) |
Stephanie Klein (m. 1940–50) Valentina Cortese (m. 1951–60) Diana Lotery (m. 1962–84) his death |
Children | Jackie Basehart |
John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson in the television science fiction-drama Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964–68). He also prominently portrayed Wilton Knight in the cult series Knight Rider (1982–86).
Basehart was equally active in cinema, receiving National Board of Review Awards for his performances in Fourteen Hours (1951) and Moby Dick (1956). He was further nominated for a BAFTA Award for his role in Time Limit (1957), the directorial debut of Karl Malden.
One of his most notable film roles was the acrobat known as "the Fool" in the acclaimed Italian film La Strada (1954), 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, the actor Jackie Basehart. They divorced in 1960. Cortese and Basehart also costarred in Robert Wise's The House on Telegraph Hill (1951).