John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He was best known for La Strada, Moby-Dick, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Being There.
Knight Rider fans will also know him as Michael Knight’s sponsor, Wilton Knight, and the opening credits narrator.
Basehart had a short-lived career as a journalist before becoming an actor.
He was married three times: to Stephanie Klein; actress Valentina Cortese; and Diana Lotery. He had one child with Cortese and two with Lotery.
Basehart died after a series of strokes at the age of 70.
Works with Richard Basehart:
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Film
- 1947 Repeat Performance: William Williams, the Poet
- 1947 Cry Wolf (1947): James Demarest
- 1948 He Walked By Night: Roy Morgan / Roy Martin
- 1949 Reign Of Terror: Maximilien Robespierre
- 1949 Roseanna Mc Coy: Mounts Hatfield
- 1949 Tension: Warren Quimby
- 1949 Side Street: Bank Teller (
Uncredited Role) - 1950 Outside The Wall: Larry Nelson
- 1951 Fourteen Hours: Robert Cosick
- 1951 The House On Telegraph Hill: Alan Spender
- 1951 Fixed Bayonets: Cpl. Denno
- 1951 Decision Before Dawn: Lt. Dick Rennick
- 1953 Titanic: George Healey
- 1954 The Strangers Hand: Joe Hamstringer
- 1954 Angels Of Darkness: Bit Part (Uncredited)
- 1954 The Good Die Young: Joe
- 1954 La Strada: The Fool
- 1954 Avanzi Di Galera: Dottor Stefano Luprandi
- 1955 Canyon Crossroads: Larry Kendall
- 1955 Golden Vein: Ing. Stefano Manfredi
- 1955 Cartouche: Il conte Jacques de Maudy
- 1955 The Swindle: Carlo
- 1956 The Extra Day: Joe Blake
- 1956 Moby-Dick: Ishmael
- 1956 Finger Of Guilt: Reggie Wilson
- 1957 Miracles Of Thursday: Martino
- 1957 Time Limit: Maj. Harry Cargill
- 1958 The Brothers Karamazov: Ivan Karamazov
- 1958 Love And Troubles: Paolo Martelli
- 1959 The Restless And The Damned: George Rancourt
- 1959 Jons Und Erdme: Wittkuhn, der Schmied
- 1960 Five Branded Women: Il capitano Eric Reinhardt
- 1960 Portrait In Black: Howard Mason
- 1960 For The Love Of Mike: Father Francis Phelan
- 1960 Shangri La: Hugh Conway (Made-for-TV Movie)
- 1960 Passport To China: Don Benton
- 1961 The Light That Failed: Dick Heldar (TV Movie)
- 1961 The Savage Guns: Steve Fallon
- 1962 Hitler: Adolf Hitler
- 1963 Four Days in November: Narrator
- 1963 Kings Of The Sun: Ah Min
- 1965 The Satan Bug: Dr. Gregor Hoffman
- 1969 Love Is A Funny Thing: Acteur – Cameo Appearance
- 1969 Hans Brinker: Dr. Boekman (TV Movie)
- 1970 Sole Survivor: Brig. Gen. Russell Hamner (TV Movie)
- 1970 The Andersonville Trial: Henry Wirz (TV Movie)
- 1971 City Beneath the Sea: The President (TV Movie)
- 1971 Theyve Killed President Lincoln: Host/Narrator (TV Movie)
- 1971 The Birdmen: Schiller (TV Movie)
- 1971 The Death Of Me Yet: Robert Barnes (TV Movie)
- 1972 Assignment Munich: Maj. Barney Caldwell (TV Movie)
- 1972 Chatos Land: Nye Buell
- 1972 The Bounty Man: Angus Keough (TV Movie)
- 1972 Rage: Dr. Roy Caldwell
- 1973 And Millions Die: Dr. Douglas Pratt (TV Movie)
- 1973 Maneater: Carl Brenner (TV Movie)
- 1974 The First Woman President: Woodrow Wilson (TV Movie)
- 1975 Judgment The Court Martial Of Lieutenant William Calley: George Latimer (TV Movie)
- 1975 Valley Forge: Gen. George Washington (TV Movie)
- 1976 Time Travelers: Dr. Joshua Henderson (1871) (TV Movie)
- 1976 Mansion Of The Doomed: Dr. Leonard Chaney
- 1976 Twenty One Hours At Munich: Bundeskanzler Willy Brandt (TV Movie)
- 1976 Flood: John Cutler (TV Movie)
- 1977 Stonestreet Who Killed The Centerfold Model: Elliot Osborn (TV Movie)
- 1977 The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977): Sayer of the Law
- 1977 The Great Bank Hoax: Manny Benchly
- 1978 The Critical List: Matt Kinsella (TV Movie)
- 1979 Being There: Vladimir Skrapinov
- 1980 Marilyn The Untold Story: Johnny Hyde (TV Movie)
- 1983 The Crowded Life: Narrator (TV Movie)
Television
- 1957 Studio One: Matt Donovan (2 episodes)
- 1957-60 Playhouse 90: Lionel Amblin/David Connelly/Martin Lambert (3 episodes)
- 1958 Zane Grey Theatre: David Manning (1 episode)
- 1960 The Du Pont Show Of The Month: Dr. George Ferguson (1 episode)
- 1961 Play Of The Week: Stranger (1 episode)
- 1961 Rawhide: Todd Stone (1 episode)
- 1962 Theatre 62: Anthony Keane (1 episode)
- 1962 The Du Pont Show Of The Week: Narrator (1 episode)
- 1962 Naked City: Lester Bergson (1 episode)
- 1962-63 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: Phillip Townsend/Miles Crawford (2 episodes)
- 1963 Route 66: Julian Roebuck (1 episode)
- 1963 The Dick Powell Theatre: Judge Zachary (1 episode)
- 1963 Combat! (1962): Capt. Steiner (2 episodes)
- 1963 Ben Casey: Mark Cassidy (1 episode)
- 1963 Arrest And Trial: Alexander Safford (1 episode)
- 1963 The Twilight Zone (1959): Adam Cook (1 episode)
- 1964-68 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Admiral Harriman Nelson/Capt. Seamus O’Hara Nelson
- 1965 Lost in Space: Shakespeare-Reading Tape Recorder Voice (1 episode)
- 1970 Ironside (1967): Noel Seymour (1 episode)
- 1970 Dan August: Prof. Theodore Rye (1 episode)
- 1971 Gunsmoke: Captain Aron Sligo (1 episode)
- 1972 The Bold Ones The New Doctors: Dr. Stephen McLayne (1 episode)
- 1972 Columbo: Nicholas Frame (1 episode)
- 1973 Hawaii Five-O: Bernard Murdock (1 episode)
- 1974 Marcus Welby, M.D.: Professor Andrew Kirkcastle/Reece Sutton (2 episodes)
- 1975 The American Parade: Lambdin Milligan (1 episode)
- 1975 Medical Story: Dr. Charles Galpin (1 episode)
- 1975 Joe Forrester: Al Morgan (1 episode)
- 1976 The Streets of San Francisco: Bishop Tim Farrow (1 episode)
- 1976 Little House on the Prairie: Hannibal Applewood (1 episode)
- 1978 How The West Was Won: Colonel Flint (3 episodes)
- 1978 Once Upon A Classic: King Arthur (1 episode)
- 1978 WEB: Gus Dunlap
- 1979 The Rebels: Duke of Kentland
- 1979 Greatest Heroes Of The Bible: Johtan (1 episode)
- 1981 Vega$ (1978): J. Terrance Wainwright (1 episode)
- 1981 Masada: Narrator, Modern Day Scene (2 episodes)
- 1981 The Love Boat: Stan Ellis (1 episode)
- 1981 Mr Merlin: Herbert Montrose (1 episode)
- 1982-86 Knight Rider: Wilton Knight/Narrator
- 1983 Tales of the Unexpected: Slade (1 episode)
