Editing Richard Basehart (section)

==Career==

=== Theatre and film ===
Basehart made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut in 1938. He won the 1945 [[New York Drama Critics' Circle|New York Drama Critics' Circle Award]] for Most Promising Young Actor for his starring role in [[John Patrick (dramatist)|John Patrick]]'s play ''The Hasty Heart'', which was adapted into a [[The Hasty Heart|1949 film of the same name]]. He made his film debut with ''[[Repeat Performance]]'' (1947). So confident was [[Eagle-Lion Films]] in his performance that the film was first screened in his hometown.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tcm.com/video/1558166/noir-alley-eddie-muller-on-repeat-performance-1947 | title=Noir Alley: Eddie Muller on Repeat Performance (1947) }}</ref>

He soon appeared as the killer in the [[film noir]] classic ''[[He Walked by Night]]'' (1948) for Eagle-Lion, then he appeared as a psychotic member of the [[Hatfield-McCoy feud|Hatfield clan]] in ''[[Roseanna McCoy]]'' (1949), as [[Maximilien Robespierre]] in the period film noir ''[[Reign of Terror (film)|Reign of Terror]]'' (1949), as a timid husband in ''[[Tension (film)|Tension]]'' (1950), as Ishmael in ''[[Moby Dick (1956 film)|Moby Dick]]'' (1956), in the drama ''[[Decision Before Dawn]]'' (1951), George S. Healey in ''[[Titanic (1953 film)|Titanic]]'' (1953) and as Ivan in ''[[The Brothers Karamazov (1958 film)|The Brothers Karamazov]]'' (1958).

One of his most notable film roles was the acrobat and clown known as "the Fool" in the acclaimed Italian film ''[[La Strada]]'' (1954), directed by [[Federico Fellini]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Weiler |first=A.h. |author-link=A. H. Weiler |date=July 17, 1956 |title=Screen: A Truthful Italian Journey; 'La Strada' Is Tender, Realistic Parable |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/07/17/archives/screen-a-truthful-italian-journey-la-strada-is-tender-realistic.html |access-date=July 22, 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> He portrayed the [[Adolf Hitler|title character]] in ''[[Hitler (1962 film)|Hitler]]'' (1962), and a high priest in ''[[Kings of the Sun]]'' (1963).

Basehart played a supporting role as a doctor in the feature film ''[[Rage (1972 film)|Rage]]'' (1972), a theatrical feature starring and directed by [[George C. Scott]]. Also in the 1970s, he co-starred in ''[[Chato's Land]]'' (1972) and ''[[The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977 film)|The Island of Dr. Moreau]]'' (1977). In 1979, he appeared as a Russian diplomat with [[Peter Sellers]] in ''[[Being There]]''.<ref name="Krebs nytimes2">{{cite news |last=Krebs |first=Albin |date=September 19, 1984 |title=Richard Basehart, Stage And Screen Star, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/19/obituaries/richard-basehart-stage-and-screen-star-dies.html |access-date=June 8, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

===Television===
From 1964 to 1968, Basehart played the lead role, Admiral Harriman Nelson, on [[Irwin Allen]]'s first foray into science-fiction television, ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea''.<ref name="Krebs nytimes2" />

Basehart 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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nuthall |first=Paul |date=August 31, 2014 |title=Remembering Richard Basehart |url=http://www.knightriderarchives.com/news/2014/08/31/remembering-richard-basehart/ |access-date=July 22, 2019 |publisher=Knight Rider Archives}}</ref> He accepted the [[Adolf Hitler|lead role]] in the 1962 film ''[[Hitler (1962 film)|Hitler]]''. He appeared in "[[Probe 7, Over and Out]]", an episode of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'',<ref>{{cite web |last=Rubin |first=Steve |date=November 29, 2017 |title=November 29 in Twilight Zone History: Celebrating the 1963 premiere of 'Probe 7, Over and Out' |work=SYFY WIRE |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/november-29-in-twilight-zone-history-celebrating-the-1963-premiere-of-probe-7-over-and-out |access-date=July 22, 2019 |publisher=[[Syfy Wire]]}}</ref> ''[[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]]'', and as Hannibal Applewood, an abusive schoolteacher in ''[[Little House on the Prairie (TV series)|Little House on the Prairie]]'' in 1976. In 1972, Basehart appeared in the ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' episode "Dagger of the Mind", in which [[Honor Blackman]] and he played a husband-and-wife theatrical team who accidentally kill Sir Roger Haversham, the producer of their rendition of Macbeth.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sabin |first1=Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CoT2BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 |title=Cop Shows: A Critical History of Police Dramas on Television |last2=Wilson |first2=Ronald |last3=Speidel |first3=Linda |last4=Faucette |first4=Brian |last5=Bethell |first5=Ben |date=2015 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=978-0-7864-4819-7 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |page=59}}</ref>

Basehart made a few TV movies, including ''[[Sole Survivor (1970 film)|Sole Survivor]]'' (1970) and ''[[The Birdmen]]'' (1971). Both were based on true stories during [[World War II]].

=== Narration ===
Basehart narrated a wide range of television and movie projects. In 1964, he narrated the [[David L. Wolper|David Wolper]] documentary about the [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination]], ''[[Four Days in November]]''.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 8, 1964 |title='Four Days in November,' Documentary on Assassination |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/08/archives/four-days-in-november-documentary-on-assassination.html |access-date=July 22, 2019 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> In 1980, Basehart narrated the miniseries 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.<ref>{{cite news |date=August 16, 1987 |title=Television and Vietnam |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/16/arts/l-television-and-vietnam-580087.html |access-date=July 22, 2019 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

One month before his death, Basehart narrated a poem during the extinguishing of the flame at the closing ceremonies of the [[1984 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Litsky |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Litsky |date=August 13, 1984 |title=A STRIKING CLOSING CEREMONY |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/13/sports/a-striking-closing-ceremony.html |access-date=July 22, 2019 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=September 19, 1984 |title=Actor Richard Basehart dead at 70 |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/09/19/Actor-Richard-Basehart-dead-at-70/2024464414400/ |access-date=July 22, 2019 |work=[[United Press International]]}}</ref>