Richard Basehart did not
want to be typecast. He just wanted to act and he
picked roles that interested him, whether he thought they were good for
his
career or not. He wasn't really interested in becoming a star. I would
think,
if anything, he was really a private person and didn't want his life to
be
fodder for the magazines. If you compare the number of articles written
about
him to others who were considered stars, you won't find as many. Val
had a more established career in the early fifties so Richard chose to
go to
Italy to be with her. The stress of both of them trying to keep their
careers
going and never seeing each other because of all the traveling finally
drove
them apart. They split up around 1958 and Richard had pretty much moved
back to
the States by 1960. He rarely saw his son Jack after that. Jack stayed
with his
mother in Rome. Richard missed him terribly. Â
CR:
In the late forties, were the studio bosses trying to build Basehart up
to be a
big star? If so, his versatility would have been seen as a drawback, no
doubt.Â
SK:
Yes, they were expecting him to become a great star… and yes, I think
his
versatility would have been a drawback because the studio heads would be
unable
to pigeonhole him into a certain type of role. Richard wanted to stretch
himself and he wouldn't have been able to do such a wide variety of
roles.
CR:
He certainly had an opportunity to stretch himself as an actor with his
astounding
portrayal of Hitler in the little-seen biopic directed by Stuart Heisler
in
1962.
SK:
Richard tried to learn as much about Adolf Hitler as he could to make
him more
human and believable to the audience. That was a very hard role for
Richard
physically and emotionally – the greatest acting challenge he had ever
faced.
He lost weight. His blood pressure went up. He would lose his temper in
explosive outbursts that left him hoarse.Â
CR:
In the 1970s, did Richard Basehart feel that his career had gone into a
sharp
decline? He was offered leading roles in C-movies like Mansion of the
Doomed
and The Great Bank Hoax. He turned up in lousy made-for-TV movies like
…And
Millions Die!, Maneater and City Beneath the Sea (though Sole Survivor
was
excellent). He made many guest appearances on TV shows like Marcus
Welby, M.D.,
Time Travelers and Little House on the Prairie. This seems to be a sad
misuse
of his talents. Basehart was capable of so much more, as he demonstrated
in The
Andersonville Trial – in which he delivered a truly towering performance
as the
first concentration camp commander in history.
SK:
I don't think he was offered as many of the roles that he would have
liked to
have played. I also think he was becoming more of a family man and
wanted to
stay home more with his daughters. Jenna was born in 1964 and Gayla in
1969. He
thoroughly enjoyed being with them. According to Diana, he didn't even
like
going out to eat. He liked staying at home with his family. I think that
is
also why he did more documentaries at that time, because voice work
didn't
require as much travel.
Diana
figures that Richard’s career faltered when they both decided they
didn't like
going to all the events that actors go to. He went because he thought
Diana
wanted to go and Diana went because, as an actor's wife, she thought she
should
go with him. One day they just looked at each other and asked, "Do you
like this?†They both said “no†and that was that. They stayed home
instead.
She feels that this elusiveness figured more into his lack of offers for
good roles
than anything else. Â
CR:
In 1976, Richard Basehart appeared in Mansion of the Doomed, in a role
so out
of character (a “mad doctor†who collects eyes from the living), and
even now
so disturbing, that for many people who admired him as Admiral Nelson,
his hero
reputation was left in tatters. Mansion of the Doomed sounds mighty
intriguing.
Have you seen it?Â
SK:
Yeah, I have it. People wondered why he accepted this role. Even with
his reputation for taking weird roles, most people thought it was
beneath him. I
think it was easy for Richard to play this part as it was filmed very
close to his
home. By this time, he was not interested in traveling the world just to
be in another movie. He essentially became a stay-at-home Dad. Even
Diana and the girls are in Mansion of the Doomed.
I do not agree with the assessment that the role of Dr. Leonard Chaney
left his
hero reputation in tatters, though. Richard’s fans already knew he
didn't
take run-of-the-mill roles. And those who didn't know him well enough
weren’t
aware that he liked off-the-wall roles.
CR:
Why did Basehart agree to be cast against type as the Sayer of the Law –
a
monstrous human/animal hybrid (albeit an intelligent one) in Don
Taylor’s The
Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) – a remake of the horror classic Island of
Lost
Souls? Did his decision stem from the opportunity to work with Burt
Lancaster
and Michael York in the pleasant surroundings of the Virgin Islands? Or
did
Basehart secretly always want to play a monster?
SK:
Don Taylor, his best friend (he was the rancher in The Savage Guns, a
proto-“spaghetti
western†Richard made in Spain in 1961) asked Richard to play the Sayer
of the
Law in the film he was directing based on H.G. Wells’ novel The Island
of Dr.
Moreau. No one else would take the role,
so Don asked Richard what he could offer to entice him to play the part
of the
wise old “manimalâ€. Richard asked for a rock for Diana. So Don bought
Diana a
large Italian marble rock for her to sculpt… and that was Richard’s
payment for
agreeing to play the Sayer of the Law.
CR:
The Great Bank Hoax is one of Basehart’s few forays into comedy.
Unfortunately,
the film was a critical and commercial failure. Based on this single
performance as a bank president trying to cover up a massive
embezzlement,
describe Basehart’s approach to comedy.
SK:
Richard loved comedies, but was never offered one, so he didn't get the
chance
to prove his talents in that area until The Great Bank Hoax – rather
late in
his career. Diana said he was a quick thinker and could come back with
anything
and was always able to improvise a short witty repartee for any
situation.
CR:
Did Basehart agree to play a cameo as the Soviet Ambassador in Hal
Ashby’s Being
There simply for the opportunity to work with the gifted Peter Sellers?
Did Basehart
ever relate any anecdotes about his experiences on that film?
SK:
He really enjoyed his cameo in Being There and especially meeting the
challenge
of doing a Russian accent convincingly. Shirley MacLaine came on the set
that
day just to watch Richard work, as she was a great admirer of his.
CR: Norman Lloyd writes that Richard Basehart did an episode of Tales of
the
Unexpected (which Lloyd produced) where his dedication to his work under
difficult circumstances was extraordinary. Please tell us more about
these
difficult circumstances.Â
SK:
The role was physically demanding. He had to carry a body into the surf.
From
the close-ups, it looks like it really was Richard and not some
stand-in. He
may not have been in the actual ocean, but he was carrying a person on
his back
with his arms wrapped around his neck through increasingly deep water.
Richard
was very close to the end of his life. In fact, this was his final
onscreen
performance.
CR:
What did he consider to be his finest role? Â
SK:
I would think he was proudest of his work in The Andersonville Trial,
Fourteen
Hours and He Walked By Night. Those are all classic performances that
stand the
test of time. But no matter what he appeared in, Richard literally never
gave a
bad performance!
"A man stays
alive as long as he is remembered. He is killed only by forgetfulness."
– Richard Basehart as Lieutenant Rennick in Decision Before Dawn
Click here to read Herbert Shadrak's previous tribute to Richard Basehart