Richard Basehart

Born: 1914-08-13

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred in the 1960s television science fiction drama Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, in the role of Admiral Harriman Nelson. One of his most notable film roles was the acrobat known as "the Fool" in the acclaimed Italian film La strada 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 before their divorce in 1960. Cortese and Basehart also costarred in Robert Wise's The House on Telegraph Hill (1951). Basehart was also noted for his deep, distinctive voice and was prolific as a narrator of many television and movie projects ranging from features to documentaries. In 1980, Basehart narrated the mini-series 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. He 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. In 1971, Basehart played "Captain Sligo", a comical Irishman with a pet buffalo who negotiates a flawed but legal cattle purchase and unconventionally courts a widow with two children, played by Salome Jens, in CBS's western series, Gunsmoke, with James Arness. Basehart appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone, Hawaii Five-O, and as Hannibal Applewood, an abusive schoolteacher in Little House on the Prairie in 1976. In 1972, he appeared in the Columbo episode Dagger of the Mind in which he and Honor Blackman played a husband-and-wife theatrical team who were loose parodies of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. In the feature realm, he played a supporting role as a doctor in Rage (1972), a theatrical feature starring and directed by George C. Scott. He made a few TV movies including Sole Survivor (1970) and The Birdmen (1971). Both were based on true stories during World War II. He died at age 70 following a series of strokes. One month before his death, Basehart was an announcer for the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Description above from the Wikipedia article Richard Basehart, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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Chato's Land

as Nye Buell
Released: 1972-05-25

In 1870s New Mexico, a half-breed kills a bigoted sheriff in self-defense but the posse that...

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Moby Dick

as Ishmael
Released: 1956-06-27

In 1841, young Ishmael signs up for service aboard the Pequod, a whaler sailing out of New...

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Mansion of the Doomed

as Dr. Leonard Chaney
Released: 1976-10-01

An insane surgeon finds himself up to his armpits in eyeballs after guilt prompts him to begin...

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Being There

as Vladimir Skrapinov
Released: 1979-12-19

A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an...

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Titanic

as George S. Headley
Released: 1953-04-11

Unhappily married, Julia Sturges decides to go to America with her two children on the Titanic....

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The Island of Dr. Moreau

as Sayer of the Law
Released: 1977-07-13

A ship-wrecked man floats ashore on an island in the Pacific Ocean. The island is inhabited by a...

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La Strada

as Il 'Matto'
Released: 1954-09-23

When Gelsomina, a naïve young woman, is purchased from her impoverished mother by brutish circus...

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Kings of the Sun

as Ah Min
Released: 1963-12-18

In order to flee from powerful enemies, young Mayan king Balam leads his people north across the...

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Love Is a Funny Thing

as Acteur
Released: 1969-12-12

In America, two French expats, composer Henri and actress Françoise meet and fall in love with...

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The Brothers Karamazov

as Ivan Karamazov
Released: 1958-02-20

Ryevsk, Russia, 1870. Tensions abound in the Karamazov family. Fyodor is a wealthy libertine who...

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Los Angeles Plays Itself

as Roy Morgan/Roy Martin in He Walked By Night (archive footage)
Released: 2004-07-28

From its distinctive neighborhoods to its architectural homes, Los Angeles has been the backdrop...

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The Swindle

as Picasso
Released: 1955-10-07

Aging small-time conman Augusto works with two younger men: Roberto, who desires to become the...

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The Satan Bug

as Dr. Gregor Hoffman
Released: 1965-03-26

A US government germ warfare lab has had an accident. The first theory is that one of the germs...

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21 Hours at Munich

as Willy Brandt
Released: 1976-12-25

A dramatization of the incident in 1972 when Arab terrorists broke into the Olympic compound in...

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He Walked by Night

as Roy Martin / Roy Morgan
Released: 1949-02-06

This film-noir piece, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a...

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Sole Survivor

as Brig. Gen. Russell Hamner
Released: 1970-01-09

In 1960, the ruins of an American bomber were found in the Libyan desert, but the remains of the...

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Rage

as Dr. Roy Caldwell
Released: 1972-11-22

An accidental nerve gas leak by the military kills not only a rancher's livestock, but also his...

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Flood!

as John Cutler
Released: 1977-06-05

Two helicopter pilots rush aid to a small town devastated by a flood following the collapse of...

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Reign of Terror

as Maximilian Robespierre
Released: 1949-10-15

The French Revolution, 1794. The Marquis de Lafayette asks Charles D'Aubigny to infiltrate the...

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Fourteen Hours

as Robert Cosick
Released: 1951-04-01

A young man, morally destroyed by his parents not loving him and by the fear of being not...

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Hitler

as Adolf Hitler
Released: 1962-03-21

Richard Basehart stars as one of the most influential and one of the most reviled men in history...

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The House on Telegraph Hill

as Alan Spender
Released: 1951-05-12

Concentration camp survivor Victoria Kowelska finds herself involved in mystery, greed, and...

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Decision Before Dawn

as Lt. Dick Rennick
Released: 1951-12-21

WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks...

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Fixed Bayonets!

as Cpl. Denno
Released: 1951-11-21

The story of a platoon during the Korean War. One by one, Corporal Denno's superiors are killed...

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Finger of Guilt

as Reginald 'Reggie' Wilson
Released: 1956-06-01

Film producer Reggie Wilson is worried he may have a dual personality. Fleeing Hollywood, he...

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Tension

as Warren Quimby
Released: 1949-11-25

Warren Quimby manages a drugstore while trying to keep his volatile wife, Claire, happy....

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The Birdmen

as Schiller
Released: 1973-11-08

During WWII an American soldier sent to Norway to help with the escape of a scientist working on...

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The Good Die Young

as Joe Halsey
Released: 1954-03-02

An amoral, psychotic playboy incites three men who are down on their luck to commit a mail van...

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Time Limit

as Maj. Harry Cargill
Released: 1957-10-23

Military investigator Colonel Edwards is assigned a case involving Major Cargill, a Korean War...

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The Savage Guns

as Steve Fallon
Released: 1961-11-01

This Western is set in the Mexican valley of Sonora not that far south of the state of Arizona....

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City Beneath the Sea

as The President
Released: 1971-07-16

A group of 21st-century colonists inhabit an underwater city called Pacifica. Originally...

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Maneater

as Carl Brenner
Released: 1973-12-09

Two couples on a camping trip are hunted by two tigers set upon them by a crazed animal trainer.

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Love and Troubles

as Paolo Martelli
Released: 1958-12-19

Three vignettes about couples trying to get together and the problems that continue to keep them...

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Hans Brinker

as Dr. Boeker
Released: 1969-12-14

Melodrama on ice

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Outside the Wall

as Larry Nelson
Released: 1950-02-08

Larry Nelson, paroled from prison after serving nearly half of his thirty-year sentence, is...

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The Rebels

as Duke of Kentland
Released: 1979-05-14

This sequel to "The Bastard" continues the saga of Philip Kent, the illegitimate son of an...

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Repeat Performance

as William Williams
Released: 1947-05-22

On New Year's Eve 1946, Sheila Page kills her husband Barney. She wishes that she could relive...

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Five Branded Women

as Eric Reinhardt
Released: 1960-03-15

Five Yugoslav women who consorted with the German occupiers are publicly humiliated and banished...

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Cry Wolf

as James Caldwell Demarest
Released: 1947-08-19

A woman uncovers deadly secrets when she visits her late husband's family.

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The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller

as Cpl. Denno (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 2002-07-02

Samuel Fuller discusses his career as a filmmaker, illustrated by plenty of clips.

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Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model?

as Elliott Osborn
Released: 1977-01-16

A female private detective goes undercover as a porno actress to find a millionaire's missing...

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The Great Bank Hoax

as Manny Benchly
Released: 1978-11-01

When the prominent citizens of a small town discover that the officers of the local bank have...

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Roseanna McCoy

as Mounts Hatfield
Released: 1949-10-12

It's the Hatfields vs. the McCoys in this 1949 film, with Farley Granger and Joan Evans as the...

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...And Millions Die!

as Dr Douglas Pruitt
Released: 1973-01-01

A former Nazi living in Hong Kong has developed a nerve gas that he's hidden in a sewer attached...

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The Death of Me Yet

as Robert Barnes
Released: 1971-10-26

The editor of a small-town newspaper has his past unexpectedly catch up with him: he finds out...

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The Golden Vein

as Ing. Stefano Manfredi
Released: 1955-09-30

Jealous of his widowed mother's new lover, a boy does everything to separate them. Then, after...

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Portrait in Black

as Howard Mason
Released: 1960-07-27

A pair of lovers plot to kill the woman's rich husband.

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Time Travelers

as Dr. Joshua Henderson (1871)
Released: 1976-03-19

When a novel virus devastates the world in 1976, Dr. Earnshaw notices that it resembles a virus...

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The Stranger's Hand

as Joe Hamstringer
Released: 1954-01-20

Eight-year-old Roger Court is in Venice expecting to reunite with his father, British diplomat...

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Miracles of Thursday

as Martino
Released: 1957-08-22

In Fontecilla, a Spanish village in decline, the mayor and other illustrious citizens hatch a...

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Assignment: Munich

as Maj. Barney Caldwell
Released: 1972-04-30

Undercover agent, using his bar as a front, battles three killers to find a stolen fortune.

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A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

as King Arthur
Released: 1978-05-23

A modern-day scientist gets teleported to Medieval England in King Arthur's Court! He has to...

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The Ambitious One

as George Rancourt
Released: 1959-10-14

This Yves Allegret film is set in French Polynesia and stars Edmond O'Brien, Richard Basehart,...

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Valley Forge

as uncredited
Released: 1975-12-03

George Washington struggles to hold his army together at a critical point during the...

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The Extra Day

as Joe Blake
Released: 1956-01-01

Director William Fairchild's 1956 British comedy takes a peek into the private lives of various...

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Marilyn: The Untold Story

as Johnny Hyde
Released: 1980-11-10

The story of the life and times of the legendary Hollywood blonde bombshell, Marilyn Monroe,...

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Visa to Canton

as Don Benton
Released: 1960-12-26

A former World War II pilot, now the owner of a travel agency in Hong Kong, gets involved in...

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The Bounty Man

as Angus Keough
Released: 1972-10-31

Kinkaid is a rugged, hard-driving bounty hunter, determined to find outlaw Billy Riddle. He...

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Canyon Crossroads

as Larry Kendall
Released: 1955-01-01

A mining engineer, who is shunned by his peers for his unorthodox beliefs concerning the...

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Knight Rider: Knight of the Phoenix

as Wilton Knight
Released: 1982-09-26

Feature length pilot for the TV Series Knight Rider

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The Andersonville Trial

as Henry Wirz
Released: 1970-05-17

A dramatization of the 1865 war-crimes trial of Henry Wirz, commandant of the notorious...

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Jailbirds

as Doctor Stefano Luprandi
Released: 1954-09-18

Three jailbirds - a surgeon, a robber and a wrongly convicted man must adjust to their lives...

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Four Days In November

as Narrator (voice)
Released: 1964-10-07

1964 American documentary film about the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

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For the Love of Mike

as Father Phelan
Released: 1960-08-28

An orphan trains a racehorse so he can win the money to build a new church.

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Knight Rider: Halloween Knight

as Narrator
Released: 1985-07-14

Michael and K.I.T.T. investigate after Bonnie believes she witnessed a murder from her new...

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The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

as Narrator
Released: 1968-03-06

This documentary showcases Hitler's strategy for conquering hearts and minds by exploiting...

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Bix: Ain't None of Them Play Like Him Yet

as Self
Released: 1982-12-25

Through interviews, archival footage, photos and classic tunes, learn about the remarkable...

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Let My People Go: The Story of Israel

as Narrator (voice)
Released: 1965-01-01

Survey of Zionist history: Theodor Herzl's idea of creating a Jewish state; the return to...

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Trial at Nuremberg

as Narrator
Released: 1964-12-09

This 1964 film shows the capture of and preparation for the prosecution of the principal...

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Land of Celtic Ghosts

as Himself
Released: 1979-10-15

A collection of Irish legends and sightings, featuring eerie ruins of castles. A moody film,...

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Planet Mars

as Narrator
Released: 1979-01-01

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Egypt: Quest for Eternity

as Narrator (Self)
Released: 1982-03-06

Documentary about ancient Egypt, its temples, paintings and art, and how these old treasures are...

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Columbo

as Nicholas Framer
First aired: 1971-09-15

Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently...

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Hawaii Five-O

as Murdock
First aired: 1968-09-20

Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and...

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The Love Boat

as Stan Ellis
First aired: 1977-09-24

Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or...

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Ironside

as Noel Seymour
First aired: 1967-03-28

When an assassin's bullet confines him to a wheelchair for life ending his career as Chief of...

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The Twilight Zone

as Adam Cook
First aired: 1959-10-02

A series of unrelated stories containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science...

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Little House on the Prairie

as uncredited
First aired: 1974-09-11

Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael...

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The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

as Philip Townsend
First aired: 1962-09-20

A continuation of the anthology series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, hosted by the master of...

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The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

as Miles Crawford
First aired: 1962-09-20

A continuation of the anthology series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, hosted by the master of...

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Tales of the Unexpected

as Slade
First aired: 1979-03-24

A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and...

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Marcus Welby, M.D.

as Professor Andrew Kirkcastle
First aired: 1969-09-23

Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from...

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Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as David Manning
First aired: 1956-10-05

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American...

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Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

as Adm. Harriman Nelson
First aired: 1964-09-14

Join the crew of the Seaview aboard their super high-tech submarine, where no mission is too...

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The Streets of San Francisco

as uncredited
First aired: 1972-09-23

Two police officers, the older Lt. Stone and the young upstart Inspector Keller, investigate...

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Arrest and Trial

as uncredited
First aired: 1963-09-15

Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964...

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Knight Rider

as Wilton Knight
First aired: 1982-09-26

Michael Long, an undercover police officer, is shot while investigating a case and left for dead...

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Studio One

as Matt Donovan
First aired: 1948-11-07

An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher...

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Naked City

as Lester Bergson
First aired: 1958-09-30

Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network....

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Route 66

as uncredited
First aired: 1960-10-07

Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America in a Chevrolet...

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Combat!

as Capt. Steiner
First aired: 1962-10-02

Combat! is an American television program that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The...

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Ben Casey

as uncredited
First aired: 1961-10-02

Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was...

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Vega$

as uncredited
First aired: 1978-09-20

Vega$ is an American detective television drama series that aired on ABC between 1978 and 1981....

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Rawhide

as Tod Stone
First aired: 1959-01-09

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across...

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Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Conway
First aired: 1951-12-24

Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark...

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Hallmark Hall of Fame

as General Washington
First aired: 1951-12-24

Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark...

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National Geographic Specials

as Narrator (voice)
First aired: 1965-09-10

National Geographic Specials

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The Critical List

as Matt Kinsella
First aired: 1978-09-11

A hospital director in line for a federal cabinet post discovers that his private life may...

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Gunsmoke

as Captain Aron Sligo
First aired: 1955-09-10

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...

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Masada

as Narrator
First aired: 1981-04-05

A Roman general leads the epic 1st-century siege of Masada, the mountain fortress where more...

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Joe Forrester

as uncredited
First aired: 1975-09-09

Joe Forrester is an American Crime/Drama TV series, starring Lloyd Bridges.

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Mr. Merlin

as uncredited
First aired: 1981-10-07

Mr. Merlin is an American sitcom that ran for one season, from 1981 to 1982, about Merlin the...

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