Basil Henson (31 July 1918 – 19 December 1990) was an English actor. He appeared on film, television, and the stage, where he was particularly known for his work at the National Theatre.

Early life

Henson was born in London in 1918. He was educated at

Malvern College Malvern College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging coeducational boarding school, boarding and day school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school ...

and the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

, and served in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

during World War II, where he was a major with the

Garhwal Rifles The Garhwal Rifles, are an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally raised in 1887 as the 39th (Garhwal) Regiment of the Bengal Army. It then became "The Royal Garhwal Rifles" as part of the British Indian Army, and after the Inde ...

Career

Henson began his acting career in 1946 after returning to Britain, in a production of '' The Dancing Years'' at the London Casino. This began a long list of appearances on stage and television. His stage performances included a number of parts in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

productions, including ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'' opposite

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...

in London's West End and on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. He also played in the original West End production of

Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...

's '' Separate Tables'' at the St. James' Theatre in 1954. He appeared frequently at the National Theatre, including a part in the world premiere of '' Amadeus'' by

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is best known for the plays '' Equus'' and '' Amadeus'', the latter of which was adapted for the screen by Miloš Forman, with an ...

. He had the very rare honour, along with his actor contemporaries Denis Quilley and Michael Bryant, of having a dressing room there named after him. His last appearance at the National Theatre was in a performance of ''

Piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

'' the week before his death. He also appeared in many British films during his career. Among them '' Dr. Crippen'' (1962), the ''

Edgar Wallace Mysteries The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''Th ...

'' series of second features, '' Darling'' (1965), '' The Frozen Dead'' (1966), ''

Arthur? Arthur! ''Arthur? Arthur!'' is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Samuel Gallu and starring Shelley Winters, Donald Pleasence and Terry-Thomas. It was written by John Esmonde, Simeon George and Bob Larbey based on the 1967 novel '' The Man W ...

'' (1969), ''

The Walking Stick ''The Walking Stick'' is a 1970 British crime drama film directed by Eric Till and starring David Hemmings and Samantha Eggar. It was based on the 1967 novel of the same title by Winston Graham. Plot Deborah Dainton suffers from a limp as a ...

'' (1970), '' Cromwell'' (1970), '' The Final Programme'' (1973), and ''

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

'' (1975). Henson's television appearances included '' Emergency Ward 10'', '' The Power Game'', ''

Sexton Blake Sexton Blake is a fictional British detective, whose adventures captivated readers for over eight decades from 1893 to 1978. Blake featured in more than 4,000 stories by approximately 200 different authors, making him one of the most prolifica ...

'', '' Casting the Runes'', ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ...

'', ''

Follyfoot ''Follyfoot'' is a children's television series co-produced by the majority-partner British television company Yorkshire Television (for transmission on ITV) and the independent West German company ''TV München'' (for transmission on the ZD ...

'', ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

'', ''

Fall of Eagles Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Southern Hemisphere ...

'', the Judge, in ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

'', and as Sir Horatio Manners in ''

When the Boat Comes In ''When the Boat Comes In'' is a British television period drama produced by the BBC between 8 January 1976 and 21 April 1981. Across the whole series, events are set in the time period from 1919 to 1937. The series stars James Bolam as Jack Fo ...

''. He also appeared as Dr. Abbott in the ''

Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...

'' episode " The Psychiatrist" 1979.

Personal life

Henson was married three times; he was married to his first wife for eighteen months, until her death in 1941. He was then married to actress Eleanor Drew, with whom he had two sons before their marriage ended in divorce. His third marriage was to Patricia Raine, with whom he had a daughter. Henson died at his home in

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

, Kent, on 19 December 1990, at the age of 72.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henson, Basil 1918 births 1990 deaths 20th-century English male actors British Indian Army officers English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Indian Army personnel of World War II Male actors from London People from Sevenoaks Male actors from Kent Actors from Sevenoaks District