Arthur Basil RadfordAdam Greaves, "Radford, (Arthur) Basil (1897–1952)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, May 201
available online
Retrieved 3 August 2020. (25 June 189720 October 1952) was an English character actor who featured in many British films of the 1930s and 1940s. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made his first stage appearance in July 1924. He is probably best remembered for his appearances alongside Naunton Wayne as two

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

-obsessed Englishmen in several films from 1938 to 1949.

Early life

Radford was born in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, England, on 25 June 1897.

First World War

He was a commissioned officer in the British South Staffordshire Regiment in the First World War, in 1918 transferring into the Royal Air Force, ending the war as a subaltern when he was demobilised in 1920. Radford had a crescent-shaped scar on his right cheek from a wound sustained during his time in the trenches. Depending on the lighting and camera angle it varied from barely perceptible to prominent.

Film career

Radford first appeared with Naunton Wayne as their characters Charters and Caldicott in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

thriller '' The Lady Vanishes''. They were popular enough to reprise their roles in '' Night Train to Munich'', which was again scripted by Frank Launder and

Sidney Gilliat Sidney Gilliat (15 February 1908 – 31 May 1994) was an English film director, producer and writer. He was the son of George Gilliat, editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1928 to 1933. Sidney was born in the district of Edgeley in Stoc ...

. They appeared together in several other 1940s films, including '' Crook's Tour'' (1941), ''

The Next of Kin ''The Next of Kin'', also known as ''Next of Kin'', is a 1942 Second World War propaganda film produced by Ealing Studios. The film was originally commissioned by the British War Office as a training film to promote the government message that ...

'' (1942), '' Millions Like Us'' (1943), '' Dead of Night'' (1945), ''

Quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

'' (1948), '' It's Not Cricket'' (1949), '' Stop Press Girl'' (1949), and '' Passport to Pimlico'' (1949). Apart from his long-running partnership with Naunton Wayne, Radford made many other memorable film appearances in character roles. His other films included '' Young and Innocent'' (also for Hitchcock) (1937), '' The Way to the Stars'' (1945), '' The Captive Heart'' (1946), '' The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' Whisky Galore!'' (1949).

Personal life

In 1926, he married Shirley Deuchars. They had one son.

Death

Radford's health began seriously to fail in the summer of 1951, forcing him to take a long break from acting. He died at St George's Hospital, Westminster, London, on 20 October 1952, from liver failure due to cirrhosis of the liver.

Complete filmography

* Charters and Caldicott films

Selected stage appearances

* '' Night Must Fall'' by Emlyn Williams (1935) * '' Someone at the Door'' by

Campbell Christie Campbell Christie CBE (23 August 1937 – 28 October 2011) was the General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress from 1986 to 1998. The son of a Galloway quarryman, he joined the civil service at the age of 17, rising through the ranks ...

(1935) * ''

Blondie White ''Blondie White'' is a 1937 mystery play by British writer Jeffrey Dell and Bernard Merivale. A murder mystery, it was inspired by an earlier play by Hungarian writer Ladislas Fodor. A famous crime novelist helps Scotland Yard to solve the murder ...

'' by Bernard Merivale and Jeffrey Dell (1937) * '' The Innocent Party'' by H.M. Harwood (1938) * ''

Warn That Man! ''Warn That Man!'' is a 1941 comedy thriller play by the British writer Vernon Sylvaine. A comedy-thriller, its plot concerns an attempt to kidnap wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill from an English country house. Having debuted at the N ...

'' by Vernon Sylvaine (1941) * '' The Blind Goddess'' by Patrick Hastings (1947) * '' A Penny for a Song'' by John Whiting (1951)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Radford, Basil 1897 births 1952 deaths English male film actors People from Chester 20th-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art British male comedy actors British Army personnel of World War I South Staffordshire Regiment officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force officers Deaths from cirrhosis Military personnel from Chester