John Anthony Carmine Michael "Jackie" Basehart (11 October 1951 – 16 May 2015) was an American-Italian actor, mainly active in Italian cinema.

Life and career

Born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, Basehart was the son of actor

Richard Basehart John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. Known for his "deep, resonant baritone voice and craggy good looks," he was active in film, theatre and television from 1947 until 1983. He won two National ...

and actress

Valentina Cortese Valentina Elena Cortese Rossi di Coenzo (1 January 1923 – 10 July 2019), sometimes credited as Valentina Cortesa, was an Italian film and theatre actress. Her screen career spanned over 100 productions across over five decades, from 1941 until ...

. . For a few years, between the mid-1970s and the early 1980s, he was among the most requested young actors in Italian cinema, appearing in many films, although mainly in supporting roles. At that time he was hailed for "genius and recklessness" because of his excesses, which were extensively discussed by Italian gossip columns.

Last years and death

Struck by a

supranuclear palsy Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a late-onset neurodegenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific volumes of the brain, linked to 4-repeat tau pathology. The condition leads to symptoms including loss of b ...

, which progressively involved difficulty in swallowing, obesity, several hospitalizations and operations, and gradual paralysis, Basehart died at his home in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

on 16 May 2015, at age 63, predeceasing his mother.

Partial filmography

* ''Sealed Orders - Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1967) * ''La linea del fiume'' (1976) - Owen * '' Mimì Bluette... fiore del mio giardino'' (1976) - David Ross * ''

The Black Corsair ''The Black Corsair'' is an 1898 adventure novel written by Italian novelist Emilio Salgari. Set in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy, the novel narrates the exploits of Emilio Roccanera, Lord of Ventimiglia and his attempts ...

'' (1976) - Corsaro Rosso * ''

The Inglorious Bastards ''The Inglorious Bastards'' () is a 1978 Italian Euro War film directed by Enzo G. Castellari and starring Bo Svenson, Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson, Jackie Basehart, and Ian Bannen. The film, which concerns a group of prisoners who are dra ...

'' (1978) - Berle * '' The Iron Hand of the Mafia'' (1980) - Tony * ''

Sesso e volentieri ''Sesso e volentieri'' is a 1982 Italian anthology-comedy film directed by Dino Risi. The film consists in ten segments, all starred by Johnny Dorelli and all having sex and sexual perversions as main theme.Paolo D'Agostini, ''Dino Risi'', Editric ...

'' (1982) - The Prince * '' Viuuulentemente mia'' (1982) - Frank Lovejoy * ''

Odd Squad ''Odd Squad'' (stylized as ''ODD SQUAD'') is a children's live action educational comedy television series created by Tim McKeon and Adam Peltzman. The series premiered on TVOKids in Canada and PBS Kids in the United States on November 26, 2014 ...

'' (1983) - Pvt. Kirk Jones * ''Mai con le donne'' (1985) * ''

Festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

'' (1996) * ''

The Return of Sandokan ''The Return of Sandokan'' is a 1996 television series produced by Germany (where it was released as ''Die Rückkehr des Sandokan'') and Italy (where is known as ''Il ritorno di Sandokan''). It is a sequel to the 1976 ''Sandokan'' television ser ...

'' (1996) - Sir Burton * ''

Tea with Mussolini ''Tea with Mussolini'' () is a 1999 semi-autobiographical comedy-drama war film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, scripted by John Mortimer, telling the story of a young Italian boy's upbringing by a circle of British and American women before and ...

'' (1999) - Count Bernardini (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Basehart, Jackie 1951 births 2015 deaths American male film actors Italian male film actors American emigrants to Italy 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century Italian male actors 21st-century Italian male actors Neurological disease deaths in Lombardy Deaths from progressive supranuclear palsy