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 The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

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 games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

-obsessed Englishmen in several films from 1938 to 1949.

Early life

Radford was born in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, on 25 June 1897.

First World War

He was a commissioned officer in the South Staffordshire Regiment in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1918 transferring into the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, 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 film director. 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 featu ...

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

thriller ''

The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British Mystery film, mystery Thriller (genre), thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel '' ...

''. They were popular enough to reprise their roles in '' Night Train to Munich'', which was again scripted by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat. They appeared together in several other 1940s films, including '' Crook's Tour'' (1941), '' The Next of Kin'' (1942), '' Millions Like Us'' (1943), '' Dead of Night'' (1945), '' Quartet'' (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 Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

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 (1935) * '' Blondie White'' by Bernard Merivale and Jeffrey Dell (1937) * '' The Innocent Party'' by H.M. Harwood (1938) * '' Warn That Man!'' by Vernon Sylvaine (1941) * '' She Follows Me About'' by Ben Travers (1943) * '' The Blind Goddess'' by Patrick Hastings (1947) * '' A Penny for a Song'' by John Whiting (1951)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Radford, Basil People educated at St Peter's School, York 1897 births 1952 deaths English male film actors Male actors from Chester 20th-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 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