Basil Langton

Langton in the 1960s

Basil Cedric Langton(9 January 1912 – 29 May 2003) was an English actor, director and photographer, who made a career on both sides of the Atlantic. He was an authority on the plays ofGeorge Bernard Shawand compiled an archive of more than 400,000 words of interviews with people who had known and worked with Shaw. He was also a teacher, working at colleges in New York and California.

Life and career

Langton was born 9 January 1912inClifton,Bristol(England) but spent his early years in Canada, where his family moved soon after his birth. His first experience of theatre was inMontreal,where, at the age of six, he was taken by his mother to seeSarah Bernhardt's farewell tour inCamille.During his youth in Canada he became attracted by silent films: "I learned courage fromPearl White,love fromRudolph Valentino,and laughter fromCharlie Chaplin".After leaving school he worked in a bank, but was inspired to become an actor by seeing SirDonald Wolfit's performance inThe Barretts of Wimpole Streetin 1932. He won a scholarship that enabled him to leave Canada and return to England to begin a stage career in 1934.In 1935 he began learning classical acting at theShakespeare Memorial Theatreand theOld Vic.

Langton appeared in fifteen films between 1935 and 1949, includingThe Belles of St. Clements(1936),One Good Turn(1936),The Shadow of Mike Emerald(1936),Father Steps Out(1937),The Elder Brother(1937),Mr. Smith Carries On(1937) andMerry Comes to Town(1937).

InLaurence Olivier's firstMacbethat the Old Vic, Langton "took the eye with an extremely subtle and suspicious little characterisation of Lennox in the murder scene"; he understudied the star in the title role.

In 1936, he was cast as Dolabella inTheodore Komisarjevsky's staging ofAntony and Cleopatra.In the same year he played Eliah opposite the exiled German starElisabeth Bergnerin the title role in SirJ. M. Barrie'sThe Boy David.

In 1938 he played the lead in the London premiere ofClifford Odets'sAwake and Sing,and forMichel Saint-Denishe appeared inMikhail Bulgakov'sThe White GuardwithMichael RedgraveandPeggy Ashcroftin 1938.He played Sebastian to Ashcroft's Viola inTwelfth Nightin the same season.At Stratford in 1940, Langton playedHamletwith whatThe Timescalled "a fine Italianate presence", and was praised for his "tight lipped and tortured passion" as Angelo inMeasure for Measure.

After a series of leading roles with theBirmingham Repertory Theatre,Langton founded his own permanent repertory ensemble, the Travelling Repertory Company, in 1941. It toured Britain until 1946, performing in bombed cities, munitions factories and army camps.At various times the company's members included DameSybil Thorndikeand SirLewis Casson(who were married to each other), as well asMargaret Leighton, Renée Asherson.Esmond Knight,Paul ScofieldandEric Porter.

Langton was declared medically unfit for military service inWorld War IIbecause he hadasthma,but nonetheless registered as aconscientious objector.His wartimepacifismestranged him from some in the British establishment; it was widely believed that his pacifist beliefs had led the authorities to withhold the public subsidy a touring repertory company might have been expected to receive.

In 1947, Langton moved permanently to the U.S., and worked on stage and television as a director and actor.He gave the American television premiere of a Shaw play,The Devil's Disciple,and produced the first Shaw Festival in America. He was a co-founder of the Empire State Music Festival, and ran a jazz festival withDuke Ellington,Dave BrubeckandGeorge Shearing.On Broadway he acted inThe Affair,CamelotandRolf Hochhuth's controversial playSoldiers.He returned to London in as the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Lord Alanbrooke, inClifford Williams's production ofSoldiersat theNew Theatrein 1968.One of his last acting performances was inStar Trek: Voyagerin 1994 as the titular character, an extra-terrestrial being, in the two-hour pilot episode "Caretaker".

In addition to his acting, Langton taught at the Manhattan School of Music, atUCLA,and atSarah Lawrence College.He was an authority on the stage works of Shaw, and in 1959 he was awarded aGuggenheim Fellowshipto research the playwright's stagecraft. The resulting interviews with more than sixty people who had known and worked with Shaw were recorded on tape and transcribed. The recordings and transcripts, amounting to more than 400,000 words, were acquired by the Humanities Research Center of theUniversity of TexasLibrary inAustin.

Langton was also an exhibited photographer. His pictures ofHenry Moore,David Hockney,Joan Miróand others have been displayed at theMetropolitan Museum of Artin New York.

Langton's first marriage was to the dancer Louise Soelberg, with whom he had a daughter; the second was to the actressNancy Wickwire.Both marriages ended in divorce. He was survived by his daughter and his long-term companion, Judith Searle. He died inSanta Monica, California,aged 91.

Notes and sources

Sources

• Croall, Jonathan (2008).Sybil Thorndike: A Star of Life.London: Haus.ISBN978-1-905791-92-7.

External links

• Basil LangtonatIMDb
• Basil LangtonatMemory Alpha
• Basil Langtonat theHarry Ransom Center