Basil Ruysdael
- Birthday
- Jul 24, 1888
- Birthplace
- Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
Bio: Of Russian descent, American actor Basil Ruysdael was a successful opera singer in the 'teens and twenties. Firmly based in New York, Ruysdael made his first screen appearance in the Marx Brothers Astoria-filmed The Cocoanuts (1929). His portrayal of Detective Hennessy in this film was ordinary enough, save for his hilarious vocal rendition of "Tale of a Shirt," an… More Bio: Of Russian descent, American actor Basil Ruysdael was a successful opera singer in the 'teens and twenties. Firmly based in New York, Ruysdael made his first screen appearance in the Marx Brothers Astoria-filmed The Cocoanuts (1929). His portrayal of Detective Hennessy in this film was ordinary enough, save for his hilarious vocal rendition of "Tale of a Shirt," an elaborate parody of "The Toreador Song" from Bizet's Carmen. Ruysdael remained in Manhattan for nearly two decades after Cocoanuts, working on the stage, in radio, and in the occasional film short. He moved to California in 1949, showing up in no fewer than six films during his first year in Hollywood. Active until his death in 1960, Ruysdael was invariably cast as orotund authority figures: military officers, judges, governors, college deans. During the early 1950s, Basil Ruysdael was the radio and TV spokesperson for Lucky Strike cigarettes, imparting in pear-shaped tones the vital message "L.S.M.F.T....Lucky Strikes Means Fine Tobacco." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Most Popular
Filmography
-
The Story of Ruth (1960)
- Shammah
-
The Horse Soldiers (1959)
- Commandant Jefferson Military Academy
- 100%
-
The Last Hurrah (1958)
- Bishop Gardner
- 88%
-
These Wilder Years (1956)
- Judge
-
Jubal (1956)
- Shem Hoktor
- 100%
- See all 26 films
Basil Ruysdael Videos
The Horse Soldiers
3 minutes 39 seconds
The Cocoanuts
1 minutes 34 seconds
The Last Hurrah
3 minutes 4 seconds
Blackboard Jungle
1 minutes 11 seconds
Broken Arrow
14 seconds
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