Hoskins, a native of Edmonton, London was educated at the Edmonton County School. The popular British actor who also had a distinguished career on the London stage, Hoskins studied acting at RADA and later joined the Nottingham Playhouse Company. Hoskins was the long term romantic partner of fellow English actor Harry Andrews (10 November 1911 – 6 March 1989). Andrews was a gentle soul and intensely private, living with his long-time partner in Salehurst, near Robertsbridge, in East Sussex. Andrews died at the age of 77 on 6 March 1989, at his home in Salehurst, leaving behind Hoskins. Basil is buried next to Harry in the churchyard of St. Mary's at Salehurst.
His best known films are Ice-Cold in Alex (1958) and North West Frontier (1959). On television, he played the part of Number 14 on The Prisoner television series (episode "Hammer Into Anvil").
Basil Hoskins, who has died aged 75, was a character actor in the romantic mould and dedicated his career, which spanned nearly half a century, to the theatre.
Alternating between the classics and musical comedy, Hoskins had the height, looks, carriage and voice to range from suitors and flirts, deceived husbands and anxious lovers, to sardonic men of the world. Heartthrobs were an early speciality.
Basil Hoskins & Harry Andrews are buried together in the churchyard of St. Mary's at Salehurst.
Basil William Hoskins (10 June 1929 – 17 January 2005) was an English actor. Hoskins was the long term romantic partner of fellow English actor Harry Andrews (10 November 1911 – 6 March 1989). Andrews was a gentle soul and intensely private, living with his long-time partner in Salehurst, near Robertsbridge, in East Sussex. Andrews died at the age of 77 on 6 March 1989, at his home in Salehurst, leaving behind Hoskins. Basil is buried next to Harry in the churchyard of St. Mary's at Salehurst.
To earn a living he had, somewhat against his will, to work in television. In Emergency Ward 10, Hoskins was the flirtatious Dr Lane-Russell; and, when he wanted to return to the theatre, it proved difficult to write him out.
Lane-Russell had already been up before the General Medical Council, so the scriptwriters had him propose to a staff nurse who turned him down, driving him to find work in a public health department.
Hoskins did, though, still appear in television dramas, among them The Prisoner, Clayhanger, New Avengers, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Blackheath Poisonings and Cold Comfort Farm. His film credits included Ice Cold in Alex, The Millionairess, North-West Frontier, Lost in London and Heidi.
Basil William Hoskins was born on June 10 1929, and trained at Rada. A devotee of Shakespeare from the beginning, he joined the old Nottingham Playhouse company as Duncan for the revival of John Harrison's production of Macbeth in 1951; after a stint in Victorian music hall he moved to Robert Atkins's Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park.
According to The Daily Telegraph, as Orlando to Mary Kerridge's Rosalind Hoskins covered "the vast distances of the grassy stage with a good stride" and put on a wrestling match "in which necks seemed likely to be broken at any moment".
Hoskins then spent five seasons with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company at Stratford-on-Avon. He appeared as Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice; Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream; Fortinbras in Hamlet; Ferdinand to Geraldine McEwan's Princess in Peter Hall's first Stratford production, Love's Labour's Lost; and as Lucius to Laurence Olivier's Titus Andronicus (with Vivien Leigh and directed by Peter Brook).
Touring Australia with the Old Vic in the 1950s, Hoskins played Bassanio opposite Katharine Hepburn's Portia in The Merchant of Venice.
Hoskins's first West End lead came opposite Vivien Leigh in Jean Louis-Barrault's production of Jean Giraudoux's last play, Duel of Angels (Apollo, 1958). Opposite Alec Guinness in Terence Rattigan's Ross (Haymarket, 1960), Hoskins appeared as a Turkish Captain; and three years later he enjoyed himself as Worthy, a lady-killer, in Virtue in Danger (Mermaid), Paul Dehn's musical version of Vanbrugh's Restoration comedy, The Relapse.
With Robert Tannitch's Highly Confidential (Cambridge, 1969), Hoskins launched the first of a series of manly admirers of star actresses; three years later he had a similar part in the American musical Applause (Her Majesty's) opposite Lauren Bacall.
After touring in Stephen Sondheim's Little Night Music, Hoskins found himself again singing an actress's praises - this time Noele Gordon's - in Irving Berlin's Call Me Madam (Victoria Palace, 1983). He continued to appear in musicals in London into the 1990s, and also did much fine work out of London.
Basil Hoskins never married; for many years he was the companion of the late Harry Andrews. He died on January 17.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1483
Prior to his film career, Andrews was an accomplished Shakespearean actor, appearing at such venues as the Queen's Theatre, the Lyceum Theatre, and the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in England as well as theatres in New York City, Paris, Antwerp and Brussels. Andrews made his London theatre debut in 1935 at the St James's Theatre and his New York debut in 1936 at the since-demolished Empire Theatre.
Harry Andrews was born on 10 November 1910, in Tonbridge, Kent. He was the son of Henry Arthur Andrews, a General Practitioner, and Amy Diana Frances (née Horner). Andrews attended Wrekin College in Wellington, Shropshire. From October 1939 to October 1945, Andrews served with the Royal Artillery during the Second World War. Andrews died at the age of 77 on 6 March 1989, at his home in Salehurst, leaving behind his long-term friend and partner Basil Hoskins.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Andrews
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=e
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=e
Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher
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