Ralph Truman
64 movies · 4 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- May 7, 1900
- Died
- Oct 15, 1977 (age 77)
- Place of birth
- London, England, UK
- Also known as
- Ralph du Vergier Truman
Biography
Veteran British character player Ralph Truman was a pioneer radio actor and appeared in over 5000 broadcasts during his career. Born in London at the turn of the century, his overall film career was commendable but less enviable than his voice work on the airwaves. Originally from the stage, he had just finished a run of "Josef Suss" in 1930 when he moved directly into films, making his unbilled debut in the early talkie Farewell to Love (1931). Throughout the 1930s he would be found steadily in "B" films including The Bells (1931), That's My Uncle (1935), The Lad (1935), Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk (1935), Under the Red Robe (1937) and Dinner at the Ritz (1937). In the 1940s the distinctively balding, hook-nosed actor found featured work in more important films such as his Mountjoy in Laurence Olivier's stellar Shakespearean piece Henry V (1944). A natural for period settings, Truman played the nefarious Monks in Oliver Twist (1948), and was part of the large-scale proceedings in Christopher Columbus (1949) and Treasure Island (1950), giving animated Robert Newton a run for the money in the latter with a ripe, over-the-top pirate performance as George Merry. Married to fellow radio artist Ellis Powell, he was best known in later years for playing men of high ranking or position (lords, captains, admirals, governors, etc.). He retired after appearing in two final period epics: Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) and Lady Caroline Lamb (1972). He passed away a few years later.
- IMDb mini biography by: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Ralph Truman: movies and TV shows
Acting (68)
- 1974
- 1972 Lady Caroline Lamb
as Admiral
- 1971 Nicholas and Alexandra
as Rodzianko
- 1971
- 1969
- 1961 El Cid
as King Ferdinand
- 1960 Exodus
as Colonel
- 1960 Under Ten Flags
as Admiral Bensen
- 1960
- 1959 Ben-Hur
as Aide to Tiberius (uncredited)
- 1959 Web of Evidence
as Sir Matthew Sprott
- 1958 The Spaniard's Curse
as Sir Robert Wyvern
- 1957 The Good Companions
as George Memsford
- 1957 Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
as Vice Admiral
- 1956 The Long Arm
as Colonel Blenkinsop
- 1956 Wicked as They Come
as John Dowling
- 1956 The Man Who Knew Too Much
as Buchanan
- 1956 Tons of Trouble
as Inspector Bridger
- 1956 The Black Tent
as Major Cross
- 1955 The Ship That Died of Shame
as Sir Richard
- 1955 The Night My Number Came Up
as Wainwright
- 1954 Beau Brummell
as Sir Ralph Sidley
- 1953 The Master of Ballantrae
as Clarendon
- 1953 Malta Story
as Vice Adm Willie Banks
- 1952 The Golden Coach
as Duc de Castro
- 1951 Quo Vadis
as Tigellinus
- 1950 Treasure Island
as George Merry
- 1950 The Reluctant Widow
as Scowler
- 1949 Christopher Columbus
as Captain
- 1949 The Interrupted Journey
as Inspector Waterson
- 1949 Eureka Stockade
as Gov. Hotham
- 1948 Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill
as Comber
- 1948 Oliver Twist
as Monks
- 1947 Mrs. Fitzherbert
as Richard Brinsley Sheridan
- 1947 The Adventures of Dusty Bates
as Merryvale
- 1947 The Man Within
as Prison Interrogator
- 1946 The Laughing Lady
as Lord Mandeville
- 1946 Papworth Village Settlement
as Narrator (voice)
- 1946 Beware of Pity
as Maj. Sandor Balinkay
- 1946 Lisbon Story
as Police Commissionaire
- 1945 Read All About It
as Robertson
- 1944 Henry V
as Mountjoy - The French Herald
- 1943 The Butler's Dilemma
as Bishop
- 1942 Sabotage at Sea
as Horace Chandler
- 1942 The Seventh Survivor
as Captain
- 1939 The Saint in London
as Kussella
- 1939 Black Eyes
as Diner
- 1939 The Outsider
as Sir Nathan Israel
- 1938 Life of St. Paul
as Orderly
- 1938 South Riding
as Nursing Home Doctor
- 1938 The Challenge
as Giordano
- 1938 The Drum
as Dinner Guest (uncredited)
- 1937 Dinner at the Ritz
as Auctioneer
- 1937 Change for a Sovereign
as Archduke Paul
- 1937 Secret Lives
as Prison Guard
- 1937 Fire Over England
as Spanish Inquisition Representative (uncredited)
- 1936 Dusty Ermine
as Second Thug (uncredited)
- 1936 The Crimson Circle
as Lawrence Fuller
- 1936 The Marriage of Corbal
as Charles
- 1935 Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk
as Sam Cohen
- 1935 Captain Bill
as Red
- 1935 The Silent Passenger
as Saunders
- 1935 The Case of Gabriel Perry
as Inspector White
- 1935 Three Witnesses
as Bellman
- 1934 The Perfect Flaw
as Richard Drexel
- 1933 The Shadow
as Chief Inspector Elliot
- 1932 Partners Please
as CID Man
- 1931 The Bells
as Blacksmith