Basil Langton

Template:Realworld

File:Caretaker.jpg

...as the "Banjo man"

Basil Cedric Langton (9 January 1912 – 29 May 2003; age 91) was an English actor who, in one of his final performances, played the Caretaker (in Human form) as it appeared to the crew of the USS Voyager in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Voyager, "Caretaker". Footage of his appearance was also seen at the beginning of the episode "Cold Fire".

Langton began his career in the 1930s, acting in numerous films produced in the United Kingdom, several of which were distributed by Paramount Pictures' British division. In 1938 and 1939, he had roles in several BBC productions, including a few adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays. In 1941, during World War II, Langton (who was opposed to the war, but couldn't fight anyway as he had asthma) began touring Britain as part of the Traveling Repertory Theater, a theater company which he founded. The company performed for the troops in locales ranging from bombed cities to churches.

In 1947, two years after the war, Langton made the United States of America his new permanent home, where he continued working and performing on the theater. He produced the country's first Shaw Festival in 1951, and also co-founded the Empire State Music Festival that same year. From 28 December 1953 through 2 January 1954 , he directed the Broadway production Sing Till Tomorrow. In 1954, Langton appeared with Dame Judith Anderson in a televised Hallmark Hall of Fame production of Shakespeare's Macbeth. During the 1960s, he made two more appearances on Hallmark Hall of Fame, including one in 1965 in which he worked with William Smithers.

Although the 1970s were devoted primarily to theater, Langton made occasional appearances on television during the 1980s and 90s. He had a brief role on the soap opera General Hospital in 1984, and guest starred on Highway to Heaven, Murphy Brown, and Wings. His final televised appearance was in a 1997 episode of The Naked Truth, in which he co-starred with Bill Erwin.

Langton died of natural causes in 2003. He was 91 years old.

External Links

• Template:IMDb-link
• Basil Langton at the Internet Broadway Database
• Basil Langton at TV.com