Ralph Truman
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 / [email protected]
The Long Arm
(Colonel Blenkinsop)
The Man Who Knew Too Much
(Buchanan)
Oliver Twist
(Monks)
Treasure Island
(George Merry)
Quo Vadis
(Tigellinus)
Henry V
(Mountjoy - The French Herald)
Nicholas and Alexandra
(Rodzianko)
El Cid
(King Ferdinand)
The Saint in London
(Kussella)
Beware of Pity
(Maj. Sandor Balinkay)
The Shadow
(Chief Inspector Elliot)
The Perfect Flaw
(Richard Drexel)
Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill
(Comber)
The Adventures of Dusty Bates
(Merryvale)
The Marriage of Corbal
(Charles)
The Spaniard's Curse
(Sir Robert Wyvern)
The Reluctant Widow
(Scowler)
Wicked as They Come
(John Dowling)
The Interrupted Journey
(Inspector Waterson)
Captain Bill
(Red)
Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk
(Sam Cohen)
The Silent Passenger
(Saunders)
The Challenge
(Giordano)
South Riding
(Nursing Home Doctor)
The Golden Coach
(Duc de Castro)
Ben-Hur
(Aide to Tiberius (uncredited))
Life of St. Paul
(Orderly)
The Crimson Circle
(Lawrence Fuller)
The Outsider
(Sir Nathan Israel)
Malta Story
(Vice Adm Willie Banks)
Black Eyes
(Diner)
Secret Lives
(Prison Guard)
The Case of Gabriel Perry
(Inspector White)
Beau Brummell
(Sir Ralph Sidley)
Tons of Trouble
(Inspector Bridger)
The Master of Ballantrae
(Clarendon)
The Butler's Dilemma
(Bishop)
Under Ten Flags
(Admiral Bensen)
The Bells
(Blacksmith)
The Good Companions
(George Memsford)
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
(Vice Admiral)
The Black Tent
(Major Cross)
Partners Please
(CID Man)
The Night My Number Came Up
(Wainwright)
Lisbon Story
(Police Commissionaire)
Eureka Stockade
(Gov. Hotham)
Exodus
(Colonel)
Lady Caroline Lamb
(Admiral)
Read All About It
(Robertson)
Web of Evidence
(Sir Matthew Sprott)
Papworth Village Settlement
(Narrator (voice))
Christopher Columbus
(Captain)
The Laughing Lady
(Lord Mandeville)
Sabotage at Sea
(Horace Chandler)
Mrs. Fitzherbert
(Richard Brinsley Sheridan)
Dinner at the Ritz
(Auctioneer)
The Man Within
(Prison Interrogator)
The Ship That Died of Shame
(Sir Richard)
Change for a Sovereign
(Archduke Paul)
Fire Over England
(Spanish Inquisition Representative (uncredited))
Dusty Ermine
(Second Thug (uncredited))
The Drum
(Dinner Guest (uncredited))
The Seventh Survivor
(Captain)
Three Witnesses
(Bellman)
The Main Chance
(Reginald Crowther)
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
(Foreign Secretary)
Churchill's People
(Earl of Surrey)
Danger Man
(Minister)