A popular British film actor, Basil Hoskins also had a distinguished
career on the London stage appearing opposite such stars as
Vivien Leigh (in
"Duel of Angels" [1958]) and
Alec Guinness (in
Terence Rattigan's "Ross" [1960]) and
had a long run in the musical "Applause" opposite
Lauren Bacall (1971).
British television viewers knew him best for his role starting in 1963
as Dr. Rex Lane Russell in
Emergency-Ward 10 (1957), Britain's first twice-weekly,
long-running drama series, focusing on the staff and patients in a
general hospital.
Hoskins studied acting at RADA and later joined the Nottingham
Playhouse Company. He spent five seasons with the Shakespeare Memorial
Company at Stratford playing leading roles, including Lucias to
Laurence Olivier's Titus Andronicus. During the 1950s he toured Australia with
the Old Vic Company with
Katharine Hepburn.
He also appeared in many stage musicals, including "A Little Night
Music" and the London revival of "Call Me Madam" (1983) with TV star
Noele Gordon.
He appeared in numerous TV drama series, and his best known films were
Ice Cold in Alex (1958) and
North West Frontier (1959).