Ralph Truman
Acting
Born: May 7, 1900 · London, England, UK
Died: October 15, 1977 (aged 77)
Highest Rated
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
Photos (1)
Movies (55)
Ben-Hur
Aide to Tiberius (uncredited)
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Buchanan
Treasure Island
George Merry
Quo Vadis
Tigellinus
Oliver Twist
Monks
El Cid
King Ferdinand
Henry V
Mountjoy - The French Herald
Exodus
Colonel
Nicholas and Alexandra
Rodzianko
Beau Brummell
Sir Ralph Sidley
Fire Over England
Spanish Inquisition Representative (uncredited)
The Ship That Died of Shame
Sir Richard
The Golden Coach
Duc de Castro
The Night My Number Came Up
Wainwright
The Long Arm
Colonel Blenkinsop
The Good Companions
George Memsford
The Master of Ballantrae
Clarendon
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
Vice Admiral
Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill
Comber
The Saint in London
Kussella
The Drum
Dinner Guest (uncredited)
Wicked as They Come
John Dowling
The Interrupted Journey
Inspector Waterson
Dinner at the Ritz
Auctioneer
The Adventures of Dusty Bates
Merryvale
Under Ten Flags
Admiral Bensen
The Butler's Dilemma
Bishop
The Spaniard's Curse
Sir Robert Wyvern
The Black Tent
Major Cross
Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk
Sam Cohen
The Crimson Circle
Lawrence Fuller
Christopher Columbus
Captain
Web of Evidence
Sir Matthew Sprott
Life of St. Paul
Orderly
Malta Story
Vice Adm Willie Banks
The Man Within
Prison Interrogator
Lady Caroline Lamb
Admiral
Three Witnesses
Bellman
South Riding
Nursing Home Doctor
Eureka Stockade
Gov. Hotham
Sabotage at Sea
Horace Chandler
Mrs. Fitzherbert
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
The Outsider
Sir Nathan Israel
The Challenge
Giordano
Beware of Pity
Maj. Sandor Balinkay
The Bells
Blacksmith
The Shadow
Chief Inspector Elliot
Lisbon Story
Police Commissionaire
Dusty Ermine
Second Thug (uncredited)
The Seventh Survivor
Captain
The Silent Passenger
Saunders
Tons of Trouble
Inspector Bridger
The Laughing Lady
Lord Mandeville
Black Eyes
Diner
Secret Lives
Prison Guard
