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 Thats 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 hooknosed actor found featured work in more important films such as his Mountjoy in Laurence Oliviers 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 largescale proceedings in Christopher Columbus 1949 and Treasure Island 1950 giving animated Robert Newton a run for the money in the latter with a ripe overthetop 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 grhomepacbellnet