|
 |
|
| As much as Irwin Allen fans complain about the producer's notorious insensitivity to writing and character development, it's a fact that in other areas he was brilliant at assembling the best available talent for his projects. The likes of John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith (music), L.B. Abbott and Howard Lydecker (special effects), Winton Hoch (photography) and Jack Martin Smith (art direction and design) didn't just fall out of the sky by accident. In the case of Voyage, neither did Richard Basehart and David Hedison. Allen knew whom he wanted to cast and went after them--in Hedison's case, tenaciously. |
|
|
Having previously worked for Allen
on The Lost World and having seen the Voyage pilot script, Hedison was
concerned about the lack of character development and the writing in
general and thus said no to Allen's offer of promotion to submarine
captain. It is well known that after Basehart stepped aboard,
Hedison reconsidered. How many serious actors could resist the
chance to work with a talent like Basehart? It is from this point that the on-screen chemistry and off-screen respect between the two bloomed. And why not, for Hedison brought a fine package of experience and talent to the table to compliment that of Basehart. Previous associations with projects and productions under Lee Strasberg, Martha Graham, Sir Michael Redgrave and many others prepared the handsome young actor for the challenges waiting for him aboard Seaview, both the good and the bad. |
| As is chronicled at David Hedison Online, the actor's official web site, he loved working with Richard Basehart. "He was such a great actor, and I learned a lot from him. I thought he was just terrific . . . The memories are, all in all, quite pleasant except some of those shows later, in the fourth year with the monsters. I didn't like doing those particularly . . . But the four years were wonderful, and I liked working with Irwin Allen and particularly with Richard Basehart . . . I learned a lot because some of the material was so bad, and Richard Basehart said, "if you can make this believable, you can do anything." And I think he was right." |  |
|
Today, Voyage is remembered as much for the integrity of its actors as it is for its often brilliant miniatures, photography and in later years, loopy scripts. |
Go to 
Return to