| Ramsay Hill | |
| Birth Name: | Cyril Seys Ramsay-Hill |
| Birth Date: | 30 November 1889 |
| Birth Place: | Georgetown, Guyana |
| Death Place: | Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | Valhalla Memorial Park |
| Occupation: | Actor, technical advisor |
| Years Active: | 1928–1961 |
Ramsay Hill (born Cyril Seys Ramsay-Hill; November 30, 1889 – February 3, 1976)[1] was a British radio and film actor, and a former British and Egyptian army officer, whose military experience and multilingual proficiency helped make him a much-in-demand technical advisor and dialogue coach in Hollywood.
Born in Georgetown, Guyana, Ramsay Hill was the child of John Ramsay-Hill and Rosalie Vansolsman.[2] [3] He obtained a degree in Chemistry from Brighton Technical School in 1909,[4] and served with the Royal Buckinghamshire Hussars in World War I.[5]
Speaking more than two decades after his death, actor Parley Baer—who had appeared with Ramsay Hall at least once on one of the most popular old-time radio anthology series[6] —recalled that his late colleague was "a good actor who put a lot of imagination into the parts he was given."[7] Regarding his performance as John, Prince of England in Cecil B. DeMille's The Crusades, Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph critic George Seibel wrote that, amidst the film's many romantic episodes and spectacular combat sequences, the "best acting of the spectacle" is done by Ramsay Hill and Joseph Schildkraut—as the Marquis of Montferrat—while playing a game of chess.[8]
In contrast to his film career, consisting primarily of small, often uncredited roles overshadowed by his crucial and relatively well-publicized contributions as a technical consultant,[9] Ramsay-Hill had a lengthy radio acting career including many substantial roles, some of the most notable being Roderick Usher (from Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher"),[10] Godfrey Ablewhite (in Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone),[11] Merlin in Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court,[12] and the title character in the NBC University Theatre production of Eric Knight's short story "The Old General."[13]
Ramsay-Hill became a naturalized United States citizen on May 23, 1952, at the age of 62.[14] He was married at least four times,[15] the second being to Edith Mary Agnes Hughes (née Maude), beginning on November 22, 1924, and continuing until their divorce on Jun 18, 1928.[16] The third marriage, commencing on December 17, 1930, was to Patsey Morris[17] (daughter of writer Gouverneur Morris[18]), with whom Ramsay-Hill had one son, John,[19] and to whom he remained married at least until February 1949, at which time it was reported that the couple resided on Foothill Boulevard in Pasadena.[20] The younger Ramsay-Hall had a brief career as a child actor on radio before committing suicide in 1957 at age 19,[21] [22] reportedly due to a failed love affair.[23] By that point, Ramsay-Hill and Morris had evidently divorced, as the Los Angeles Mirror lists the deceased's parents as Cyril Ramsay-Hill and Patsy Splane.[24]
On February 3, 1976, having fallen seriously ill more than two months prior,[25] Ramsay-Hill died of undisclosed causes at the Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, survived by his wife Polly Ramsay-Hill.[5] [25] His remains are interred at Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood.[5]
| Date(s) | Program | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 20, 1937 | Lux Radio Theatre Ep. "The Outsider" | NA | ||
| October 5, 1944 | Suspense Ep. "Dateline Lisbon" | Judge | [26] | |
| October 12, 1944 | Suspense Ep. "The Merry Widower" | Doctor | ||
| January 28, 1945 | The Pacific Story Ep. "The Andaman Islands" | NA | ||
| June 25, 1945 | Cavalcade of America Ep. "DDT" | NA | ||
| August 27, 1945 | Lux Radio Theatre Ep. "Practically Yours" | NA | ||
| November 19, 1945 | Lux Radio Theatre Ep. "Keys of the Kingdom" | NA | ||
| February 18, 1946 | Cavalcade of America Ep. "Young Major Washington" | NA | ||
| March 11, 1946 | Cavalcade of America Ep. "The Doctor With Hope in His Hands" | NA | ||
| September 2, 1946 | Cavalcade of America Ep. "With Cradle and Clock" | NA | ||
| October 21, 1946 | Cavalcade of America Ep. "Mr. Conyngham Sweeps the Seas" | NA | ||
| December 3, 1946 | Favorite Story Ep. "Wuthering Heights" | NA | ||
| February 17, 1947 | Lux Radio Theatre Ep. "Devotion" | NA | ||
| October 22, 1947 | Escape Ep. "The Fall of the House of Usher" | |||
| December 1, 1947 | Lux Radio Theatre Ep. "The Ghost and Mrs Muir" | NA | ||
| January 4, 1948 | The Ronald Colman Show Ep. "The Phantom Rikshaw" | NA | Rudyard Kipling story, starring William Conrad and Eric Snowden[27] | |
| February 7, 1948 | Escape Ep. "The Vanishing Lady" | Hotel manager / cab driver | Alexander Woollcott story, adapted by William N. Robson[28] | |
| March 12, 1948 | Favorite Story Ep. "The Light That Failed" | Doctor | [29] | |
| April 3, 1948 | Suspense Ep. "Suspicion" | Dr. Maysbury | Dorothy L. Sayers story, adapted by Irving Ravetch, starring Sam Jaffe, Lurene Tuttle[30] | |
| May 16, 1948 | Tell It Again Ep. "A Tale of Two Cities" | NA | ||
| June 25, 1948 | Favorite Story Ep. "The Moonstone" | Godfrey Ablewhite / Bharu | Adaptation of Wilkie Collins' novel, narrated by Ronald Colman | |
| July 5, 1948 | Let George Do It Ep. "Murder Me Twice" | Jonathan Thorpe | [31] | |
| October 17, 1948 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "The History of Mr. Polly" | Narrator | [32] | |
| October 31, 1948 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "Justice" | NA | ||
| November 21, 1948 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" | NA | ||
| December 19, 1948 | Tell It Again Ep. "The Prince and the Pauper" | NA | ||
| January 23, 1949 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "The Ministry of Fear" | NA | Graham Greene's novel, adapted by Ernest Kinoy | |
| February 13, 1949 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "Tom Jones" | Narrator | ||
| February 24, 1949 | Suspense Ep. "Where There's a Will" | Hopkinson | Agatha Christie story, adapted by William Fifield[33] | |
| February 27, 1949 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "The Heart of Midlothian" | NA | ||
| March 18, 1949 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "The Pickwick Papers" | NA | ||
| April 18, 1949 | Let George Do It Ep. "The Elusive Hundred Grand" | NA | ||
| April 23, 1949 | Escape Ep. "The Great Impersonation" | NA | ||
| April 24, 1949 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "The Way of All Flesh" | NA | From Samuel Butler's novel, starring Tom Conway | |
| July 9, 1949 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" | Narrator | [34] | |
| July 14, 1949 | Escape Ep. "Drums of the Fore and Aft" | Colonel | Rudyard Kipling's story, adapted by Les Crutchfield, narrated by Ben Wright as Kipling[35] | |
| August 6, 1949 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "The Death of a Heart" | NA | ||
| August 27, 1949 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "1984" | Narrator | ||
| September 3, 1949 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "Precious Bane" | NA | ||
| November 6, 1949 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "Dodsworth" | NA | ||
| November 20, 1949 | NBC University Theatre Ep. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" | Hemingway novel, adapted by Ernest Kinoy[36] | ||
| January 1, 1950 | NBC University Theatre, ep. "Great Expectations" | NA | ||
| January 10, 1950 | Escape, ep. "Vanishing Lady" | NA | ||
| January 17, 1950 | Escape, ep. "The Sure Thing" | NA | ||
| January 19, 1950 | Maisie, ep. "Lord Deveridge and Lady Revere" | NA | ||
| March 12, 1950 | NBC University Theatre ep. "There Is No Conversation" | Etienne | [37] | |
| April 2, 1950 | NBC University Theatre, ep. "Mrs. Dalloway" | NA | Adaptation of Virginia Woolf novel | |
| April 7, 1950 | Escape, ep. "The Ambassador of Poker" | NA | ||
| April 30, 1950 | NBC University Theatre, ep. "Sons and Lovers" | NA | ||
| May 14, 1950 | NBC University Theatre, ep. "Prater Violet" | NA | ||
| May 24, 1950 | Dangerous Assignment, ep. "Burmese Witnesses" | NA | ||
| May 28, 1950 | NBC University Theatre, ep. "Imperial Palace" | NA | ||
| May 29, 1950 | The Adventures of Christopher London, ep. "Pattern for Murder" | NA | ||
| June 16, 1950 | Escape, ep. "Serenade for a Cobra" | Brent | [38] | |
| August 6, 1950 | NBC University Theatre, ep. "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" | |||
| August 15, 1950 | Presenting Charles Boyer, ep. "Claude De Vol's Unfinished Rhapsody" | NA | ||
| August 18, 1950 | Escape, ep. "The Footprint" | NA | ||
| August 20, 1950 | NBC University Theatre, ep. "A High Wind in Jamaica" | Narrator | Richard Hughes' novel, adapted by Jane Speed, starring Anne Whitfield, Herbert Rawlinson, Dawn Bender[39] | |
| September 10, 1950 | NBC University Theatre, ep. "Lost Horizon" | Narrator | [40] | |
| September 17, 1950 | NBC University Theatre, ep. "Portrait in the Mirror" | NA | ||
| November 19, 1950 | NBC University Theatre, ep. "The Baron of Grogzwig" | Narrator | From Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby[41] | |
| December 27, 1950 | NBC University Theatre, ep. "The Gambler" | Croupier | [42] | |
| January 7, 1951 | Escape Ep. "Conquest" | NA | ||
| January 11, 1951 | Screen Guild Players Ep. "Brief Encounter" | Stephen | Starring Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr[43] | |
| February 14, 1951 | NBC University Theatre, ep. "The Withered Arm" | Lodge | Thomas Hardy story, adapted by Ernest Kinoy[44] | |
| March 17, 1951 | The Man Called X Ep. "University of Leiden" | NA | Starring Herbert Marshall; other supporting players inc. Maria Palmer, Peggy Webber, Will Wright, and Harry Bartell[45] | |
| April 22, 1951 | Mr. and Mrs. Blandings, ep. "Lily Lamar" aka "The Old Friend" | NA | ||
| April 30, 1951 | Star Playhouse, ep. "The Long Way Back" | Ashford | [46] | |
| May 3, 1951 | Screen Director's Playhouse, ep. "Captain of Castile" | The Marquis | [47] | |
| June 18, 1951 | Lux Radio Theatre, ep. "Edward, My Son" | NA | ||
| August 5, 1951 | The New Theatre, ep. "Rebecca" | NA | Daphne du Maurier's novel, adapted by Earl Hamner, with Arnold Moss as Maxim de Winter[48] | |
| October 14, 1951 | The Silent Men, ep. "The Big Sneak" | NA | ||
| November 5, 1951 | Suspense Ep. "The Trials of Thomas Shaw" | Judge File | [49] | |
| December 31, 1951 | Suspense ep. "Rogue Male" | Officer | Geoffrey Household novel adapted by Silvia Richards, starring Herbert Marshall[50] | |
| January 25, 1952 | Ep. "The Hut" | Colonel Fayze | Geoffrey Household's story, adapted by Ernest Kinoy[51] | |
| May 9, 1952 | NBC Presents: Short Story Ep. "The Old General" | The General | ||
| September 22, 1952 | Suspense Ep. "Jack Ketch" | Barkeeper | [52] | |
| January 12, 1953 | Suspense, ep. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Part II" | [53] | ||
| May 16, 1953 | Space Patrol, ep. "Secret of Sub–Level 7" | NA | ||
| July 18, 1953 | Space Patrol, ep. no. 42 | NA | ||
| March 22, 1955 | Suspense Ep. "The Cellar" | Mr. Forepaugh | [54] | |
| May 17, 1955 | Suspense Ep. "Lili and the Colonel" | Colonel Julian Abernathy | Written by John Dehner, co-starring Hill and Paula Winslowe[55] | |
| November 15, 1955 | Suspense Ep. "Once a Murderer" | Judge File | [56] | |
| October 9, 1956 | Suspense Ep. "The Digger" | Carton | [57] | |
| October 26, 1956 | The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial Ep. "De Santre Affair" aka "The Fatal Charm" | Doctor | [58] | |
| February 10, 1957 | Suspense Ep. "Door of Gold" | Dr. Clayton | [59] | |
| April 7, 1957 | Suspense Ep. "Vanishing Lady" | Jacques the coachman / Waiter | [60] | |
| October 5, 1958 | Suspense Ep. "The Man Who Won the War" | Ainsley / Lieutenant | Robert Buckner story adapted by William N. Robson, starring Herbert Marshall[61] | |
| February 22, 1959 | Suspense Ep. "Star Over Hong Kong" | Captain | [62] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | Moderne Piraten | James Morton, Marine-Offizier | as Cyril de Ramsay | |
| 1931 | Dishonored | Grinning Officer | Uncredited | |
| 1932 | Crooner | Nightclub Patron | Uncredited | |
| 1932 | Washington Merry-Go-Round | Hotel Desk Clerk | Uncredited | |
| 1934 | Riptide | Sir Geoffrey Mapel | Uncredited | |
| 1934 | The World Moves On | British Officer | Uncredited | |
| 1934 | Down to Their Last Yacht | Geoffrey Colt-Stratton, Jr. | Uncredited | |
| 1934 | We Live Again | Dancing Russian Officer | Uncredited | |
| 1935 | L'Homme des Folies Bergère | Christian de Guntherson | ||
| 1935 | Mad Love | Actor as 'Duke' | Uncredited | |
| 1935 | The Crusades | |||
| 1935 | The Last Outpost | Captain | Uncredited | |
| 1935 | The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo | Usher | Uncredited | |
| 1935 | A Tale of Two Cities | Aristocrat | Uncredited | |
| 1936 | Everybody's Old Man | Earl of Spearford | ||
| 1936 | House of Secrets | Police Inspector | Uncredited | |
| 1937 | Espionage | Kronsky Aide | Uncredited | |
| 1937 | Old Louisiana | |||
| 1937 | Café Metropole | Gambler | Uncredited | |
| 1937 | Parnell | House of Commons Member | Uncredited | |
| 1937 | The Emperor's Candlesticks | Conspirator | Uncredited | |
| 1937 | The Firefly | French Officer | Uncredited | |
| 1937 | Conquest | Bertrand | Uncredited | |
| 1937 | Live, Love and Learn | First Gallery Salesman | Uncredited | |
| 1937 | Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo | Casino Patron | Uncredited | |
| 1938 | Lord Jeff | Jewelry Clerk | Uncredited | |
| 1938 | Marie Antoinette | Major Domo | Uncredited | |
| 1947 | The Exile | Cavalier Officer | as C.S. Ramsey-Hill | |
| 1947 | Forever Amber | Major-Domo | Uncredited | |
| 1947 | If Winter Comes | Chemin-de-Fer Player | Uncredited | |
| 1948 | Letter from an Unknown Woman | Colonel Steindorf | Uncredited | |
| 1949 | The Fighting O'Flynn | British Officer | Uncredited | |
| 1949 | Oboler Comedy Theater (TV) Ep. "Love, Love, Love" | Air Officer | ||
| 1951 | The Prince Who Was a Thief | Hedjah | Uncredited | |
| 1951 | When Worlds Collide | French U.N. Representative | Uncredited | |
| 1951 | The Last Half Hour: The Mayerling Story (TV movie) | Minister of State | ||
| 1952 | The Unexpected (TV) Ep. "The Perfect Mrs. Clesney" | Partner | as Ramsey Hill | |
| 1952 | Caribbean | Townsend | ||
| 1952 | The Iron Mistress | Malot | Uncredited | |
| 1952 | Bwana Devil | Major Parkhurst | ||
| 1952 | Battles of Chief Pontiac | Gen. Sir Jeffrey Amherst | as Ramsey Hill | |
| 1953 | Rogue's March | British Colonel | Uncredited | |
| 1953 | Space Patrol (TV) Ep. "The Stolen Evidence" | Governor Marin | ||
| 1953 | The Golden Blade | Beggar | Uncredited | |
| 1953 | King of the Khyber Rifles | Cavalry Officer | Uncredited | |
| 1954 | Trader Tom of the China Seas | British Colonel | as Ramsey Hill | |
| 1954 | The Black Shield of Falworth | Sir Charles | Uncredited | |
| 1954 | Bengal Brigade | Maj. Jennings | Uncredited | |
| 1955 | Panther Girl of the Kongo | Stanton | ||
| 1955 | The Whistler Ep. "Borrowed Byline" | NA | ||
| 1955 | East of Eden | English officer | Uncredited | |
| 1955 | Damon Runyon Theater Ep. "A Light in France" | NA | ||
| 1955 | The King's Thief | Lord | Uncredited | |
| 1955 | Screen Director's Playhouse Ep. "The Titanic Incident" | Mr. Ogden | ||
| 1956 | I Love Lucy (TV) Ep. "Paris at Last" | Police Sgt. | ||
| 1956 | Telephone Time (TV) Ep. "The Man Who Believed in Fairy Tales" | NA | ||
| 1956 | The Ten Commandments | Korah | ||
| 1956 | The Adventures of Jim Bowie (TV) Ep. "The Return of the Alcibiade" | Jean Baptiste Plachel | ||
| 1957 | Martine | |||
| 1960 | Midnight Lace | Blind Man | Uncredited | |
| 1961 | One Hundred and One Dalmatians | Television Announcer, Labrador (voice) | ||
| 1961 | Susan Slade | John Brecker | Uncredited | |
| 1964 | The Unsinkable Molly Brown | Lord Simon Pimdale | Uncredited[63] [64] |
| Year | Title | Job | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Suez | technical advisor | Aside from maintaining regional and period authenticity,[65] advice in this instance included teaching supporting actor J. Edward Bromberg Arabic for his role as Prince Said.[66] | |
| 1939 | The Sun Never Sets | technical advisor | as Major C.S. Ramsay-Hill[67] [68] | |
| 1940 | Swiss Family Robinson | technical advisor | as Major C.S. Ramsay-Hill[69] | |
| 1942 | Cairo | technical advisor | as Major C. S. Ramsay-Hill[70] | |
| 1943 | Assignment in Brittany | technical advisor for commando sequence | as Major Ramsey-Hill[71] | |
| 1943 | Forever and a Day | technical advisor | Uncredited[72] | |
| 1943 | Madame Curie | technical director | Uncredited[73] | |
| 1944 | The White Cliffs of Dover | technical advisor | as Major Cyrl Seys Ramsay-Hill [sic][74] | |
| 1946 | Temptation | technical direction | as C.S. Ramsay-Hill[75] [76] | |
| 1947 | Lured | technical advisor | Uncredited[77] | |
| 1951 | The Prince Who Was a Thief | technical adviser | as C.S. Ramsay-Hill[78] | |
| 1952 | Son of Ali Baba | equestrian technical advisor | Uncredited[79] | |
| 1952 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | technical advisor | Uncredited[80] | |
| 1952 | Bwana Devil | technical advisor | as Major Ramsay Hill[81] | |
| 1953 | King of the Khyber Rifles | technical advisor | ||
| 1954 | Tanganyika | technical advisor | Uncredited[82] | |
| 1954 | Bengal Brigade | technical advisor | Uncredited[83] | |
| 1956 | Back from Eternity | dialogue coach | Uncredited[84] |