Russell Bassett

{{short description|American actor}}

{{Refimprove|date=March 2018}}

{{use mdy dates|date=October 2016}}

{{Infobox person

|name= Russell Bassett

|image = Russell Bassett 1914.jpg

|caption = Bassett in detail of film still for
Behind the Scenes (1914)

|birth_date = {{birth date|1845|10|24}}

|birth_place= Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.

|death_date = {{death date and age|1918|5|8|1845|10|24}}

|death_place= New York City, New York, U.S.

|occupation = Actor

|spouse = Carlotta E.M. Bassett

}}

Russell Bassett (October 24, 1845 – May 8, 1918) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in 76 silent films between 1911 and 1918.

Bassett was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but he moved to Oakland, California at age 3 when his father became a miner.{{cite news|title=Russell Bassett, Veteran Actor, Dead|url=https://archive.org/stream/morewor36chal#page/n537/mode/1up|work=Moving Picture World|date=May 15, 1918|page=1126}} He attended the now-defunct Brayton College{{cite news|title=Oakland Hall of Film Fame|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18668389/russell_bassett/|work=Oakland Tribune|date=July 22, 1917|location=California, Oakland|page=43|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = March 26, 2018}} {{Open access}} in Oakland, and that was where he gained his initial acting experience.

Bassett gained early acting experience in stock theater with the Hooley Stock Company in Chicago. Later, he "toured the whole width of America, broadening, mellowing, polishing off his art." On Broadway, he appeared in The Other Fellow (1910), The Top o' th' World (1907), and Rip Van Winkle (1905).{{cite web|title=Russell Bassett|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/russell-bassett-31239|website=Internet Broadway Database|publisher=The Broadway League|accessdate=27 March 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327014333/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/russell-bassett-31239|archivedate=27 March 2018}}

During his film career, Bassett acted for the Biograph, Edison, Yankee, Pathe, Imp, Reliance, Nestor, and Famous Players companies.

On May 8, 1918, Bassett died from a cerebral hemorrhage at his home in New York City. He was survived by his wife and a son.{{cite news|title=Russell Bassett|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18669106/russell_bassett/|work=New York Herald|date=May 9, 1918|location=New York, New York City|page=9|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = March 26, 2018}} {{Open access}}