Sebastian Cabot

Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot (6 July 1918 – 23 August 1977) was a British actor. He is best remembered as the gentleman's gentleman Giles French in the CBS-TV sitcom Family Affair (1966–1971). He was also known for playing the Wazir in the film Kismet and Dr. Carl Hyatt in the CBS-TV series Checkmate (1960–1962).

Cabot was also a voice performer in several Disney animated films. He made one of his first contributions in The Sword in the Stone (1963), as both the narrator and Lord Ector. He later played Bagheera in The Jungle Book (1967). His longest-standing role came through the Winnie the Pooh series, in which he narrated Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966), Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968), Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974), and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977).

Early life Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot was born on 6 July 1918 in Marylebone, London. At the age of 14, he left school to work in an automotive garage, where he served as chauffeur and valet for British actor Frank Pettingell.

Cabot became interested in theatre, and after becoming acquainted with other actors and having worked for Pettingell, he joined a repertory company. Cabot admitted that in gaining employment as an actor he lied about previous acting credits. Cabot stated later in a 1968 interview that he believed acting was a type of lying, and he had gained a smoothness in his speech while serving as Pettingell's dressing room butler. He initially used an agency to find acting employment. Without attending any drama school, Cabot learned the hard way, having been fired on his first day in a show called On The Spot. However, finding more work, Cabot's confidence in his acting skills increased, and he was soon receiving personal calls for employment. a 13-part radio drama which followed the story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and was the voice of Noah in the first recording of Igor Stravinsky's biblical 'musical play' The Flood (1962). He also did voice parts for animated films such as Disney's The Sword in the Stone (1963) as Sir Ector and in The Jungle Book (1967) as Bagheera.

About this time Cabot began taking on television work. He was the host of the syndicated Jack the Ripper series, and he portrayed the Count of Brisemont on The Three Musketeers and Andrew Crippen on The Beachcomber.

He also appeared in such series as Gunsmoke (as the title character "Professor Jacoby", an obnoxious, ruthless, unsympathetic photographer in the like-named S2E28's "The Photographer"), plus in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Adventures of Hiram Holliday (1956–57), on the detective series Meet McGraw (1958), in the western series Bonanza ("The Spanish Grant", 1960) and Pony Express ("The Story of Julesburg", 1960), The Red Skelton Show (various roles 1961–1971), and as an affable demon in The Twilight Zone episode "A Nice Place to Visit" (1960). Cabot had a two-year period as one of the three leads as college professor Dr. Carl Hyatt on the detective show Checkmate (1960–1962). As Checkmate fit into the CBS Saturday schedule, Cabot appeared as Eric Whitaker in the 1960 episode "Five O'Clock Friday" on the ABC adventure series, The Islanders. Cabot was a regular panellist on the television game show Stump the Stars. He appeared on the NBC interview programme Here's Hollywood. In 1964, he hosted the television series Suspense and voiced or narrated a few other film and television projects. Cabot appeared in another Christmas project, the television film The City That Forgot About Christmas (1974), and narrated two more Pooh projects, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Too! and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He also released an album of spoken recitations of songs by Bob Dylan, as Sebastian Cabot, actor/Bob Dylan, poet, in 1967. Two tracks from this album appear on the Rhino Records compilation Golden Throats: The Great Celebrity Sing Off.

On Broadway, Cabot portrayed Buckram in Love for Love (1947).

Death On 23 August 1977, Cabot suffered a stroke at his vacation home in Deer Cove, British Columbia, and was taken to a Victoria, British Columbia hospital, where he died at the age of 59. He was cremated, and his ashes were interred in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

Legacy On an episode of the Late Show with David Letterman, on 12 December 2012, comedian Billy Crystal mentioned Cabot in humorous dialogue with the host David Letterman. Letterman commented that Cabot's name had not been heard in 30 years. Directly before the commercial break Sebastian Cabot's photo was shown on national television as a tribute.

Selected filmography

Foreign Affaires (1935) in a bit role (uncredited) Love on the Dole (1941) as Man in Crowd at Betting Payout (uncredited) "Pimpernel" Smith (1941) in a bit role (uncredited) Jeannie (1941) in a bit role (uncredited) Old Mother Riley Detective (1943) in a bit role (uncredited) Old Mother Riley Overseas (1943) as Bar Steward The Agitator (1945) in a bit role (uncredited) Tehran (1946) Dual Alibi (1947) as Loterie Nationale Official They Made Me a Fugitive (1947) as Club Proprietor Third Time Lucky (1949) as Benny Bennett Dick Barton Strikes Back (1949) as Fouracada Old Mother Riley's New Venture (1949) as Potentate The Spider and the Fly (1949) as Prefect at Amiens The Adventures of Jane (1949) as Travelling Man Midnight Episode (1950) as Benno The Wonder Kid (1951) as Pizzo Laughter in Paradise (1951) as Card Player (uncredited) Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure (1951) as Morgan the Pirate Ivanhoe (1952) as Clerk of Copmanhurst Babes in Bagdad (1952) as Sinbad Alf's Baby (1953) as Osmonde The Captain's Paradise (1953) as Ali (Vendor) Always a Bride (1953) as Taxi Driver The Love Lottery (1954) as Suarez Romeo and Juliet (1954) as Capulet Knights of the Queen (1954) as Porthos Kismet (1955) as Wazir Sandman (1955, TV movie) as Count, Conrad Nagel Theater Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956) (Season 1 Episode 14: "A Bullet for Baldwin") as Nathaniel Baldwin / Davidson Westward Ho the Wagons! (1956) as Bissonette Dragoon Wells Massacre (1957) as Jonah Johnny Tremain (1957) as Jonathan Lyte Omar Khayyam (1957) as The Nizam Black Patch (1957) as Frenchy De'vere Terror in a Texas Town (1958) as Ed McNeil In Love and War (1958) as Professor D. Everett Styles (scenes deleted) The Angry Hills (1959) as Chesney Say One for Me (1959) as Monsignor Francis Stratford Seven Thieves (1960) as Director of Casino The Twilight Zone (1960) (Season 1 Episode 28: "A Nice Place to Visit") as Pip The Time Machine (1960) as Dr. Philip Hillyer Twice-Told Tales (1963) as Dr. Carl Heidigger The Sword in the Stone (1963) as Sir Ector / Narrator (voice) The Family Jewels (1965) as Dr. Matson The Jungle Book (1967) as Bagheera / Narrator (voice) The Spy Killer (1969, TV movie) as Max Foreign Exchange (1970, TV movie) as Max McCloud (1971, TV movie) as Sidney Cantrell Miracle on 34th Street (1973, TV movie) as Kris Kringle The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) as The Narrator (voice) (final film role)