Biography for
Sebastian Cabot (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

6 July 1918, London, England, UK

Date of Death

22 August 1977, North Saanich, British Columbia, Canada (stroke)

Birth Name

Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot

Nickname

Sabby

Height

5' 8" (1.73 m)

Spouse

Kay	(1940 - 22 August 1977) (his death) 3 children

Trade Mark

Prominent beard

Trivia

Was a chauffeur to British actor Frank Pettingell before becoming an actor himself.

Worked at one time as a garage mechanic.

Is interred at Pierce Brothers Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.

Father, with Kay, of actress Annette Cabot (born in 1952) and actor Christopher Cabot (born in 1955).

Was cremated.

Approached with the script for the pilot of "Family Affair" (1966), he originally didn't want to do it, and didn't care for the writing or his part - a stereotypical, staid, dignified English butler - but the money being offered for the pilot was better than decent, so he reluctantly agreed. The series sold, and for the next five seasons he endeared himself to a generation of viewers as the manservant Mr. French. Cabot became bored with the role and the show very early. He confided that both he and Brian Keith were bored to the point of exhaustion for the last two seasons. Once the show ended, he appeared on talk shows and even a game show or two to break a serious typecast.

Entertained the troops during World War II.

When the war ended, he made his London stage debut in 1945, at age 27, in "A Bell for Adano".

After leaving school at age 14 he never had another day of formal education, and later worked as a chef - which helped precipitate his growth to 260 pounds - and spent three years as a professional wrestler in London before World War II, an activity ended by an injury.

When his father's business failed, Cabot left school at the age of 14 and began working as a garage helper, the first of many menial jobs. Well into his fifties, his first love was cars and tinkering with them and their engines.

For an actor who specialized in elegant and upper-class, educated roles, he was actually born a Cockney.

Burial: Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles.

Interestingly, he spoke dramatic recitations of songs by Bob Dylan on the album Sebastian Cabot, actor/Bob Dylan, poet.

Highly popular with the Disney franchise, he worked well in voice roles (Bagheera in The Jungle Book (1967); the narrator of Winnie the Pooh tales; the voice of Sir Ector in The Sword in the Stone (1963).

At one point he took a leave of absence from the Giles French character during the popular run of "Family Affair" (1966). He was temporarily replaced by veteran British character actor John Williams, as French's brother Nigel, or Niles.