BASEVI, James (1890-1962), active in Calgary, Alta. in partnership with John E. Burrell in 1920-22 (see list of works under Burrell & Basevi). He was born in Plymouth, England on 21 September 1890 and was educated at Malvern College. Basevi emigrated to Canada in 1911 and settled in Calgary where he was recorded as a draftsman with the office of Holman & Gotch (Calgary City Directory, 1913, 405). After serving with the Canadian Army during WWI, he returned to Calgary and formed a partnership with J.E. Burrell, but in 1922 Basevi left Canada and moved to Los Angeles, Calif.
In Hollywood, Basevi became a sought-after designer of movies sets, and he was described as the “miracle maker” for his elaborate staging of disaster events captured in movies such as the earthquake scenes in “San Francisco” (1936, with Clark Gable), the locust plague in “The Good Earth” (1937, with Paul Muni), and the raging storm scenes in “The Hurricane” (1937, with Dorothy Lamour). A detailed biography of Basevi, with a photographic portrait, was published in the Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 1938, Magazine Section, p. 7. Basevi later died in Long Beach, Calif. on 27 March 1962 (death notice Press-Telegram [Long Beach], 28 March 1962, 10; biog. in the Calgary Daily Herald, 22 Feb. 1938, 5; inf. Robert Hamilton, of Hamilton, Ont.)