Basil Rathbone facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone (1935)
Born	Philip St. John Basil Rathbone (1892-06-13)13 June 1892 Johannesburg, South African Republic
Died	21 July 1967(1967-07-21) (aged 75) New York City, U.S.
Resting place	Ferncliff Cemetery Shrine of Memories, Hartsdale, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1911–1967
Spouse(s)	Ethel Marian Foreman (1914–1926; divorced) Ouida Bergère (1926–1967; his death)
Children	3
Relatives	Sir Frank Benson (cousin)

Philip St. John Basil Rathbone (born June 13, 1892 – died July 21, 1967) was a famous English actor. He was born in South Africa. He became well-known in the United Kingdom as a stage actor, especially for playing characters in Shakespeare's plays.

Later, he appeared in over 70 films. These were often historical dramas, adventure movies with sword fights (called swashbucklers), and sometimes even horror films. Rathbone often played charming villains or characters who were not clearly good or bad.

Some of his famous villain roles include Mr. Murdstone in David Copperfield (1935) and Sir Guy of Gisbourne in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). His most famous role was playing the detective Sherlock Holmes. He played Holmes in 14 Hollywood films between 1939 and 1946, and also in a radio series.

Later in his career, he acted on Broadway (New York's famous theater district). He also appeared in films and TV shows where he sometimes made fun of his own famous roles. He won a Tony Award in 1948 for being the Best Actor in a Play. He was also nominated for two Academy Awards (Oscars). He has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in films, radio, and television.

Basil Rathbone's Early Life

Basil Rathbone was born in Johannesburg, South African Republic. His parents were British. His mother, Anna Barbara, was a violinist. His father, Edgar Philip Rathbone, was a mining engineer. Basil had two older half-brothers and two younger siblings.

When Basil was three years old, his family moved to Britain. He went to Repton School in Derbyshire from 1906 to 1910. He was very good at sports there. After school, he worked briefly as an insurance clerk. This was to please his father, who wanted him to have a regular job.

On April 22, 1911, Rathbone started his acting career on stage. His first role was Hortensio in The Taming of the Shrew in Ipswich, Suffolk. He worked with his cousin, Sir Frank Benson's acting company. In October 1912, he traveled to the United States with Benson's company. He played roles in plays like Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It. He returned to Britain and first appeared in London in 1914.

Military Service in World War I

During World War I, Basil Rathbone joined the British Army in 1915. He was a private in the London Scottish Regiment. Other actors like Claude Rains and Ronald Colman were also in this regiment. After training, he became a lieutenant in the King's Liverpool Regiment. He worked as an intelligence officer and became a captain.

Rathbone was a champion at fencing in the British Army. This skill helped him a lot in his movies, and he even taught other actors like Errol Flynn how to sword fight. Sadly, his younger brother John was killed in action on June 4, 1918.

After his brother's death, Rathbone became very brave, even reckless, at the front lines. He convinced his commanders to let him scout enemy positions during the day. Normally, this was done at night to be safer. Rathbone wore a special camouflage suit that looked like a tree. He even put burnt cork on his hands and face. For his brave and clever daylight missions in September 1918, he received the Military Cross medal.

Basil Rathbone's Acting Career

Basil Rathbone as Robert Browning in a play called The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1933)

After the war, in 1919, Rathbone performed in many Shakespeare plays at Stratford-upon-Avon. He played Romeo, Cassius, and other roles. In 1920, he had a big success in London playing the main role in Peter Ibbetson.

Throughout the 1920s, Rathbone regularly acted in Shakespearean and other plays in Britain. He also started traveling to the United States. In October 1923, he appeared in a play called The Swan in New York City. This made him a star on Broadway. He toured the US several times in the 1920s and 1930s, acting with famous stars like Ethel Barrymore and Katharine Cornell.

Rathbone started his film career in Hollywood in 1921 with silent movies. He appeared in films like School for Scandal (1923). In 1930, he played detective Philo Vance in The Bishop Murder Case.

Like other actors, Rathbone became famous in the 1930s for playing charming villains. He often appeared in historical dramas and adventure films. Some of his memorable villain roles include:

• Mr. Murdstone in David Copperfield (1935)
• Karenin in Anna Karenina (1935)
• Sir Guy of Gisbourne in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
• Captain Esteban Pasquale in The Mark of Zorro (1940)

He also appeared in early horror films like Tower of London (1939), where he played Richard III. In Son of Frankenstein (1939), he played Baron Wolf von Frankenstein. He was also the narrator for "The Wind in the Willows" part of Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949).

Rathbone was known for his amazing sword fighting skills. He often had exciting duels in his films. He fought and lost to Errol Flynn in Captain Blood and The Adventures of Robin Hood. He also had great sword fights in Tower of London and The Mark of Zorro. Even though he was skilled, his characters only won sword fights on screen twice!

With John Barrymore and Leslie Howard in Romeo and Juliet, 1936

He was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor. One was for playing Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1936). The other was for his funny performance as King Louis XI in If I Were King (1938). In The Dawn Patrol (1938), he played a rare heroic role. He was a squadron commander who was very stressed from sending his pilots to dangerous missions.

Even with his film success, Rathbone always said he wanted to be remembered for his stage career. He said his favorite role was Romeo.

Playing Sherlock Holmes in Films

Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes

Basil Rathbone is most famous for playing the detective Sherlock Holmes. He played Holmes in 14 films. The first two films, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, were made by Fox in 1939. These films were set in the old Victorian era, just like the original stories.

Later, Universal Pictures made 12 more Sherlock Holmes films. These films, starting with Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), were set in modern times. The first few even had plots related to World War II. In all these films, Nigel Bruce played Holmes's friend, Dr. Watson.

While making the films, Rathbone and Bruce also played Holmes and Watson in a radio series called The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This started in 1939. Rathbone continued playing Holmes on radio as long as the films were being made. After the films stopped in 1946, he left the radio show.

Playing Sherlock Holmes so many times made it hard for Rathbone to get other types of roles. This is called "typecasting." He felt stuck in the role. Because of this, he decided not to renew his contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and went back to acting on Broadway.

In later years, Rathbone was happy to be associated with Holmes. He even appeared in TV commercials dressed as Sherlock Holmes. He also brought Holmes to the stage in a play written by his wife, Ouida. The play did not run for very long.

Later Career and Recordings

In the 1950s, Rathbone appeared in two funny movies that made fun of his earlier villain roles: Casanova's Big Night (1954) with Bob Hope and The Court Jester (1956) with Danny Kaye. He was often on TV game shows and continued to act in big films. These included the comedy We're No Angels (1955) and the drama The Last Hurrah (1958).

Rathbone also performed on Broadway many times. In 1948, he won a Tony Award for his role in the play The Heiress. He also received praise for his performance in J.B., a modern version of the Biblical story of Job.

To support his family's lifestyle, he took on roles in some lower-quality thrillers. These included The Black Sleep (1956) and Queen of Blood (1966). His last film was a horror movie called Autopsy of a Ghost (1968).

He was also known for his spoken word recordings. He recorded famous stories and poems, like "The Night Before Christmas" and the works of Edgar Allan Poe. He also recorded Oliver Twist and Peter and the Wolf.

On television, he appeared in two musical versions of A Christmas Carol. In one, he played Marley's Ghost (1954). In another, he starred as a singing Ebenezer Scrooge (1956).

In the 1960s, he toured with a one-man show called In and Out of Character. He would recite poetry and Shakespeare, and share funny stories from his life. He often joked, "I could have killed Errol Flynn any time I wanted to!"

Rathbone appeared with other famous horror actors like Vincent Price and Boris Karloff in films like Tower of London (1939) and The Comedy of Terrors (1963).

Basil Rathbone has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One is for his films, one for his radio work, and one for his television appearances.

Basil Rathbone's Personal Life

Rathbone married actress Ethel Marion Foreman in 1914. They had one son, Rodion Rathbone. They divorced in 1926. In the same year, he married writer Ouida Bergère. They adopted a daughter named Cynthia in 1939. The American actor Jackson Rathbone is a distant relative.

Basil Rathbone was a cousin of the actor Frank Benson. He looked a lot like him.

Photograph of Frank Benson as Petruchio (1911)

During Rathbone's time in Hollywood, his wife Ouida was known for hosting big, fancy parties at their home. Many important and famous people attended these parties. This even led to a joke in a movie!

Rathbone was a religious person and a member of the Episcopal Actors Guild.

Basil Rathbone's Death

Basil Rathbone died suddenly from a heart attack in New York City on July 21, 1967. He was 75 years old. He was buried in the Shrine of Memories Mausoleum at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

Filmography

Radio Appearances

See also

In Spanish: Basil Rathbone para niños

• List of actors with Academy Award nominations