Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone Ferncliff Cemetery Shrine of Memories, Hartsdale, New York , U.S. | |
---|---|
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1911–1967 |
Spouses | |
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Sir Frank Benson (cousin) |
Military career | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1915–18 |
Rank | Captain[1] |
Unit | London Scottish Regiment Liverpool Scottish |
Awards |
Philip St. John Basil Rathbone
Rathbone frequently portrayed suave villains or morally ambiguous characters, such as
His later career included roles on Broadway, as well as self-ironic film and television work. In 1948, he shared the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play with two others. He was also nominated for two Academy Awards and was honoured with three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Early life
Rathbone was born in Johannesburg, South African Republic,[2] to British parents. His mother, Anna Barbara (née George), was a violinist, and his father, Edgar Philip Rathbone, was a mining engineer and scion of the Liverpool Rathbone family. He had two older half-brothers, Harold and Horace, as well as two younger siblings, Beatrice and John. Basil was the great-grandson of the noted Victorian philanthropist, William Rathbone V, and thus a descendant of William Rathbone II.[citation needed]
The Rathbones fled to Britain when Basil was three years old after his father was accused by the
On 22 April 1911, Rathbone made his first appearance on stage at the Theatre Royal,
Military service
During the First World War (in 1915), Rathbone was called up via the
I want to tell him to mind his place. I think of his ridiculous belief that everything would always be well, his ever-hopeful smile, and I want to cuff him for a little fool. He had no business to let it happen and it maddens me that I shall never be able to tell him so, or change it or bring him back. I can't think of him without being consumed with anger at him for being dead and beyond anything I can do to him.
- — 26 July 1918[1]
Following his brother's death, Rathbone appears to have become unconcerned about the dangers of serving at the front. Author
Career
Theatre
During the Summer Festival of 1919, he appeared at Stratford-upon-Avon with the New Shakespeare Company playing Romeo, Cassius, Ferdinand in The Tempest and Florizel in The Winter's Tale; in October he was at London's Queen's Theatre as the aide de camp in Napoleon, and in February 1920 he was at the Savoy Theatre in the title role in Peter Ibbetson with huge success.
During the 1920s, Rathbone appeared regularly in Shakespearean and other roles on the British stage. He began to travel and appeared at the
Rathbone was once arrested in 1926 along with every other member of the cast of The Captive, a play in which his character's wife left him for another woman. Though the charges were eventually dropped, Rathbone was very angry about the censorship because he believed that homosexuality needed to be brought into the open.[10][11]
Film
He commenced his film career in Hollywood in 1921 in silent movies and appeared in 1923's
He was admired for his athletic swordsmanship. (He listed
According to Hollywood legend, Rathbone was Margaret Mitchell's first choice to play Rhett Butler in the film version of her novel Gone with the Wind.[citation needed] Rathbone actively campaigned for the role.[citation needed]
Despite his film success, Rathbone always insisted that he wished to be remembered for his stage career. He said that his favourite role was Romeo.[citation needed]
The Sherlock Holmes films
Rathbone is most widely recognised for his many portrayals of
The first two films, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (both produced by Fox in 1939), were set in the late Victorian times of the original stories. The later instalments, produced by Universal, beginning with Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), were set in contemporary times, with the first three having World War II-related plots.
Concurrent with the films, Rathbone and Bruce reprised their film roles in the radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which began in October 1939. Rathbone appeared in the radio series as long as the film series was active, but, after the films lapsed in 1946, Rathbone ceded his radio part to Tom Conway. Conway and Bruce carried on with the series for two seasons, until both dropped out in July 1947.
The many Holmes sequels typecast Rathbone, and he was unable to free himself from the shadow of the Great Detective, despite appearing in other film roles. Resenting the typecasting, Rathbone refused to renew his contract at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and returned to Broadway. In later years, Rathbone willingly made the Holmes association, as in a TV sketch with Milton Berle in the early 1950s, in which he donned the deerstalker cap and Inverness cape. In the 1960s, dressed as Holmes, he appeared in a series of TV commercials for Getz Exterminators ("Getz gets 'em, since 1888!'").
Rathbone also brought Holmes to the stage in a play written by his wife Ouida.
Later career
In the 1950s, Rathbone appeared in two spoofs of his earlier swashbuckling villains: Casanova's Big Night (1954) opposite Bob Hope and The Court Jester (1956) with Danny Kaye. He appeared frequently on TV game shows and continued to appear in major films, including the Humphrey Bogart comedy We're No Angels (1955) and John Ford's political drama The Last Hurrah (1958).
Rathbone also appeared on Broadway numerous times in this period. In 1948, he shared the
Through the 1950s and 1960s, he continued to appear in several dignified anthology programmes on television. To support his second wife's lavish tastes, he appeared as a panelist on the television game show
He is also known for his spoken word recordings, including his interpretation of
In four Caedmon albums, Rathbone revisited his characterization of Sherlock Holmes. The first, "The Speckled Band" (Caedmon Records TC 1172, recorded in 1963), is a straight narration of the tale. In the rest, he changes his voice for each character, including a rendition of Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.[13]
Rathbone also made many other recordings, including
On television, he appeared in two musical versions of Dickens's A Christmas Carol: one in 1954, in which he played
In the 1960s, he toured with a one-man show, In and Out of Character (the same title as his autobiography). He recited poetry and Shakespeare, accented by reminiscences from his life and career (including the humorous, "I could have killed Errol Flynn any time I wanted to!"). As an encore, he recited "221B" a poem written by writer-critic Vincent Starrett, one of the preeminent members of the Baker Street Irregulars whom Rathbone held in high regard.
Price and Rathbone appeared together, along with Boris Karloff, in Tower of London (1939) and The Comedy of Terrors (1963). The latter was the only film to feature the "Big Four" of American International Pictures' horror films: Price, Rathbone, Karloff and Peter Lorre. Rathbone appeared with Price in the final segment of Roger Corman's 1962 anthology film Tales of Terror, a loose dramatisation of Poe's "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar".
In 1965, Belmont Books issued the anthology Basil Rathbone Selects Strange Tales, a collection of horror stories by Poe, Hawthorne, Bulwer-Lytton, Charles Dickens, Allston Collins, Le Fanu, and Wilkie Collins. The volume features a cover portrait of Rathbone; however, the back cover's legend "Produced by Lyle Kenyon Engel" indicates the anthology probably was not edited by Rathbone. Canadian editor and book packager Engel packaged shows and magazines for other horror stars, including Boris Karloff.[14]
Basil Rathbone has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for films at 6549 Hollywood Boulevard; one for radio at 6300 Hollywood Boulevard; and one for television at 6915 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.
Personal life
Rathbone married actress Ethel Marion Foreman (1887–1976) in 1914. They had one son, Rodion Rathbone (1915–1996), who had a brief Hollywood career under the name John Rodion. The couple divorced in 1926. In the same year, he married writer Ouida Bergère; their infant child died in 1928. In 1939, the couple adopted a daughter, Cynthia Rathbone (1939–1969). The American actor Jackson Rathbone is a distant relation.[15]
Rathbone bore a strong resemblance to his cousin, the actor Frank Benson.[16] He was a first cousin once-removed of the British campaigning independent MP Eleanor Rathbone.
During Rathbone's Hollywood career, Ouida Rathbone, who was also her husband's business manager, developed a reputation for hosting elaborate and expensive parties in their home, with many prominent and influential people on the guest lists. This trend inspired a joke in The Ghost Breakers (1940), a film in which Rathbone does not appear: during a tremendous thunderstorm in New York City, Bob Hope observed that "Basil Rathbone must be throwing a party". Actress Mrs Patrick Campbell described Rathbone as "two profiles pasted together".[17] As cited in the same autobiography, Mrs Campbell later referred to him as "a folded umbrella taking elocution lessons".[18]
He was a devout Episcopalian and a member of the Episcopal Actors Guild.[19]
Death
Rathbone died suddenly of a heart attack in New York City on 21 July 1967 at the age of 75. His body was interred in a crypt in the Shrine of Memories Mausoleum at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.[20]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1921 | Innocent | Amadis de Jocelyn | |
The Fruitful Vine | Don Cesare Carelli | ||
1923 | The School for Scandal | Joseph Surface | |
The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots | Undetermined role | Uncredited | |
1924 | Trouping with Ellen | Tony Winterslip | Lost film |
1925 | The Masked Bride | Antoine | Lost film |
1926 | The Great Deception | Rizzio | Lost film |
1929 | The Last of Mrs. Cheyney | Lord Arthur Dilling | |
1930 | The Bishop Murder Case |
Philo Vance | |
This Mad World | Paul Parisot | ||
A Notorious Affair | Paul Gherardi | ||
The Flirting Widow | Colonel John "Johnny" Vaughn-Smith | ||
The Lady of Scandal | Edward, Duke of Warrington | ||
The Lady Surrenders |
Carl Vandry | ||
Sin Takes a Holiday | Reginald "Reggie" Durant | ||
1932 | A Woman Commands | Capt. Alex Pastitsch | |
After the Ball | Jack Harrowby | ||
1933 | One Precious Year | Derek Nagel | |
Loyalties | Ferdinand de Levis | ||
1935 | David Copperfield |
Mr. Murdstone | |
Anna Karenina | Karenin | ||
The Last Days of Pompeii | Pontius Pilate | ||
A Feather in Her Hat | Captain Randolph Courtney | ||
Kind Lady | Henry Abbott | ||
A Tale of Two Cities | Marquis St. Evremonde |
||
Captain Blood | Levasseur | ||
1936 | Private Number | Thomas Wroxton | |
Romeo and Juliet | Tybalt – Nephew to Lady Capulet | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor | |
The Garden of Allah | Count Ferdinand Anteoni | ||
1937 | Love from a Stranger | Gerald Lovell | |
Confession | Michael Michailow, aka Michael Koslov | ||
Make a Wish | Johnny Selden | ||
Tovarich | Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko | ||
1938 | The Adventures of Marco Polo | Ahmed | |
The Adventures of Robin Hood | Sir Guy of Gisbourne | ||
If I Were King | King Louis XI |
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor | |
The Dawn Patrol | Major Brand | ||
1939 | Son of Frankenstein | Baron Wolf von Frankenstein | |
The Hound of the Baskervilles | Sherlock Holmes | ||
The Sun Never Sets | Clive Randolph | ||
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Sherlock Holmes | ||
Rio | Paul Reynard | ||
Tower of London | Richard – Duke of Gloucester | ||
1940 | Rhythm on the River | Oliver Courtney | |
The Mark of Zorro | Captain Esteban Pasquale | ||
1941 | The Mad Doctor | Dr. George Sebastian | According to IMDb, it was released on 9 November 1940, in Mexico. |
The Black Cat | Montague Hartley | ||
International Lady | Reggie Oliver | ||
Paris Calling | Andre Benoit | ||
1942 | Fingers at the Window | Cesar Ferrari, alias Dr. H. Santelle | |
Crossroads | Henri Sarrou | ||
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror | Sherlock Holmes | ||
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon | Sherlock Holmes | ||
1943 | Sherlock Holmes in Washington | Sherlock Holmes | |
Above Suspicion | Sig von Aschenhausen | ||
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death | Sherlock Holmes | ||
Crazy House | Sherlock Holmes | Cameo appearance | |
The Spider Woman | Sherlock Holmes | ||
1944 | |||
Bathing Beauty | George Adams | ||
The Pearl of Death | Sherlock Holmes | ||
The Scarlet Claw | Sherlock Holmes | ||
Frenchman's Creek | Lord Rockingham | ||
1945 | The House of Fear |
Sherlock Holmes | |
The Woman in Green | Sherlock Holmes | ||
Pursuit to Algiers | Sherlock Holmes | ||
1946 | Terror by Night | Sherlock Holmes | |
Heartbeat | Professor Aristide | ||
Dressed to Kill | Sherlock Holmes | ||
1949 | The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | Narrator | segment "The Wind in the Willows" |
1953 | Season's Greetings | TV movie | |
1954 | Casanova's Big Night | Lucio / Narrator | |
A Christmas Carol | Jacob Marley. | A Shower of Stars episode | |
The General's Boots | General Lee | A Schlitz Playhouse episode | |
1955 | We're No Angels | Andre Trochard | |
Svengali and the Blonde | Svengali | TV movie | |
The Court Jester | Sir Ravenhurst | ||
1956 | The Black Sleep |
Sir Joel Cadman | |
The Stingiest Man in Town | Ebeneezer Scrooge. | An Alcoa Hour episode[21] | |
1957 | The Lark | Chief Inquisitor | TV movie |
1958 | Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates | Dr. Boekman | TV movie |
The Last Hurrah | Norman Cass, Sr. | ||
1961 | Victoria Regina | Benjamin Disraeli | Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie adaptation of Laurence Housman's play Victoria Regina |
The Black Cat | Voices | A short | |
Mystic Prophecies and Nostradamus | Narrator | ||
1962 | The Magic Sword | Lodac | |
Ponzio Pilato |
Caiaphas | ||
Tales of Terror | Carmichael | segment "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" | |
Two Before Zero (aka Red Hell) | Narrator | ||
1963 | The Comedy of Terrors | John F. Black, Esq. | |
1965 | Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet | Prof. Hartman, Lunar 7 | |
Dr. Rock and Mr. Roll | |||
1966 | Queen of Blood | Dr. Farraday | |
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini | Reginald Ripper | ||
1967 | Hillbillys in a Haunted House | Gregor | final film released during his lifetime |
1968 | Autopsia de un fantasma | Canuto Perez | final film role, released posthumously |
1986 | The Great Mouse Detective | Sherlock Holmes | archive sound, released posthumously |
Radio appearances
Year | Program | Episode/source |
---|---|---|
1937 | Lux Radio Theatre | Captain Blood[22] |
1939–1946 | The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | |
1943 | Lux Radio Theatre | The Phantom Of The Opera |
1949 | Tales of Fatima | |
1952 | Theatre Guild on the Air |
Oliver Twist[23] |
1952 | Theatre Guild on the Air |
The Winslow Boy[24] |
See also
References
- ^ a b "Basil Rathbone, Master of Stage and Screen: The Great War". Basilrathbone.net. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ^ "South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801–2004," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVSH-SB15 : 16 August 2019), Philip St John Basil Rathbone, 26 March 1894; citing Baptism, Transvaal, South Africa, p. , William Cullen Library, Wits University, Johannesburg.
- ^ "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWG3-B6W : 8 May 2019), Basil Philip St John Rathbone in household of Colin Forsyth Burn, Stoke Newington, London, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
- ^ basilrathbone.net Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ "Famous 1914–18," Richard Van Emden, 2010, p. 132
- ^ Famous 1914–18, Richard Van Emden, 2010, p. 134
- YouTube
- ^ In and Out of Character, Basil Rathbone, 1962, p. 2
- ^ "No. 30997". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1918. p. 13166.
- ^ "The New York Times: Reaction to 'The Captive', 1926–1927 – OutHistory". outhistory.org. 2012. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- ^ "Basil Rathbone, Master of Stage and Screen: Biography". Basilrathbone.net. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ^ Motion Picture Herald, Feb. 2, 1946, p. 41.
- ^ a b "Recordings made by Basil Rathbone". basilrathbone.net. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ^ "Authors : Engel, Lyle Kenyon : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia". sf-encyclopedia.com.
- ^ Millar, John (8 August 2010). "Jackson Rathbone profile, detailing blood relationship to Basil Rathbone". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ^ "Basil Rathbone, Master of Stage and Screen: Biography". Basilrathbone.net. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ Basil Rathbone, In and Out of Character (New York: Doubleday, 1962).
- ISBN 9780879101190.
- ^ "We embrace all who seekGod's inclusive love". Littlechurch.org. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
- ^ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 38744-38745). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition
- ^ DVD of program
- ^ "Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. Vol. 39, no. 2. Spring 2013. pp. 32–39.
Further reading
- Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Basil Rathbone". The Name Below the Title : 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age (softcover) (First ed.). Great Britain: Independently published. pp. 218–220. ISBN 978-1-7200-3837-5.
- Parker, John, ed. (1947). The Dramatic List; Who's Who in the Theatre; A Biographical Record of the Contemporary Stage (hardcover) (Tenth revised ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman. pp. 1183–1184.
External links
- Basil Rathbone at IMDb
- Basil Rathbone at the Internet Broadway Database
- Basil Rathbone at Find a Grave
- Biography
- Basil Rathbone at Virtual History
- Basil Rathbone bio on (re)Search my Trash