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Basil Rathbone

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Basil Rathbone
MC
Basil Rathbone (1935)
Born
Philip St. John Basil Rathbone

(1892-06-13)13 June 1892
Johannesburg, South African Republic
Died21 July 1967(1967-07-21) (aged 75)
New York City, U.S.
Resting placeFerncliff Cemetery Shrine of Memories, Hartsdale, New York, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1911–1967
Spouses
Ethel Marian Foreman
​
​
(m. 1914; div. 1926)​
​
(m. 1926)​
Children3
RelativesSir Frank Benson (cousin)
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
Years of service1915–18
Rank Captain[1]
UnitLondon Scottish Regiment
Liverpool Scottish
Awards

Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was an Anglo-South African actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films.

Rathbone frequently portrayed suave villains or morally ambiguous characters, such as Mr. Murdstone in David Copperfield (1935), Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1936) and Sir Guy of Gisbourne in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). His most famous role was that of Sherlock Holmes in fourteen Hollywood films made between 1939 and 1946 and in a radio series.

Rathbone's 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 honoured with three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early life

[edit]

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 Boers of being a spy following the Jameson Raid. Rathbone attended Repton School in Derbyshire from 1906 to 1910, where he excelled at sports and was given the nickname "Ratters" by schoolmates. Thereafter, he was briefly employed as an insurance clerk by the Liverpool and Globe Insurance Companies,[3] to appease his father's wish for him to have a conventional career.[4]

On 22 April 1911, Rathbone made his first appearance on stage at the Theatre Royal, Ipswich, Suffolk, as Hortensio in The Taming of the Shrew, with his cousin Sir Frank Benson's No. 2 Company, under the direction of Henry Herbert. In October 1912, he went to the United States with Benson's company, playing roles such as Paris in Romeo and Juliet, Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Silvius in As You Like It. Returning to Britain, he made his first appearance in London at the Savoy Theatre on 9 July 1914, as Finch in The Sin of David. That December, he appeared at the Shaftesbury Theatre as the Dauphin in Henry V. During 1915, he toured with Benson and appeared with him at London's Court Theatre in December as Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Military service

[edit]

During the First World War (in 1915), Rathbone was called up via the Derby Scheme into the British Army as a private with the London Scottish Regiment, joining a regiment that also included his future professional acting contemporaries Claude Rains, Herbert Marshall and Ronald Colman at different points through the conflict. After basic training with the London Scots in early 1916, he received a commission as a lieutenant in the 2/10th Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment (Liverpool Scottish), where he served as an intelligence officer, eventually attaining the rank of captain.[5] Rathbone was a two-time British Army Fencing Champion; a skill that served him well in the movies, it allowed him to teach swordsmanship to actors Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power.

Rathbone was deeply affected by the news his younger brother John, a captain in the Dorsetshire Regiment, had been killed in action near Arras on 4 June 1918.[6] In 2012, two letters Rathbone wrote to his family while serving on the Western Front were published. One reveals the anguish and anger he felt following the death of John:

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 Richard Van Emden in Famous 1914–18 speculates that his extreme bravery may have been a form of guilt or need for vengeance.[7] He persuaded his superiors to allow him to scout enemy positions during daylight rather than at night, as was the usual practice to minimise the chance of detection.[8] Rathbone wore a special camouflage suit that resembled a tree with a wreath of freshly plucked foliage on his head with burnt cork applied to his hands and face.[9] As a result of these highly dangerous daylight reconnaissance missions in September 1918, he was awarded the Military Cross for "conspicuous daring and resource on patrol".[10]

Career

[edit]

Theatre

[edit]
Rathbone as Robert Browning in Katharine Cornell's 1933–1934 touring production of The Barretts of Wimpole Street

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 Cort Theatre, New York, in October 1923 in a production of Molnár's play The Swan opposite Eva Le Gallienne, which made him a star on Broadway. He toured in the United States in 1925, appearing in San Francisco in May and the Lyceum Theatre, New York, in October. He was in the US again in 1927 and 1930 and again in 1931, when he appeared on stage with Ethel Barrymore. He continued his stage career in Britain, returning late in 1934 to the US, where he appeared with Katharine Cornell in several plays.

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.[11][12]

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

Film

[edit]

He commenced his film career in Hollywood in 1921 in silent movies and appeared in 1923's The School for Scandal, and in The Masked Bride, plus a few other silents. His sound debut was in the first screen adaptation of Frederick Lonsdale's play The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1929) opposite Norma Shearer, which was his last appearance as a romantic leading man. He portrayed detective Philo Vance in the 1930 film The Bishop Murder Case, based on the best-selling novel. In the film, there is a coincidental reference to Sherlock Holmes. Like George Sanders and Vincent Price after him, Rathbone made a name for himself in the 1930s by playing suave villains in costume dramas and swashbucklers, including David Copperfield (1935) as the abusive stepfather Mr. Murdstone; Anna Karenina (1935) as her distant husband, Karenin; The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) as Pontius Pilate; Captain Blood (1935); A Tale of Two Cities (1935), as the Marquis St. Evremonde; The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) playing his best-remembered villain, Sir Guy of Gisbourne; The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938); and The Mark of Zorro (1940) as Captain Esteban Pasquale. He also appeared in several early horror films: Tower of London (1939), as Richard III, and Son of Frankenstein (1939), portraying the dedicated surgeon Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, son of the monster's creator, and, in 1949, was also the narrator for the segment "The Wind in the Willows" in the Disney animated feature, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

He was admired for his athletic swordsmanship. (He listed fencing among his favourite recreations.) His character lost to Errol Flynn twice: in a duel on the beach in Captain Blood and in an elaborate fight sequence in The Adventures of Robin Hood. He was also involved in noteworthy sword fights in Tower of London, The Mark of Zorro, and The Court Jester. Rathbone earned Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performances as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1936) and as King Louis XI in If I Were King (1938). In The Dawn Patrol (1938), he played one of his few heroic roles in the 1930s, as a Royal Flying Corps (RFC) squadron commander brought to the brink of a nervous breakdown by the strain and guilt of sending his battle-weary pilots off to near-certain death in the skies of 1915 France. Errol Flynn, Rathbone's perennial foe, starred in the film as his successor when Rathbone's character is promoted.

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.[13] 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

[edit]
Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes
Main article: Sherlock Holmes (1939 film series)

Rathbone is most widely recognised for his many portrayals of Sherlock Holmes. In a radio interview, Rathbone recalled that Twentieth Century-Fox producer and director Gene Markey, lunching with producer-director-actor Gregory Ratoff and 20th Century-Fox mogul Daryl Zanuck at Lucey's Restaurant in Hollywood, proposed a film version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles. When asked who could possibly play Holmes, Markey incredulously replied, "Who?! Basil Rathbone!" The film was so successful that Fox produced a sequel that appeared later in 1939. Interest in Holmes cooled at Fox, but Universal Pictures picked up the character, and produced 12 Holmes features from 1942 to 1946.[14] All of the Fox and Universal features co-starred Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.

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. Thomas Gomez, who had appeared as a Nazi ringleader in Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror, played the villainous Professor Moriarty. Nigel Bruce was slated to portray Dr Watson once more but became too ill and the part was played by character actor Jack Raine. Bruce's absence depressed Rathbone, particularly after Bruce died on 8 October 1953, while the play was in rehearsals. The play ran for only three performances.

Later career

[edit]

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 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance as the unyielding Dr. Austin Sloper in the original production of The Heiress with Henry Fonda in Mister Roberts and Paul Kelly in Command Decision. He also received accolades for his performance in Archibald Macleish's J.B., a modernisation of the Biblical trials of Job.

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 The Name's the Same (in 1954), and took roles in cheap film thrillers of far lesser quality, such as The Black Sleep (1956), Queen of Blood (1966), The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966, wherein the character 'Eric Von Zipper' played by Harvey Lembeck jokes, "That guy looks like Sherlock Holmes"), Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967, also featuring Lon Chaney Jr and John Carradine), and his last film, a low-budget, horror film called Autopsy of a Ghost (1968).

He is also known for his spoken word recordings, including his interpretation of Clement C. Moore's "The Night Before Christmas". Rathbone's readings of the stories and poems of Edgar Allan Poe are collected together with readings by Vincent Price in Caedmon Audio's The Edgar Allan Poe Audio Collection on CD.

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.[15]

Rathbone also made many other recordings, including Oliver Twist, Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf (with Leopold Stokowski conducting), and Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.[15]

On television, he appeared in two musical versions of Dickens's A Christmas Carol: one in 1954, in which he played Marley's Ghost opposite Fredric March's Scrooge, and the original 1956 live action version of The Stingiest Man In Town, in which he starred as a singing Ebenezer Scrooge.

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.[16]

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

[edit]

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.[17]

Rathbone bore a strong resemblance to his cousin, the actor Frank Benson.[18] 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".[19] As cited in the same autobiography, Mrs Campbell later referred to him as "a folded umbrella taking elocution lessons".[20]

He was a devout Episcopalian and a member of the Episcopal Actors Guild.[21]

Death

[edit]

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.[22]

Filmography

[edit]
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[23]
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

[edit]
Year Program Episode/source
1937 Lux Radio Theatre Captain Blood[24]
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[25]
1952 Theatre Guild on the Air The Winslow Boy[26]

Stage

[edit]
Year Title Role(s) Venue(s) Notes Ref.
1913 As You Like It Silvius Shakespeare Memorial Theatre; North American tour [27][28]
Hamlet Guildenstern [29][30]
Henry IV, Part 2 Westmoreland [31][32]
King John Lewis [33][34]
The Merchant of Venice Lorenzo [35][36]
The Merry Wives of Windsor Fenton [37][38]
Richard II Duke of Aumerle [39][40]
Romeo and Juliet Paris [41][42]
Twelfth Night Sebastian [43][44]
Richelieu Clermont Shakespeare Memorial Theatre [45]
The Tragedy of Pompey the Great Sailor [46]
Henry V Louis the Dauphin North American tour [47]
1914 As You Like It Silvius Shakespeare Memorial Theatre [48]
Hamlet Guildenstern [49]
Henry IV, Part 2 Earl of Westmoreland, Poins [50]
Henry V Louis the Dauphin [51]
Julius Caesar Octavius Caesar [52]
The Merchant of Venice Lorenzo [53]
The Merry Wives of Windsor Fenton [54]
Much Ado About Nothing Conrad [55]
Richard II Duke of Aumerle [56]
Romeo and Juliet Paris [57]
She Stoops to Conquer Tom Twist [58]
Twelfth Night Sebastian [59]
1915 Julius Caesar Octavius Caesar [60]
Romeo and Juliet Romeo [61]
The Merchant of Venice Bassanio [62]
The Merry Wives of Windsor Mr Page [63]
Hamlet Laertes [64]
Henry V Louis the Dauphin [65]
The Taming of the Shrew Lucentio [66]
Richard III Duke of Norfolk, Lord Hastings [67]
Twelfth Night Orsino [68]
Coriolanus Tullus Aufidius [69]
Richard II Duke of Aumerle [70]
Henry IV, Part 2 Prince Henry [71]
As You Like It Orlando [72]
Paolo and Francesca Paolo [73]
1919 The Merry Wives of Windsor Fenton [74]
The Winter's Tale Florizel [75]
Julius Caesar Cassius [76]
A Midsummer Night's Dream Lysander [77]
The Tempest Ferdinand [78]
Romeo and Juliet Romeo [79]
1922 The Czarina Count Alexei Czerny Empire Theatre Broadway debut [80][81]
1923 The Swan Dr. Nicholas Agi Cort Theatre [82]
1924 Empire Theatre [83]
The Assumption of Hannele Gottwald, The Stranger Cort Theatre [84]
1925 The Grand Duchess and the Waiter Albert Lyceum Theatre [85]
1926 Port O' London Anthony Pook Daly's 63rd Street Theatre [86]
The Captive Jacques Virieu Empire Theatre [85]
1927 Love is Like That Vladimir Dubriski Cort Theatre [87]
Julius Caesar Cassius New Amsterdam Theatre [88]
The Guardsman performer Cape Playhouse [89]
Peter Ibbetson performer
The Grand Duchess and the Waiter performer
Outward Bound performer
The Command to Love Gaston, Marquis du Saint-Lac Longacre Theatre [90]
1929 Judas Judas co-authored by Rathbone and Walter Ferris [91]
1930 A Kiss of Importance Christian Saint Obin Fulton Theatre [92]
1931 Heat Wave Hugh Dawltry [93]
1931 Melo Marcel Blanc Ethel Barrymore Theatre [94]
1932 The Devil Passes Rev. Nicholas Lucy Selwyn Theatre [95]
1934 Romeo and Juliet Romeo Martin Beck Theatre [96]
1946 Obsession Maurice Plymouth Theatre [97]
1947 The Heiress Dr. Austin Sloper Biltmore Theatre Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play [98][99]
1949 Cape Playhouse [89]
1950 New York City Center [100]
Julius Caesar Cassius Arena Theatre [101]
The Gioconda Smile Henry Hutton Lyceum Theatre [102]
Fulton Theatre
1952 Jane William Tower Coronet Theatre [103]
1953 Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes New Century Theatre written by Ouida Bergère [104]
1957 Hide and Seek Sir Roger Johnson Ethel Barrymore Theatre [105]
Witness for the Prosecution performer Cape Playhouse [89]
1959 J.B. Mr Zuss ANTA Playhouse replacement [106]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Basil Rathbone, Master of Stage and Screen: The Great War". Basilrathbone.net. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ basilrathbone.net Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Rathbone, intelligence officer, with the Liverpool Scottish". basilrathbone.net. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Famous 1914–18," Richard Van Emden, 2010, p. 132
  7. ^ Famous 1914–18, Richard Van Emden, 2010, p. 134
  8. ^ A 1957 interview with Basil Rathbone talking about WWI on YouTube
  9. ^ In and Out of Character, Basil Rathbone, 1962, p. 2
  10. ^ "No. 30997". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1918. p. 13166.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "Basil Rathbone, Master of Stage and Screen: Biography". Basilrathbone.net. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  13. ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  14. ^ Motion Picture Herald, 2 Feb. 1946, p. 41.
  15. ^ a b "Recordings made by Basil Rathbone". basilrathbone.net. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Authors : Engel, Lyle Kenyon : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia". sf-encyclopedia.com.
  17. ^ Millar, John (8 August 2010). "Jackson Rathbone profile, detailing blood relationship to Basil Rathbone". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  18. ^ "Basil Rathbone, Master of Stage and Screen: Biography". Basilrathbone.net. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  19. ^ Basil Rathbone, In and Out of Character (New York: Doubleday, 1962).
  20. ^ Rathbone, Basil (1989). In and Out of Character. Limelight Editions. p. 92. ISBN 9780879101190.
  21. ^ "We embrace all who seekGod's inclusive love". Littlechurch.org. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  22. ^ 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
  23. ^ DVD of program
  24. ^ "Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. Vol. 39, no. 2. Spring 2013. pp. 32–39.
  25. ^ Kirby, Walter (24 February 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. The Decatur Daily Review. p. 38. Retrieved 28 May 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  26. ^ Kirby, Walter (23 November 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. The Decatur Daily Review. p. 48. Retrieved 16 June 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  27. ^ "AYL191304 – As You Like It". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  28. ^ "AYL191310 – As You Like It". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  29. ^ "HAM191308 – Hamlet". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  30. ^ "HAM191310 – Hamlet". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  31. ^ "HF2191308 – Henry IV, Part 2". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  32. ^ "HF2191310 – Henry IV, Part 2". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  33. ^ "KJO191308 – King John". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  34. ^ "KJO191310 – King John". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  35. ^ "MER191308 – The Merchant of Venice". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  36. ^ "MER191310 – The Merchant of Venice". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  37. ^ "MEW191308 – The Merry Wives of Windsor". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  38. ^ "MEW191310 – The Merry Wives of Windsor". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  39. ^ "RI2191310 – Richard II". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  40. ^ "RI2191308 – Richard II". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  41. ^ "ROM191308 – Romeo and Juliet". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  42. ^ "ROM191310 – Romeo and Juliet". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  43. ^ "TWE191310 – Twelfth Night". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  44. ^ "TWE191308 – Twelfth Night". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  45. ^ "HE5191310 – Henry V". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  46. ^ "TRE191308 – The Tragedy of Pompey the Great". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  47. ^ "HE5191310 – Henry V". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  48. ^ "AYL191408 – As You Like It". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  49. ^ "AYL191408 – As You Like It". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  50. ^ "HF2191408 – Henry IV, Part 2". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  51. ^ "HE5191408 – Henry V". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  52. ^ "JUL191408 – Julius Caesar". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  53. ^ "MER191408 – The Merchant of Venice". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  54. ^ "MEW191408 – The Merry Wives of Windsor". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  55. ^ "MUC191408 – Much Ado About Nothing". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  56. ^ "RI2191408 – Richard II". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  57. ^ "ROM191408 – Romeo and Juliet". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  58. ^ "SHC191408 – She Stoops to Conquer". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  59. ^ "TWE191408 – Twelfth Night". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  60. ^ "JUL191504 – Julius Caesar". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  61. ^ "ROM191504 – Romeo and Juliet". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  62. ^ "MER191504 – The Merchant of Venice". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  63. ^ "MEW191504 – The Merry Wives of Windsor". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  64. ^ "HAM191504 – Hamlet". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  65. ^ "HE5191504 – Henry V". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  66. ^ "TAM191504 – The Taming of the Shrew". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  67. ^ "RI3191504 – Richard III". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  68. ^ "TWE191504 – Twelfth Night". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  69. ^ "COR191504 – Coriolanus". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  70. ^ "RI2191508 – Richard II". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  71. ^ "HF2191508 – Henry IV, Part 2". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  72. ^ "AYL191508 – As You Like It". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  73. ^ "PAO191508 – Paolo and Francesca". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  74. ^ "MEW191908 – The Merry Wives of Windsor". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  75. ^ "WIN191908 – The Winter's Tale". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  76. ^ "JUL191908 – Julius Caesar". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  77. ^ "MND191908 – A Midsummer Night's Dream". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  78. ^ "TEM191908 – The Tempest". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  79. ^ "ROM191908 – Romeo and Juliet". RSC Performances. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  80. ^ "Basil Rathbone – Broadway Cast & Staff". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  81. ^ "The Czarina – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  82. ^ "The Swan – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  83. ^ "The Swan – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  84. ^ "The Assumption of Hannele – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  85. ^ a b "The Grand Duchess and the Waiter – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  86. ^ "Port O' London – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  87. ^ "Love Is Like That – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  88. ^ "Julius Caesar – Broadway Play – 1927 Revival". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  89. ^ a b c "Production History". The Cape Playhouse. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  90. ^ "The Command to Love – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  91. ^ "Judas – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  92. ^ "A Kiss of Importance – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  93. ^ "Heat Wave – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  94. ^ "Melo – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  95. ^ "The Devil Passes – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  96. ^ "NEWS OF THE STAGE; Katharine Cornell in Her Own Arrangement of 'Romeo and Juliet' Tonight -- 'Rain' to Be Revived?". The New York Times. 20 December 1934. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  97. ^ "Obsession – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  98. ^ Atkinson, Brooks (30 September 1947). "THE NEW PLAY". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  99. ^ "Winners (1948)". The Tony Awards. Tony Award ® Productions. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  100. ^ "The Heiress – Broadway Play – 1950 Revival". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  101. ^ Calta, Louis (20 June 1950). "PREMIERE TONIGHT OF 'JULIUS CAESAR'; Basil Rathbone to Play Role of Cassius in Version at Arena --Levin Directed Show Unions and Owners Meet A.N.T.A. Votes Members Aqua Show" Due June 27". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  102. ^ "The Gioconda Smile – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  103. ^ Atkinson, Brooks (2 February 1952). "S. N. BEHRMAN'S 'JANE'; Edna Best and Basil Rathbone Playing in a Theatre Guild Production". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  104. ^ Atkinson, Brooks (31 October 1953). "AT THE THEATRE; Basil Rathbone Plays 'Sherlock Holmes' in a Detective Drama Written by His Wife". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  105. ^ "Hide and Seek – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  106. ^ "J.B. – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2024.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Basil Rathbone.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Basil Rathbone.
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