Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone Facts
| Sign | Gemini |
| Born |
Jun 13, 1892 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Died |
Jul 21, 1967 New York City, NY |
| Age | Died at 75 |
| Total Facts | 22 |
Adopted daughter, with wife Ouida Bergère: Cynthis (b. 1939, d. 1969).
Although earlier in his career he had quit playing Sherlock Holmes out of disgust at what he thought was typecasting, later in life he had a change of heart and openly embraced the role. He began appearing as Holmes on television and in several movies, and even wrote (along with his wife), a play about Holmes, in which he played the character on stage.
British Army Fencing Champion.
Cousin of actor/manager Sir Frank R. Benson.
Distant cousin of Maj. Henry Rathbone, who was part of President Abraham Lincoln's theater party the night Lincoln was assassinated. Maj. Rathbone himself was stabbed by John Wilkes Booth as the latter was escaping, but the wound was not fatal. Maj. Rathbone later married Clara Harris, who was also in the Lincoln party, but he murdered her in a jealous rage in 1875 and spent the rest of his life in an insane asylum.
Distant relative of Julian Rathbone.
Fought in the British army during World War I, and was awarded the Military Cross for bravery under fire.
He is considered the greatest swordsman in Hollywood history, superior even to on-screen foes Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power. However, because he was so frequently cast as the villain, he won only two on-screen duels in his career - as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1936), for which he earned an Oscar nomination, and as Captain Esteban Pascuale against the friar (Eugene Pallette), who was so outclassed by "the Capitan" he was harmlessly disarmed in a matter of seconds, in The Mark of Zorro (1940). His last, filmed when the actor was 63, was with Danny Kaye in The Court Jester (1956). It is considered by some the best sword fight ever filmed.
He never renounced his British citizenship and was a lifelong member of the Conservative party.
He was awarded 3 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: for Motion Pictures at 6549 Hollywood Boulevard; for Radio at 6300 Hollywood Boulevard; and for Television at 6915 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
His final appearance as Sherlock Holmes was in a play written by his wife Ouida Bergère, appropriately titled "Sherlock Holmes." The production opened on Broadway on October 30, 1953, and lasted only three performances.
In his sound films, with the exception of his Sherlock Holmes character and a few others, his roles were usually that of the nasty, though sophisticated, villain.
Interred at Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York, USA.
Knighted in 1949 by King George VI for services to theatre.
Nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar twice, and lost both times to the very same actor, Walter Brennan.
Portrayed the title character on Blue (1939-1942) and Mutual (1943-1946) Radio's "The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes."
Rathbone campaigned in vain for the part of Lord Henry in the film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)). He believed that his typecasting as Sherlock Holmes cost him the part, and was a contributing factor in his leaving the Universal series.
Son, with Foreman, actor John Rodion.
The Sherlock Holmes-esque Basil of Baker Street in The Great Mouse Detective (1986) is named after Rathbone who was perhaps best known for the many times he played Sherlock Holmes.
Was related by marriage to the famous Huxley family. His wife's niece, Ouida Branch, whom they brought up from an early age, married David Bruce Huxley, the brother of famed writers Aldous Huxley and Julian Huxley and Nobel Prize-winning scientist Andrew Huxley.
Was so frequently typecast as a villain that he literally jumped at the first few opportunities he ever got to play Sherlock Holmes because "for once, I got to beat the bad guy instead of play him." Indeed, he played the legendary heroic detective more than any other character in his career. By 1946, however, he had become so sick of the role that he quit his Sherlock Holmes film series and temporarily returned to the Broadway stage. Over the course of his career he had played the super sleuth in 16 films and over 200 radio plays.
Won Broadway's 1948 Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) for his performance as Dr. Sloper in the original Broadway production of "The Heiress". The award was shared with Henry Fonda for "Mister Roberts" and Paul Kelly for "Command Decision."