File:Basil_Rathbone,_1935.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Basil Rathbone
Sign in to saveEnglish actor (1892–1967)
OverviewAI-generated
Basil Rathbone was a male character actor born in Johannesburg, South African Republic, on June 13, 1892. He worked in stage, film, and television acting, with his career beginning in 1921. He was educated at Repton School and served as a captain in the British Army during World War I. His citizenship included the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Rathbone received the Military Cross, a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was married to Ouida Bergère and had two children. He was related to Frank Benson.
He died of natural causes due to myocardial infarction on July 21, 1967, in New York City at The Langham. He is buried at Ferncliff Cemetery.
Synthesized by Vinony from 27 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film & TV
Johannesburg, South African Republic
Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967), was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films. He frequently portrayed suave villains or morally ambiguous characters, such as Murdstone in David Copperfield (1935) and Sir Guy of…
Known for
- The Adventures of Errol Flynn — Self / Various Roles (archive sound) (archive footage)2005
- In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes1996
- Dracula in the Movies1992
- Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook — Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (archive footage)1991
- The Great Mouse Detective — Sherlock Holmes (voice)1986
- The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes — Sherlock Holmes (archive footage)1985
- The Horror of It All — Carmichael (archive footage)1983
- The Horror Show — (archive footage)1979
- Madhouse — Basil (archive footage)1974
- The Movie Orgy — Self (archival footage)1968
via TMDB
Key facts
- Born
- Philip St. John Basil Rathbone , ( 1892-06-13 ) 13 June 1892, Johannesburg , South African Republic (present-day South Africa)
- Died
- 21 July 1967 (1967-07-21) (aged 75), New York City , US
- Resting place
- Ferncliff Cemetery Shrine of Memories , Hartsdale, New York , US
- Citizenship
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- Actor
- Years active
- 1911–1967
- Spouses
- Ethel Marion Foreman ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1914 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1926 ) Ouida Bergère ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1926 )
- Relatives
- Sir Frank Benson (cousin) William Rathbone V (great-grandfather) Eleanor Rathbone (first cousin once removed)
- Family
- Rathbone
- Allegiance
- United Kingdom
- Branch
- British Army
- Service years
- 1915–1918
- Rank
- Captain
- Unit
- London Scottish Regiment , Liverpool Scottish
- Awards
- Military Cross
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Basil
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Place of birth
- Johannesburg
- Place of death
- The Langham
- Spouse
- Ouida Bergère
- Occupation
- film actor
- Educated at
- Repton School
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Genre
- adventure film
- Sport
- fencing
- Conflict
- World War I
- Military branch
- British Army
- Military rank
- captain
- Image
- Basil Rathbone headshot, 1935.jpg
- Height
- 186
- Number of children
- 2
Show 11 more facts
- place of burial
- Ferncliff Cemetery
- Commons category
- Basil Rathbone
- cause of death
- myocardial infarction
- date of birth
- 1892-06-13
- date of death
- 1967-07-21
- nominated for
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- manner of death
- natural causes
- Commons gallery
- Basil Rathbone
- start of work period
- 1921-00-00
- relative
- Frank Benson
- birth name
- Philip St. John Basil Rathbone
Sources (7)
via Wikidata · CC0
~19 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Philip St. John Basil Rathbone (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was an English actor. Born in South Africa and raised in Derbyshire, 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Basil Rathbone” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.