Job Actor
Years active 1911-67
Known for Suave cold-hearted villains, morally ambiguous characters; Sherlock Holmes
Top Roles Sir Guy of Gisbourne, Count Sigurd 'Sig' von Aschenhausen, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes, Captain Randolph Courtney
Top GenresDrama, Comedy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller/Suspense, Film Adaptation
Top TopicsBook-Based, Detectives, England
Top Collaborators (Director), (Producer), (Director), (Producer)
Shares birthday with Ben Johnson, Lois Weber, Jean Adair  see more..

Basil Rathbone Overview:

Legendary character actor, Basil Rathbone, was born Philip St. John Basil Rathbone on Jun 13, 1892 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Rathbone appeared in over 120 film and TV roles. His best known films include David Copperfield, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Captain Blood, Tower of London, The Mark of Zorro, Anna Karenina and The Hound of the Baskervilles (the first of 14 film appearances as master detective, Sherlock Holmes). Rathbone died at the age of 75 on Jul 21, 1967 in New York City, NY and was laid to rest in Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, Westchester County, NY.

MINI BIO:

Already a veteran stage actor in both London and on Broadway, Basil Rathbone made his film debut in 1921 in the silent film The Fruitful Vine. He went on to appear in over 120 film and TV roles, frequently portraying suave, cold-hearted villains. Some of his most memorable roles were as Murdstone in David Copperfield, Levasseur in Captain Blood, Sir Guy of Gisbourne in The Adventures of Robin Hood, and as Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles and 13 other films.

(Source: article by Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub).

HONORS and AWARDS:

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Although Rathbone was nominated for two Oscars, he never won a competitive Academy Award.

Academy Awards

YearAwardFilm nameRoleResult
1936Best Supporting ActorRomeo and Juliet (1936)TybaltNominated
1938Best Supporting ActorIf I Were King (1938)Louis XINominated
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He was honored with three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the categories of Radio, Motion Pictures and Television.

BlogHub Articles:

Ronald Colman, , and Frances Dee star in “If I Were King”

By Stephen Reginald on Jan 14, 2025 From Classic Movie Man

Ronald Colman, , and Frances Dee star in “If I Were King” If I Were King (1938) is a historical biographical drama directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Ronald Colman, , and Frances Dee. The supporting cast includes Ellen Drew, Ralph Forbes, Henry Wilcoxon... Read full article


A Year in the Life of : 1950

By Neve on Oct 14, 2024 From The Baz

and John Dall in the City Center production of The Heiress... Read full article


A Farewell to

By Neve on Jul 21, 2023 From The Baz

... Read full article


in Summer Stock

By Neve on May 18, 2022 From The Baz

Sea Cliff Summer Theatre, Long Island... Read full article


A Year in the Life of ? 1940

By Neve on Nov 18, 2021 From The Baz

Rathbone standing on the garden steps outside his Bel Air home... Read full article


See all articles

Basil Rathbone Quotes:

Lord Arthur Dilling: By marrying I can make only one woman miserable. By remaining single I can make so many happy.


Captain Esteban Pasquale: Conditions have changed since you left, Don Diego. Your father resigned. Age, you know! Since then, the peons have become um... more industrious. As to the caballeros. they're encouraged to think of their own affairs. WE take care of the government!


Sherlock Holmes: My dear Nikolas, perhaps you don't realize that it's tea that has made the British Empire and Dr. Watson what they are today.


read more quotes from Basil Rathbone...



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Best Supporting Actor Oscar 1936






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Basil Rathbone on the
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Basil Rathbone Facts
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.

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.

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."

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