The English actor Basil Rathbone (the photos are presented in the article) is best known for his role as detective Sherlock Holmes, a classic character from Baker Street, 221. The image of a private detective with an unchanged pipe in his teeth worked out for him perfectly.
Basil Rathbone: biography briefly
The actor was born on June 13, 1892 in South Africa, the city of Johannesburg. His father was a mining specialist, his mother professionally studied music in the violin class. Basil was barely three years old, his family left South Africa and returned to England.
Young Rathbone graduated from the Rapton secondary school. In 1916 he received a baptism of fire on the fronts of the First World War, being drafted into a separate Scottish regiment. In the division, he met his future colleagues: Claude Raines, Ronald Coleman and Herbert Marshall. The future actor suddenly opened up his abilities for military affairs, he conducted several sorties to collect intelligence, which significantly helped the command. Basil Rathbone was soon awarded the Order of the Military Cross.
Again UK
Upon returning to London, the demobilized captain of the Royal Armed Forces made his debut at the Ispuhe Theater. He played the character of Gortenzio in the production of Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew. In the twenties of the 20th century, Basil Rathbone regularly participated in the performances of the most famous theaters in Great Britain.
Since 1923, the actor prefers to be in San Francisco and New York. He is trying to find his niche in art. In 1927, Basil Rathbone, whose films did not impress the viewer, decided to “acquire” a partner for himself, counting on the double interest of the audience. He began to appear on stage in the company with actress Ethel Barrymore, who was quite popular at the time and could support Basil. They performed a duet in several Broadway performances, but did not produce the expected furor.
Bad character as an actor’s image
In the early thirties of the 20th century, Basil Rathbone acquired the role of a villain-aristocrat. All his characters were malevolent: the stern Mr. Mardstone, the soulless Karenin from Tolstoy’s novel “Anna Karenina”, the cruel Pontius Pilate from “The Death of Pompeii”, the vile captain Esteban Pasquale (“The Sign of Zorro”), the villain sir Guy Gisborne (“The Adventures of Robin Hood” ").
The actor also participated in horror films of an early period, such as The Death Tower, where he played Richard the Third, Frankenstein (the role of Baron Frankenstein Wolfe, the son of a monster).
Rathbone was considered the best fencer in Hollywood, which helped him to “lose” in combat with the enemy, if required by the script. Basil had to give up in fights in the films "The Sign of Zorro", "Court Fool", "Tower of Death". Only in the movie "Romeo and Juliet" he managed to prevail over Mercutio, who fell from the exact blow of Basil's blade. It was a duel in which the actor played Tybalt.
First Academy Award Nominations
For the role of Tybalt, Basil Rathbone was nominated for an Oscar in 1937, and two years later the same nomination was given to the actor for creating the image of King Louis the Thirteenth in the film “If I were a King”.
In 1938, the actor-villain Rathbone played an unusual role for himself - the good and understanding Major Brend, the head of the royal flight squadron, worried about the rank and file of the flight crew, which he sent to certain death.
"Gone With the Wind"
When a film project was being prepared based on the work of Margaret Mitchell, the writer read Rathbone for the role of Rhett Butler. However, such a trail of negative characters stretched behind him that the viewer simply could not perceive it in a new image. The inimitable Clark Gable was approved for the lead role .
Star role
The real popularity came to the actor after he starred in a series of films about a great detective named Sherlock Holmes. Between 1939 and 1946 Basil Rathbone, filmography which at that time did not contain outstanding works, he played in several dozen films staged based on the works of the English writer Conan Doyle, a master of the detective genre.
Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Mrs. Hudson - thanks to this trinity, many interesting stories were created, during which complex crimes were investigated. The first films (“The Hound of the Baskervilles” and “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”) marked the beginning of a series of films about the great detective - in the amount of fourteen full-length films.
In addition to staging films, Rathbone, along with Nigel Bruce, participated in special radio programs dedicated to the adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
When the last film from the series about the great detective called "Prelude to the Murder" was shot, Basil stopped appearing on the screen. Only once, after Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story “The Adventure with the Black Baronet” was filmed, Rathbone made an announcement in the film.
Personal life
In 1914, the actor married actress Ethel Forman, who was six years older than her husband. A year later, the couple had a son, whom they named Rodion.
The couple lived together until 1926, followed by a divorce. The reason is Basil's infidelity, adultery on the side with actress Eva Le Gallienne.
In 1927, Rathbone married a second time. This time, his chosen one was the writer Weed Berger. They did not have their children, but the couple adopted a girl named Cynthia. Basil and Weed became famous for having expensive parties in Hollywood. For champagne dinner, the closest people from the professional environment were invited.
The death of the actor
On July 21, 1967, Basil Rathbone suffered a heart attack. It happened in New York. Doctors could not do anything. The last words that the actor uttered holding his wife's hand: "I'm not afraid of death, but it's better if she passes by."
Basil Rathbone was buried in a family crypt in the Faircliffe Cemetery.