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Basil Rathbone 1892 - 1967

Basil Rathbone of Manhattan County, NY was born on June 13, 1892 in South Africa. He married Ethel Marion Foreman on October 13, 1914 and they later divorced in 1926. They had a child Rodion Rathbone. He also married Ouida Bergère on April 18, 1926, and they were married until Basil's death on July 21, 1967. They had a child Cynthia Rathbone.

Basil Rathbone

Philip St. John Rathbone (Basil)

Manhattan County, NY

June 13, 1892

South Africa

July 21, 1967

New York City

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Basil Rathbone Basil Rathbone (1892 - 1967)

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Basil Rathbone's History: 1892 - 1967

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Introduction

Basil Rathbone (1892–1967) Painting by fan, artist Arthur K. Miller. Basil Rathbone was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1892, but three years later his family was forced to flee the country because his father was accused by the Boers of being a British spy at a time when Dutch-British conflicts were leading to the Boer War. The Rathbones escaped to England, with Basil and his two younger siblings. Born: June 13, 1892 in Johannesburg, South Africa Died: July 21, 1967 (age 75) in New York City, New York, USA 1968 Autopsia de un fantasma Canuto Pérez 1967 Hillbillys in a Haunted House Gregor 1967 Soldier in Love (TV Movie) The Duke of York 1966 Summer Fun (TV Series) Governor - Pirates of Flounder Bay (1966) ... Governor 1966 The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini Reginald Ripper 1966 Queen of Blood Dr. Farraday 1965 Dr. Rock and Mr. Roll 1965 Dr. Kildare (TV Series) Frederick Foray - Duet for One Hand (1965) ... Frederick Foray - Perfect Is Too Hard to Be (1965) ... Frederick Foray 1965 Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet Prof. Hartman - Lunar 7 1965 Burke's Law (TV Series) Milo James - Who Killed Hamlet? (1965) ... Milo James 1964 Suspense (TV Series) - The Leader (1964) 1963 The Comedy of Terrors Mr. John F. Black 1962 Two Before Zero Narrator 1962 Tales of Terror Carmichael (segment "The Case of M. Valdemar") 1962 Pontius Pilate Caiaphas 1962 The Magic Sword Lodac 1961 Mystic Prophecies and Nostradamus Narrator 1961 The Black Cat (Short) Voices (voice) 1961 Victoria Regina (TV Movie) Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield) 1960 The Christophers (TV Series) - Tips for the Homemaker (1960) 1956-1960 The Red Skelton Hour (TV Series) Hugh Rubicoff / Sir Robert - Super-Cauliflower (1960) ... Hugh Rubicoff - The Sculpture Show (1956) ... Sir Robert 1959 Fredric March Presents Tales from Dickens (TV Series) Ebenezer Scrooge - A Christmas Carol (1959) ... Ebenezer Scrooge 1958 The Last Hurrah Norman Cass, Sr. 1958 The DuPont Show of the Month (TV Series) Emperor - Cole Porter's 'Aladdin' (1958) ... Emperor 1958 Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates (TV Movie) Dr. Boekman 1956-1957 Kraft Theatre (TV Series) General Zomback - Heroes Walk on Sand (1957) ... General Zomback - Five Minutes to Live (1956) 1957 The United States Steel Hour (TV Series) Duke - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1957) ... Duke 1957 The Lark (TV Movie) Chief Inquisitor 1956 The Alcoa Hour (TV Series) Ebenezer Scrooge - The Stingiest Man in Town (1956) ... Ebenezer Scrooge 1954-1956 Shower of Stars (TV Series) Marley's Ghost - A Christmas Carol III (1956) ... Marley's Ghost - A Christmas Carol (1954) ... Marley's Ghost 1956 The Black Sleep Sir Joel Cadman 1956 Screen Directors Playhouse (TV Series) Paul Charters - Affair in Sumatra (1956) ... Paul Charters 1955 The Court Jester Sir Ravenhurst 1955 Star Tonight (TV Series) Narrator - The Selfish Giant (1955) ... Narrator 1955 Science Fiction Theatre (TV Series) Dr. Victor Berenson - The Stones Began to Move (1955) ... Dr. Victor Berenson 1955 Svengali and the Blonde (TV Movie) Svengali 1955 We're No Angels Andre Trochard 1955 The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater (TV Series) Robert - Always the Butler (1955) ... Robert 1955 Encounter (TV Series) Captain Edward Fairfax Vere - Billy Budd (1955) ... Captain Edward Fairfax Vere 1954 Schlitz Playhouse (TV Series) The Jewel Thief - Volturio Investigates (1954) ... The Jewel Thief 1954 Studio One in Hollywood (TV Series) Hazelton Crome - The House of Gair (1954) ... Hazelton Crome 1954 Love Story (TV Series) - The Yo-Yo People (1954) 1954 Casanova's Big Night Lucio / Narrator 1954 The Philip Morris Playhouse (TV Series) - The Man They'd Murdered (1954) 1953 The Motorola Television Hour (TV Series) Duke - The Thirteen Clocks (1953) ... Duke 1953 Danger (TV Series) - The Educated Heart (1953) 1951-1953 Suspense (TV Series) Sherlock Holmes / Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde - The Adventure of the Black Baronet (1953) ... Sherlock Holmes - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1951) ... Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde 1953 Broadway Television Theatre (TV Series) Benvenuto Cellini / Chief Inspector Tanner - The Firebrand (1953) ... Benvenuto Cellini - Criminal at Large (1953) ... Chief Inspector Tanner 1951-1953 Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) Ambrose Wallington / Sir Paul Maxim / Frampton - Miss Marlowe at Play (1953) ... Ambrose Wallington - Masquerade (1952) ... Sir Paul Maxim - Purple and Fine Linen (1951) ... Frampton 1951 Betty Crocker Star Matinee (TV Series) - An Inspector Calls (1951) 1951 Lights Out (TV Series) Gregory - Dead Man's Coat (1951) ... Gregory 1951 The Colgate Comedy Hour (TV Series) Count Durand - Would-Be Gentleman (1951) ... Count Durand 1950 Nash Airflyte Theatre (TV Series) - The Kind Mr. Smith (1950) 1949-1950 The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (TV Series) - Queen of Spades (1950) - At Night All Cats Are Grey (1949) 1949 The Ford Theatre Hour (TV Series) Mr. Brink - On Borrowed Time (1949) ... Mr. Brink 1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad Narrating the Story of Mr. Toad / Policeman (voice) 1949 The Wind in the Willows (Short) Narrator (voice) 1946 Dressed to Kill Sherlock Holmes 1946 Heartbeat Professor Aristide 1946 Terror by Night Sherlock Holmes 1945 Pursuit to Algiers Sherlock Holmes 1945 The Woman in Green Holmes 1945 The House of Fear Sherlock Holmes 1944 Frenchman's Creek Lord Rockingham 1944 The Pearl of Death Sherlock Holmes 1944 Bathing Beauty George Adams 1944 The Scarlet Claw Sherlock Holmes 1943 The Spider Woman Sherlock Holmes 1943 Crazy House Sherlock Holmes 1943 Sherlock Holmes Faces Death Sherlock Holmes 1943 Above Suspicion Sig von Aschenhausen 1943 Sherlock Holmes in Washington Sherlock Holmes 1942 Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon Sherlock Holmes 1942 Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror Sherlock Holmes 1942 Crossroads Henri Sarrou 1942 Fingers at the Window Dr. H. Santelle 1941 Paris Calling Andre Benoit 1941 International Lady Reggie Oliver 1941 The Black Cat Montague Hartley 1941 The Mad Doctor Dr. George Sebastian / Dr. Frederick Langamann 1940 The Mark of Zorro Capt. Esteban Pasquale 1940 Rhythm on the River Oliver Courtney 1939 Tower of London Richard - Duke of Gloucester 1939 Rio Paul Reynard 1939 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes 1939 The Sun Never Sets Clive Randolph 1939 The Hound of the Baskervilles Sherlock Holmes 1939 Son of Frankenstein Baron Wolf von Frankenstein 1938 The Dawn Patrol Major Brand 1938 If I Were King King Louis XI 1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood Sir Guy of Gisbourne 1938 The Adventures of Marco Polo Ahmed 1937 Tovarich Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko 1937 Make a Wish Johnny Selden 1937 Confession Michael Michailow 1937 A Night of Terror Gerald Lovell 1936 The Garden of Allah Count Ferdinand Anteoni 1936 Romeo and Juliet Tybalt - Nephew to Lady Capulet 1936 Private Number Wroxton 1935 Captain Blood Levasseur 1935 A Tale of Two Cities Marquis St. Evrémonde 1935 Kind Lady Henry Abbott 1935 A Feather in Her Hat Captain Randolph Courtney 1935 The Last Days of Pompeii Pontius Pilate 1935 Anna Karenina Alexei Alexandrovitch Karenin 1935 David Copperfield Mr. Murdstone 1933 Loyalties Ferdinand de Levis 1933 One Precious Year Derek Nagel 1932 After the Ball Jack Harrowby 1932 A Woman Commands Capt. Alex Pastitsch 1930 Sin Takes a Holiday Reggie Durant 1930 A Lady Surrenders Carl Vandry 1930 The Lady of Scandal Edward 1930 The Flirting Widow Colonel Smith 1930 A Notorious Affair Paul Gherardi 1930 This Mad World Philip St. John Basil Rathbone was his birth name and probably how Basil P. Rathbone may have ended up on his death certificate or passport.
06/13

1892

Birthday

June 13, 1892

Birthdate

South Africa

Birthplace

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07/21

1967

Death

July 21, 1967

Death date

Unknown
Cause of death

New York City
Death location

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Obituary

Actor Basil Rathbone, whose roles ranged from Shakespeare to Sherlock Holmes, died of a heart attack Friday in New York. He was 75. Mr. Rathbone's career spanned 56 years, two continents and all theatrical mediums, but his greatest fame came from his motion picture portrayals of the fictional British detective, Holmes. He made 16 Sherlock Holmes films between 1939 and 1946, and is widely remembered as the tall, dignified sleuth who wore a deerstalker cap, puffed a curved pipe and solved mysteries with a casual: "Elementary, my dear Watson." Mr. Rathbone reportedly refused lucrative offers to re-create the Holmes role after the 1953 death of his friend and co-star Nigel Bruce, who he considered the "only man who could play Dr. Watson." It was a feeling that he was overly identified with the Holmes' role that drove Mr. Rathbone from Hollywood in the late 1940s. 'Lost Our Identity' "I was so badly typed," he once said, "that when I went back to New York I lost my own identity. On the street no one ever said 'Good morning, Basil,' or 'Good morning, Mr. Rathbone.' "They said 'Good morning, Sherlock.'" Mr. Rathbone settled in New York, where he performed on Broadway in "The Heiress," "The Winslow Boy" and other productions. He also played radio and television roles, wrote a book of reminiscences and toured in a one-man show. He appeared in the Beverly Hills High School Auditorium in March and was acclaimed for his performance, a combination of anecdotes, poetry and readings from Shakespeare. Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in "The Adventures of Robin Hood." Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in "The Adventures of Robin Hood." (Warner Bros.) Mr. Rathbone's death Friday came shortly after he suffered a heart attack in his New York apartment, according to his daughter, Cynthia. Funeral services were tentatively scheduled for Tuesday in St. James Episcopal Church in Manhattan. Mr. Rathbone was born Philip St. John Basil Rathbone on June 13, 1892, in Johannesburg, South Africa, the son of a British engineer. His mother was a descendant of King Henry IV. Educated in England, Mr. Rathbone joined a cousin's theatrical company in 1911. Mr. Rathbone's early acting career was largely in Shakespearean productions, some at the Stratford-on-Avon Festival. He also toured the United States in Shakespearean roles. In 1925, the suave British actor made his first film – a silent, "The Masked Bride," at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Among his other films were "David Copperfield," "Anna Karenina," "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Tale of Two Cities." Mr. Rathbone had a son, Rodion, by his marriage to Marion Foreman, which ended in divorce. In 1926, he married Ouida Bergere, a scenario writer, who survives. They were the parents of Cynthia.

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Basil Rathbone lived 2 years longer than the average family member when died at the age of 75.

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