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Basil Rathbone (June 13, 1892 – July 21,
1967) was an England|English actor most famous for
his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and swashbuckler
film villain roles.

He was born Philip St. John Basil Rathbone in
Johannesburg, South Africa, a son of Edgar Philip
Rathbone and Anna Barbara George. His younger
sister and brother were Beatrice Rathbone and John
Rathbone.

Rathbone was married to actress Marion Foreman
(married 1914-divorced 1926) and writer Ouida
Bergere (married 1927-his death 1967).

He and Foreman had one son, Rodion Rathbone, and
he and Bergere had one adopted daughter, Cynthia
Rathbone.

He died of a heart attack at his home in New York
City. He is interred in the Ferncliff Cemetery,
Hartsdale, New York.

==His career ==
During the 1920s, Rathbone appeared in William
Shakespeare|Shakespearean roles on the British
stage. He was in a few Silent film|silent movies,
and played detective Philo Vance in the 1929 in
film|1929 Film|movie The Bishop Murder Case.

Rathbone became famous for playing suave villains
in many swashbucklers of the 1930s, including
Personal History, Adventures, Experience, and
Observation of David Copperfield the Younger
(1935)|David Copperfield (1935 in film|1935), Anna
Karenina (1935 in film|1935), The Last Days of
Pompeii (1935 in film|1935), Captain Blood
(film)|Captain Blood (1935 in film|1935), A Tale
of Two Cities (1935 in film|1935), The Adventures
of Robin Hood (movie)|The Adventures of Robin Hood
(1938 in film|1938) and
The_Mark_of_Zorro_(1940_film)|The Mark of Zorro
(1940 in film|1940).

He was most notable for his starring roles in
fifteen Sherlock Holmes movies. To many fans,
Basil Rathbone was born to play Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle|Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous London
detective. He also starred as Holmes with Nigel
Bruce as Dr. Watson in an old-time radio mystery
series, The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
(1939-1946), and did numerous other radio
broadcasts.

He was admired for his athletic cinema
swordsmanship, particularly in the duel on the
beach in Captain Blood and as Sir Guy of Guisborne
in the long fight scene in Robin Hood.  Other
noteworthy sword fights appear in The Mark of
Zorro and The Court Jester (1956 in film|1956).
The latter duplicates a scene in the former where
Rathbone slices a candle in two and leaves it
burning. 

Basil Rathbone earned an Academy Award nomination
for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best
Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance of
Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1936 in film|1936),
and another nomination for Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actor|Best Actor in a Supporting Role
for his performance of King Louis XI in If I Were
King (1938 in film|1938).

It was in 1939 in film|1939 that Rathbone first
starred as Sherlock Holmes, in The Hound of the
Baskervilles. Unfortunately, the many sequels
typecast him (he gained the nickname 'Razzle
Bathrobe') and he was unable to break out of the
stereotype, except in certain spoofs of his
earlier swashbuckling villains in such movies as
Casanova's Big Night (1954 in film|1954) and The
Court Jester (1956 in film|1956).

Rathbone also acted on Broadway numerous times. In
1948, he won a Tony Award for Best Actor in Play
for his performance of Dr. Austin Sloper in the
original production of The Heiress.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, he continued to
appear in several anthology programs on
television. 

Basil Rathbone has three stars on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame; one for motion pictures at 6549
Hollywood Boulevard; one for radio at 6300
Hollywood Boulevard; and one for television at
6915 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood,
California|Hollywood.

==External links ==
*imdb name|id=0001651|name=Basil Rathbone