Basil Rathbone Biography

Fast Facts

• Named fencing champion while serving with the British Army
• His family moved from South Africa to Britain in 1895 after his father was accused of being a spy following the Jameson Raid
• After several small roles in silent films throughout the '20s and early '30s, he would eventually gain the most recognition following his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in 14 features between 1939 and 1946
• Following his time spent in the London Scottish Regiment as a spy during WWI, he would begin his stage career with the New Shakespeare Company beginning in 1919 performing in The Tempest, Romeo & Juliet and The Winter's Tale
• Firm believer in ESP, as his mother correctly predicted the sinking of a ship the family was to depart on when he was four years old
• A distant relative to Henry Rathbone, an Army officer who was a personal guest of President Abraham Lincoln at the Ford Theatre the night he was assassinated