RATHBONE, BASIL

(1892-1967)

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Basil Rathbone worked for 10 years in London theatre before his New York stage debut inThe Czarina(1922). He played opposite Eva Le Gallienne in Ferenc Molnar'sThe Swan(1923), followed by roles inArthur Hornblow Jr.'sThe Captive(1926) and Rudolf Lothar and Fritz Gottwald'sThe Command to Love(1927). Rathbone's own play,Judas(1929), in which he also acted, flopped. He played Romeo to Katharine Cornell's Juliet in 1934 and, after a long stint in Hollywood motion pictures, Rathbone returned to the stage in Ruth and Augustus Goetz's* adaptation of Henry James'sWashington SquarecalledThe Heiress* (1947). More remembered for his screen work, Rathbone played both heroes (notablySherlock Holmes) andvillains, both of which were well-served by his tall, stately presence and his imperious, intellectual manner.