Basil Rathbone biography

Profile

Basil Rathbone (born 1892) began as a Shakespearean actor on the London stage. Although he had a few parts in silent films, his big break came when movies added sound. His stage training and fencing skills made him a natural swashbuckler. In 1939, he starred as Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles. After 14 movies in seven years, Rathbone was forever linked to the famous sleuth.