Nigel Bruce (1895-1953)

Nigel Bruce
Nigel Bruce was, and still is, one of the best known English actors from Hollywood's Golden Age, although most people who could recognise him as a familiar face on screen, would not be able to name him.
He was a brilliant character actor on both stage and screen and is remembered particularly for his portrayal of Dr. Watson, starring with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes in a series of films in the 1930s and 1940s and in the radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Bruce is also known for his roles in the Alfred Hitchcock films 'Rebecca' and 'Suspicion', as well as the Charlie Chaplin film 'Limelight'.
Biography
He was born William Nigel Ernle Bruce on 4 February 1895 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, where his father worked as an engineer. He had an older brother, Michael, who became a traveller and author. His family was part of English aristocratic family, which had a baronetcy bestowed upon them in 1629. (Michael, as the first born held the hereditary title). He also had an elder sister who died as an infant in 1895.
Early Years
He was educated firstly at The Grange School in Stevenage, and from 1908 to 1912 at Abingdon School in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. At school he developed a keen love for sport and played for the Abingdon first XI cricket team and for the school's football 2nd XI. He left school aged 17 in 1912 and became a trainee stockbroker in the City of London.
Bruce enlisted in the Territorials, a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, When war broke out in early August 1914, he was mobilized with his regiment, and was sent to the Western Front. In January, 1915 he received machine gun wounds to his legs whilst fighting in the trenches at Kemmel in Belgium. After being evacuated to the UK, he spent the rest of 1915 in hospital and at the end of the year was discharged from the army as being medically unfit.and was for several months confined to a wheelchair.
He re-enlisted with the British Army the following year and served as a training officer for the rest of 1917, with further active service impossible due to the severity of his wounds. He was finally discharged in 1918 at the end of the war.
Young Actor
Bruce found acting to be a useful way of filling the long days of convalescence and he proved to be surprisingly good at it.. He began his stage career in 1920 in the play 'Why Marry?' and he became well known very quickly. He worked in both England and Canada in small productions but he became much better known after he appeared on Broadway in 1926 in Noël Coward's 'This Was a Man' . As his stock rose he appeared also in a number of British Silent movies such as 'Red Aces' in 1929 and 'The Squeaker' the following year..
Hollywood
His real breakthrough performance was on stage in 1931 in the comedy ''Springtime for Henry'. The play enjoyed an eight-month run on Broadway after which Fox offered him the chance to reprise his role in the movie version of the play. It was the start of a series of film productions in which Nigel played stereotypical British middle and upper class roles including 'Murder in Trinidad', 'Treasure Island' and 'The Scarlet Pimpernel, all in 1934, 'She' in 1935 and 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' in 1936. He had found his niche.
After 'Kidnapped' in 1938 Bruce returned to Broadway with roles in the musicals 'Virginia' in 1937 and 'Knights of Song' in 1938.
Sherlock Holmes
Bruce first teamed up with Basil Rathbone in 1939 for the first two Holmes/Watson movies, 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' and 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes', both filmed at 20th Century Fox. The chemistry between the two actors was perfect and they went on to make 14 of the Holmes films together and became good friends off screen.
The Holmes series included 'Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror' in 1942, 'The Spider Woman' in 1943, 'The Scarlet Claw' in 1944. and ended with 'Dressed to Kill' in 1946. As well as the movie series, Bruce starred as Watson in over 200 radio programs of 'The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes', many with Rathbone as Holmes.
Although Watson appears to be the older of the two main characters, Bruce was in fact, three years younger than Rathbone.
As well as his Dr Watson appearances, Bruce played in two Hitchcock classics during this time - 'Rebecca' in 1940 and 'Suspicion' the following year.
His career continued serenely with appearances in such films as the Humphrey Bogart/Barbara Stanwyck thriller 'The Two Mrs. Carrolls' in 1947, the comedy 'Julia Misbehaves' in 1948, and Charlie Chaplin's ''Limelight' in 1952. His final feature, the film noir thriller 'World for Ransom' in 1954, was released three months after his death.
Personal
Bruce was married, from 1921 until his death, to British movie actress Violet Campbell. The couple had two daughters:
He wrote his autobiography in the late 1940s. called "Games, Gossip and Greasepaint" although it was never published. Extracts were made available in 1995.
Bruce was captain of the (mostly British) Hollywood Cricket Club.and a leading member of the British film colony in Los Angeles. Along with other British actors such as Basil Rathbone and Charlie Chaplin, Bruce maintained his British citizenship, despite long residence in the United States.
Nigel Bruce died of a heart attack, in Santa Monica, California on 8 October 1953. His body was cremated, and his ashes placed in a niche at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. He was 58 years old.
Nigel Bruce Academy Awards
No Nominations
Nigel Bruce Filmography
1920
1921
1922
Flames of Passion
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
The Squeaker
Escape
Red Aces
Birds of Prey
1931
The Calendar
1932
Lord Camber's Ladies
The Midshipmaid
1933
I Was A Spy
Channel Crossing
1934
Coming Out Party
Stand Up and Cheer
Murder in Trinidad
The Lady is Willing
Treasure Island
Springtime for Henry
The Scarlet Pimpernel
1935
Becky Sharp
She
Jaina
1936
The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
Under Two Flags
The White Angel
Follow Your Heart
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Man I Marry
1937
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Thunder in the City
1938
The Baroness and the Butler
Kidnapped
Suez