Nigel Bruce | |
|---|---|
 Bruce inThe Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937) | |
| Born | William Nigel Ernle Bruce (1895-02-04)4 February 1895 Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico |
| Died | 8 October 1953(1953-10-08) (aged 58) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Chapel of the Pines Crematory |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1920–1953 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives |
|
William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was an Englishcharacter actor on stage and screen.[1] He was best known for his portrayal ofDr. Watson in aseries of films and in the radio seriesThe New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring withBasil Rathbone asSherlock Holmes in both. Bruce is also remembered for his roles in theAlfred Hitchcock filmsRebecca andSuspicion, as well asCharlie Chaplin'sLimelight and the originalLassie filmLassie Come Home.
_-_cricket_first_team_1912.jpg)
Bruce was the second son of Sir William Waller Bruce,10th Baronet and his wife Angelica, Lady Bruce, daughter of General George Selby,Royal Artillery.[citation needed] He was born inEnsenada,Baja California, Mexico, whilst his parents were touring the world.[2] His older brother was the author and adventurerSir Michael Bruce.
He received his formal education at The Grange School inStevenage, and from 1908 to 1912 atAbingdon School inAbingdon-on-Thames.[3] At Abingdon he was a keen sportsman, playing for the first XI cricket team (for which he received Colours), the athletics' first team and the school's football 2nd XI.
In 1912, Bruce left school at the age of 17, and took up a position as a stockbroker's clerk in theCity of London.[4] In early 1914, whilst working in the City he voluntarily enlisted in theBritish Army'sTerritorial Force as aninfantry soldier with theHonourable Artillery Company as its Private #852. On the outbreak ofWorld War I in early August 1914, he wasmobilized with the regiment, and went out to theWestern Front with its 1st Battalion on 18 September 1914 at the age of 19.[5] On 5 January 1915, whilst in trenches atKemmel in Belgium, he was machine-gunned in the legs, causing multiple wounds and a fractured right thigh, and was subsequently medically evacuated to the United Kingdom, where he spent the rest of 1915 recovering in hospital. He was discharged from the British Army as medically unfit for further military service due to permanent damage to his legs in December 1915. In October 1916, he re-enlisted with the British Army and received training with an Officer Cadet Battalion inCambridge, subsequently receiving a commission in January 1917, as asubaltern with the 10th (Service) Battalion, of theSomerset Light Infantry Regiment, a home service battalion, with which he served as a training officer for the rest of 1917, the permanent infirmity of his 1915 wounds preventing further active service at the front.[6]
After being discharged from the British Army, Bruce abandoned a career in the City of London Stock Exchange, and pursued a career as a professional actor. He made his stage debut on 12 May 1920 at London'sComedy Theatre as afootman in the playWhy Marry?. In October of that year, he went to Canada as stage manager toHenry V. Esmond andEva Moore, also playing "Montague Jordan" inEliza Comes to Stay. Upon returning to England, he toured in the same role. He appeared regularly on-stage thereafter, and 8 years later began working in silent films. In 1926 he made hisBroadway debut as Major Evelyn Bathurst inNoël CowardThis Was a Man. He returned to Broadway several times during the 1930s, portraying Philip Downes inRonald Jeans'sLean Harvest (1931), Mr. Jelliwell inBenn W. Levy'sSpringtime for Henry (1931–1932), His Excellency, Governor of the Colony inArthur Schwartz'sVirginia (1937),[7] andW. S. Gilbert inOscar Hammerstein II'sKnights of Song (1938).[8] He reprised this final role in the filmLillian Russell (1940).
In 1934, he had moved toHollywood, U.S. As his career there became a success, he set up a home at 701 North Alpine Drive,Beverly Hills in the latter half of the 1930s.
Bruce typically played buffoonish, fuzzy-minded gentlemen. During his film career, he worked in 78 films, includingTreasure Island (1934),The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936),Rebecca (1940), andSuspicion (1941).
He appeared in two landmark films:Becky Sharp (1935), the first feature film in fullTechnicolor, andBwana Devil (1952), the first3-D feature. He uncharacteristically played a detestable figure inThe Rains Came (1939) which became the first film to win anOscar for special effects.
_1.jpg)
Bruce's career signature role was that of Dr. Watson inthe 1939–1946 Sherlock Holmes film series, alongside his friend Basil Rathbone playing Holmes. Bruce starred as Watson in all 14 films of the series, and over 200 radio programs ofThe New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.[9] Although Watson often appears to be the older of the two main characters, Bruce was three years younger than Rathbone.
Though for most viewers Nigel Bruce formed their vision of Dr Watson, Holmes purists have long objected that the Watson of the books was intelligent and capable (although not an outstanding detective), and that Bruce's portrayal made Watson intellectually dimmer and more bumbling than the literary figure. (A nickname resulting from this portrayal was "Boobus Britannicus".[9])Loren D. Estleman wrote of Bruce:
If a mop bucket appeared in a scene, his foot would be inside it, and if by some sardonic twist of fate and the whim of directorRoy William Neill he managed to stumble upon an important clue, he could be depended upon to blow his nose on it and throw it away.[10]
Rathbone, however, spoke highly of Bruce's portrayal, saying that Watson was one of the screen's most lovable characters. The historian David Parkinson wrote that Bruce's "avuncular presence provided the perfect counterbalance to Rathbone's briskly omniscient sleuth".[11] HistorianAlan Barnes notes that, despite the criticisms against him, Bruce rehabilitated Watson, who had been a marginal figure in the cinematic Holmes canon to that point: "after Bruce, it would be a near-unthinkable heresy to show Holmes without him".[12] For the radio series, Bruce was allowed to play a more competent version of the character.
The Rathbone-Bruce co-star film series lapsed with the death of its producer-directorRoy William Neill in 1946. Since then, most major modern adaptations ofArthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, especially since the 1970s, have consciously defied the popular stereotype, and depicted Watson faithfully as a capable man of action.
Bruce was married, from 1921 until his death, to British actress Violet Campbell (née Violet Pauline Shelton[13]) whom he always lovingly called "Bunny"; they had two daughters:
He was also a second cousin of the Canadian actorChristopher Plummer.[14]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Bruce, known as "Willie" to his friends, was a leading member of the British film colony in Los Angeles, and was captain of the (mostly British)Hollywood Cricket Club. Unlike some of his contemporaries, and along with other British actors such asBasil Rathbone andCharlie Chaplin, Bruce maintained his British citizenship, despite long residence in the United States. He also retained his membership of London'sGarrick Club andBuck's Club until his death. His final film,World for Ransom, was released posthumously in 1954.
Bruce died of aheart attack,[15] inSanta Monica, California in 1953 at the age of 58. His body was subsequently cremated, with his ashes being placed in a niche at theChapel of the Pines Crematory inLos Angeles.[16]
In 1947 he began writing an autobiography entitledGames, Gossip and Greasepaint, which is unpublished; however, excerpts have been printed in theSherlock Holmes Journal, and these have been posted online with permission.[17]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |