Nigel bruce actor biography sites
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Nigel Bruce
English actor (1895–1953)
For the South African journalist and politician, see Nigel Bruce (journalist). For the 13th-century aristocrat, see Nigel de Brus.
William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was an English character actor on stage and screen.[1] He was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in a series of films and in the radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes in both. Bruce is also remembered for his roles in the Alfred Hitchcock films Rebecca and Suspicion, as well as Charlie Chaplin's Limelight and the original Lassie film Lassie Come Home.
Early life
[edit]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 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, whilst his parents were touring the world.[2] His o
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Nigel Bruce
Birthday:
4 February, 1895 – 8 October, 1953
Biography[]
Bruce was born in Baja, California in 1895 while his parents were on a vacation from England. He served during WWI in France starting in 1914, but in 1915 he was shot multiple times in the leg, having eleven bullets in his left leg, and spent the rest of the war in a wheelchair. Ironically, the character he would come to play several years later, Watson, is known for being shot in the leg while in Afghanistan. He played Watson during the Rathbone run, lasting from 1939-1946. He died in Santa Monica, California in 1953. He had a heart attack and died at age 58.
Holmes Movies[]
Most pe
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Nigel was, from the beginning, typecast as bumbling English aristocrats, military types or drawing room society snobs and, within the narrow parameters of his range, he was very, very good at playing these parts. Nigel Bruce was born in Mexico, where his father, Sir William W. Bruce, worked as an engineer. His family was part of English aristocracy, ever since Charles I. bestowed a baronetcy upon them in 1629 (William's older brother Michael held the hereditary title). Nigel was educated in England at Grange, Stevenage and Abingdon. His first job was at a stockbroker's firm. During World War inom, he served in the British Army (like his future co-star, Basil Rathbone) where he received a serious leg wound and was for some time confined to a wheelchair.
Following his discharge, he turned to acting in 1919, but it wasn't until ten years later that he achieved a breakthrough in Noël Coward's 'This was a Man' on Broadway. Then followed the performance which was t