Nigel Bruce

Not to be confused with Nigel de Brus.

Nigel Bruce
from The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)
Born	William Nigel Ernle Bruce (1895-02-04)4 February 1895 Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Died	Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Cause of death	heart attack
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1920–1952
Spouse(s)	Violet Pauline Shelton (1921-1953) (his death)
Children	Jennifer Bruce Pauline Bruce
Relatives	Julian Gilbey Will Gilbey

William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953), best known as Nigel Bruce, was a British character actor on stage and screen. 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 Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes). Bruce is also remembered for his roles in the Alfred Hitchcock films Rebecca and Suspicion.

Biography

Bruce was the second son of Sir William Waller Bruce, 10th Baronet (1856–1912) and his wife Angelica, Lady Bruce (died 1917), daughter of General George Selby, Royal Artillery. Bruce was born in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, while his parents were on holiday there. His older brother was the author and adventurer Sir Michael Bruce, 11th Baronet. He was educated at the Grange, Stevenage and at Abingdon School, Oxfordshire. He served in France from 1914 as a lieutenant in the 10th Service Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry and the Honourable Artillery Company, but was severely wounded at Cambrai the following year, with eleven bullets in his left leg, and spent most of the remainder of the war in a wheelchair.

He made his first appearance on stage on 12 May 1920 at the Comedy Theatre as a footman in Why Marry?. In October that year, he went to Canada as stage manager to Henry V. Esmond and Eva Moore, also playing "Montague Jordan" in Eliza Comes to Stay; upon returning to England, he toured acting the same part. He appeared constantly onstage thereafter, and eight years later started also working in silent films. In 1934, he moved to Hollywood, later setting up home at 701 North Alpine Drive, Beverly Hills.

Nigel Bruce typically played buffoonish, fuzzy-minded gentlemen. During his film career, he worked in 78 films, including Treasure Island (1934), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), Rebecca (1940), and Suspicion (1941).

Bruce participated in two landmark films: Becky Sharp (1935), the first feature film in full Technicolor, and Bwana Devil (1952), the first 3-D feature. He uncharacteristically played a detestable figure in The Rains Came (1939) which became the first film to win an Oscar for special effects.

Watson role

Bruce's signature role was that of Dr. Watson in the 1939-1946 Sherlock Holmes film series with close friend Basil Rathbone as Holmes. Bruce starred as Watson in all 14 films of the series and over 200 radio programs of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Although Watson often appears to be the older of the two main characters, Bruce was actually three years younger than his co-star 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 far dimmer and more bumbling than his literary original. (A nickname resulting from this portrayal was "Boobus Britannicus.") 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 director Roy 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."

A clerihew runs:

Conan Doyle

said Watson was Holmes' foil;
but surely he need not

have made him such a clot.

Rathbone, however, spoke highly of Bruce's portrayal, saying that Watson was one of the screen's most lovable characters. The Rathbone-Bruce film series lapsed with the death of producer-director Roy William Neill in 1946. Since then, most major modern adaptations of Arthur 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.

Family

Nigel Bruce was married from 1921 until his death to British actress Violet Campbell (née Violet Pauline Shelton; 1892–1970) whom he always lovingly called "Bunny"; they had two daughters:

• Jennifer, married in 1944 (divorced in 1946) Jay Gould III, son of Jay Gould II;
• Pauline, married in 1946 the British flying ace Alan Geoffrey Page.

Later life

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 as Basil Rathbone and Charlie Chaplin, Bruce maintained his British citizenship, despite long residence in the United States. He also retained his membership of London's Garrick Club and Buck's Club until his death. His final film, World for Ransom, was released posthumously in 1954.

Death

Bruce died from a heart attack in Santa Monica, California in 1953, aged 58. He was cremated, and his ashes stored in the vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.

He wrote an autobiography called Games, Gossip and Greasepaint which has never been published; however, excerpts have been printed in the Sherlock Holmes Journal, and these have been posted online, with permission.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role
1929	Red Aces	Kinsfeather, T.B.
1930	The Squeaker	Collie
	Escape	Constable
	Birds of Prey	Manager
1931	The Calendar	Lord Willie Panniford
1932	The Midshipmaid	Major Spink
	Lord Camber's Ladies	Lord Camber
1933	I Was a Spy	Scottie
	Channel Crossing	Nigel Guthrie
1934	Coming Out Party	Troon, the Butler
	Stand Up and Cheer!	Eustis Dinwiddle
	Murder in Trinidad	Bertram Lynch
	Treasure Island	Squire Trelawney
	The Lady Is Willing	Welton
	Springtime for Henry	Johnny Jewlliwell
	The Scarlet Pimpernel	The Prince of Wales
1935	Becky Sharp	Joseph Sedley
	She	Horace Holly
	Jalna	Maurice Vaughn
	The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo	Ivan
1936	The Trail of the Lonesome Pine	Thurber
	Under Two Flags	Capt. Menzies
	The White Angel	Dr. West
	Follow Your Heart	Henri Forrester
	The Charge of the Light Brigade	Sir Benjamin Warrenton
1936	The Man I Marry	Robert Hartley
1937	Thunder in the City	Duke Of Glenavon
	The Last of Mrs. Cheyney	Lord Willie Winton
1938	The Baroness and the Butler	Major Andros
	Kidnapped	Neil MacDonald
	Suez	Sir Malcolm Cameron
1939	The Hound of the Baskervilles	Dr. Watson
	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	Dr. John H. Watson
	The Rains Came	Lord Albert Esketh
1940	The Blue Bird	Mr. Luxury
	Adventure in Diamonds	Col. J.W. Lansfield
	Rebecca	Major Giles Lacy
	Lillian Russell	William S. Gilbert
	Susan and God	Hutchins Stubbs
	A Dispatch from Reuter's	Sir Randolph Persham
1941	Hudson's Bay	Prince Rupert
	Play Girl	William McDonald Vincent
	Free and Easy	Florian Clemington
	This Woman Is Mine	Duncan MacDougall
	The Chocolate Soldier	Bernard Fischer, Critic
	Suspicion	Beaky
1942	Roxie Hart	E. Clay Benham
	This Above All	Ramsbottom
	Eagle Squadron	McKinnon
	Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror	Dr. John H. Watson
	Journey for Margaret	Herbert V. Allison
1943	Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon	Dr. John H. Watson
	Forever and a Day	Maj. Garrow
	Sherlock Holmes in Washington	Dr. John H. Watson
	Sherlock Holmes Faces Death	Dr. John H. Watson
	Lassie Come Home	Duke of Rudling
	Crazy House	Dr. John H. Watson (Cameo appearance)
1944	The Spider Woman	Dr. John H. Watson
	The Scarlet Claw	Dr. John H. Watson
	The Pearl of Death	Dr. John H. Watson
	Gypsy Wildcat	High Sheriff
	Frenchman's Creek	Lord Godolphin
1945	Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear	Dr. John H. Watson
	The Corn Is Green	The Squire
	Son of Lassie	Duke of Radling
	The Woman in Green	Dr. John H. Watson
	Pursuit to Algiers	Dr. John H. Watson
1946	Terror by Night	Dr. John H. Watson
	Dressed to Kill	Dr. John H. Watson
1947	The Two Mrs. Carrolls	Dr. Tuttle
	The Exile	Sir Edward Hyde
1948	Julia Misbehaves	Col. Bruce "Bunny" Willowbrook
1950	Vendetta	Sir Thomas Nevil
1952	Hong Kong	Mr. Lighton
	Limelight	Postant, an Impresario
	Bwana Devil	Dr. Angus McLean
1954	World for Ransom	Governor Sir Charles Coutts

External links

• Nigel Bruce at the Internet Movie Database
• Nigel Bruce at the Internet Broadway Database
• Nigel Bruce at Find a Grave
• Extracts from Bruce's memoirs: 'Games Gossip and Greasepaint'