In regard to Mr. Rathbone...

[Sepiatone]

I always liked BASIL RATHBONE.  It goes back to when I was little( but old enough to know how to read) and saw his name on the label of an old 78rpm record of PETER AND THE WOLF as the man it was, "narrated by".  At first, I remember having to ask my Mother what that meant, and she told me.  And all was fine until I saw a small jar in the kitchen cupboard that had the same name......

"BASIL".

Now, up until then and being very young, I had the tendency to pronounce most words phonetically.  And so I then always considered Mr. Rathbone's name to be pronounced, "BASS-ill", or "Bassle"(to rhyme with "Hassle" )

So then I asked Mom what it was in that jar, and she said, "That's a spice called 'BAZE-el."

So now I was confused as to how properly pronounce the man's name.  And too, adding to the confusion was my hearing it pronounced a few different ways by other people( mostly TV movie hosts, Bill Kennedy, Rita Bell and others) as----

"BASSLE", BAZZLE", BAZE-el",  "BASE-ill" and this past Saturday night, movie host SVENGOOLIE used "Bassle".

Kinda made me wonder....  How did MR. RATHBONE prefer it to be pronounced?  

And too, how many OTHER men were ever graced with this name?  I mean, I've also seen it as a LAST name( Toni Basil) , but not as another FIRST name.  Unless I really haven't been paying that strict attention. 

Sepiatone

[TomJH]

If you want to know how Rathbone pronounced his own name, here you go . . .

 

[sagebrush]

1 hour ago, Sepiatone said:

I always liked BASIL RATHBONE.  It goes back to when I was little( but old enough to know how to read) and saw his name on the label of an old 78rpm record of PETER AND THE WOLF as the man it was, "narrated by".  At first, I remember having to ask my Mother what that meant, and she told me.  And all was fine until I saw a small jar in the kitchen cupboard that had the same name......

"BASIL".

I had a copy of his PETER AND THE WOLF, too!

I named one of my cats after him. He was a long-haired gray tabby who looked very regal. Whenever we were at the vet, they would pronounce his name "Bay-sil". If it was just a random name I had chosen, I wouldn't really care, but since I had named him in honor of Mr. Rathbone, I felt the necessity to always correct them. ?

[TomJH]

4 minutes ago, sagebrush said:

I had a copy of his PETER AND THE WOLF, too!

I named one of my cats after him. He was a long-haired gray tabby who looked very regal. Whenever we were at the vet, they would pronounce his name "Bay-sil". If it was just a random name I had chosen, I wouldn't really care, but since I had named him in honor of Mr. Rathbone, I felt the necessity to always correct them. ?

Imagine if you named a dog Basil. You'd really suffer his rath if you touched his bone.

 

 

Yeh, I know, wasn't really worth the effort.

[Det Jim McLeod]

It seems that Americans, for both the spice and Rathbone's first name, say Bay-sil (rhyming with Hazel) and the British say Baz-il (rhyming with dazzle).

I first noticed this when I first saw "Fawlty Towers" with the character Basil Fawlty. Even though I am American I always pronounce it the British way. 

[Det Jim McLeod]

1 hour ago, TomJH said:

If you want to know how Rathbone pronounced his own name, here you go . .

Wow, I never would think he was a beer drinker. He seemed more of a champagne and caviar type of guy.

[TomJH]

2 minutes ago, Det Jim McLeod said:

Wow, I never would think he was a beer drinker. He seemed more of a champagne and caviar type of guy.

Basil was having a tough time with income in his later years. Why else would he be doing this commercial? One starts drinking beer when you can no longer afford the champagne.

[Det Jim McLeod]

3 minutes ago, TomJH said:

Basil was having a tough time with income in his later years.

Yes, I heard about that. I guess that's why he accepted the part in "Hillbillies In A Haunted House"

[TomJH]

17 minutes ago, Det Jim McLeod said:

Yes, I heard about that. I guess that's why he accepted the part in "Hillbillies In A Haunted House"

Basil's wife Ouida liked to live a lavish lifestyle (they hosted some legendary Hollywood parties during the '30s), and Rathbone indulged her. Many blame his wife for the financial woes he later suffered, combined, of course, with a movie industry no longer really interested in his services.

The Rathbones' 11th wedding anniversary party, with guests showing up in costume:

Here's Basil pouring a bottle for Gary Cooper on another occasion and, yup, that's champagne coming out of that bottle, not beer.

Rathbone, the gracious host, kissing Annabella's hand at another of his parties:

[limey]

2 hours ago, Det Jim McLeod said:

It seems that Americans, for both the spice and Rathbone's first name, say Bay-sil (rhyming with Hazel) and the British say Baz-il (rhyming with dazzle).

I first noticed this when I first saw "Fawlty Towers" with the character Basil Fawlty. Even though I am American I always pronounce it the British way. 

 

 

[Ray Faiola]

Short 'a' on Basil. Radio broadcasts confirm.

[sagebrush]

6 hours ago, Sepiatone said:

I always liked BASIL RATHBONE.  It goes back to when I was little( but old enough to know how to read) and saw his name on the label of an old 78rpm record of PETER AND THE WOLF as the man it was, "narrated by". 

Hey Sepiatone, how's this for memories?

 

[Vautrin]

Maybe he should have split the difference and gone with Champale.

[Dargo]

7 hours ago, TomJH said:

Basil was having a tough time with income in his later years. Why else would he be doing this commercial? One starts drinking beer when you can no longer afford the champagne.

Yep! However, word was that those two distinguished British actors with such memorably distinctive voices, Basil here and James Mason, threw some of the very BEST beer and wine BYOB parties west of La Brea Avenue!

(...well, as long as you stayed away from that crappy Leisy beer that Basil brought, and of course that foul-tasting Thunderbird wine that James brought, anyway)

[TomJH]

1 minute ago, Dargo said:

Yep! However, word was that those two distinguished British actors with such memorably distinctive voices, Basil here and James Mason, threw some of the very BEST beer and wine parties west of La Brea Avenue!

(...well, as long as you stayed away from that crappy Leisy beer that Basil brought, and of course that foul-tasting Thunderbird wine that James brought, anyway)

It's rather sad seeing two such distinguished actors reduced to doing beer or wine commercials. But a person's gotta eat.

[Dargo]

1 minute ago, TomJH said:

It's rather sad seeing two such distinguished actors reduced to doing beer or wine commercials. But a person's gotta eat.

Hmmm..."reduced to doing beer and wine commercials" ya say, Tom ol' boy?!

So then, what's Eddie Muller's excuse for doin' these things on TCM then, dude???

(...HE looks like HE'S eatin' pretty well lately, wouldn't ya say?!!!)

LOL

[TomJH]

3 minutes ago, Dargo said:

Hmmm..."reduced to doing beer and wine commercials" ya say, Tom ol' boy?!

So then, what's Eddie Muller's excuse for doin' these things on TCM then, dude???

(...HE looks like HE'S eatin' pretty well lately, wouldn't ya say?!!!)

LOL

He might be eating well but, otherwise, the King of Noir has been reduced.

[rosebette]

13 hours ago, TomJH said:

If you want to know how Rathbone pronounced his own name, here you go . . .

 

He makes beer sound so elegant!

 

[sewhite2000]

6 hours ago, TomJH said:

It's rather sad seeing two such distinguished actors reduced to doing beer or wine commercials. But a person's gotta eat.

No one has mentioned Orson Welles doing Ernst & Julio Gallo commercials? When I was a child, there were exactly three things I knew Welles for: The Muppet Movie, wine commercials and Dark Tower commercials, which looked to me like the coolest game ever invented but somehow never got it. I didn't see Citizen Kane until I was a freshman in college and took a history of film class, in which we were required to attend weekly screenings, and it was the very first film shown that semester.

[EricJ]

11 hours ago, sewhite2000 said:

No one has mentioned Orson Welles doing Ernst & Julio Gallo commercials? When I was a child, there were exactly three things I knew Welles for: The Muppet Movie, wine commercials and Dark Tower commercials, which looked to me like the coolest game ever invented

Got surprised with it one Christmas...It was.    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo43hFP8nqc

(At least, before computer screens came along, and our electronic toys didn't have to have blinking LED lights.)

Quote

but somehow never got it. I didn't see Citizen Kane until I was a freshman in college and took a history of film class, in which we were required to attend weekly screenings, and it was the very first film shown that semester.

I'll see your wine commercials and your Standard Rich & Famous Contract, and raise you Welles constantly voiceover-ing cheap tabloid documentaries like "The Late Great Planet Earth", or doing host-intros for PBS and syndicated film series, where he's rather visibly had a bit too much of the Gallo.Naturally, I associated Welles with "Washed-up star", as there were quite a few of in the 70's, and I never saw the appeal until watching Citizen Kane in college.  After the "I'll probably go bankrupt in, oh...70 years?" scene, it is forever impossible to think of Welles as uncool.

[EricJ]

As for:

14 hours ago, TomJH said:

Imagine if you named a dog Basil. You'd really suffer his rath if you touched his bone.

there is this (in honor of Basil in Bert I. Gordon's "The Magic Sword"), also debatably worth the joke effort:

(Note the culinary use of "Bay-sil".)

[Sepiatone]

Y'know, after my mentioning MORE THAN ONCE that my PC will for some reason no longer allow me to access YouTube or see and "click" on to YouTube clips, the posting of such clips in answer to my query really serves NO useful purpose.

So, TomJH, what was that clip supposed to show?

And what "memory" was in YOUR clip, SAGEBRUSH?

Sepiatone

[TomJH]

12 minutes ago, Sepiatone said:

Y'know, after my mentioning MORE THAN ONCE that my PC will for some reason no longer allow me to access YouTube or see and "click" on to YouTube clips, the posting of such clips in answer to my query really serves NO useful purpose.

So, TomJH, what was that clip supposed to show?

And what "memory" was in YOUR clip, SAGEBRUSH?

Sepiatone

Sorry, Sepia, you may think the whole board knows you can't view You Tube views but some of us here don't know that.

In the video Rathbone introduces himself by name.

He pronounces his first name "Baz-il," not "Bay-sil."

 

[Sepiatone]

Well more know about it NOW, I suppose.

And thanks for the info. 

Sepiatone

[TomJH]

I created a tribute thread to Rathbone several years ago which had a fair amount of feedback. There are writeups on his career, as well as a few insights into his life. Here it is for those interested.