This article first appeared in THE DANVILLE BEE, JULY 20 1922. Ouida Bergere was married to her second (or third) husband, George FitzMaurice. Click on pdf button to download a copy of the original articleWell, those who have been following the eventful career of Basil’s second wife, the incomparable Ouida, will probably not be too surprised that this was a concept she stood by. But for the record, we now have it in writing. “Fight your husband and win success” says Ouida.
Indeed.
Click on the button above to download a pdf of the original article from 1922. She wouldn’t meet Basil for another year and wouldn’t marry him him for another four years, but we can guess her philosophy didn’t change too much over time.
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The Baz 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AGQ-322-Vintage-Photo-Basil-Rathbone-in-Twelve-Hours-of-Love-/331185214605?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item4d1c2d548d#ht_3129wt_1238 12 hours to love?
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Twelve Hours of Love was the original title (or perhaps a working title) for the movie that was eventually called This Mad World (1930).
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I wondered about that. thanks..humm 12 hours of love with Basil …sounds better every time i hear it. love the tights pic from JB the whole “tude” in the pic.
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Aww bless that hat!
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another new to me also gots Leslie Howard and a good one of Ronald Coleman http://www.ebay.com/itm/Greer-Garson-Vivien-Leigh-Leslie-Howard-Basil-Rathbone-8×10-rare-1939-photo-/261466538031?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item3ce09ec02f#ht_295wt_1238
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lookie a new pic new to me any how. what ya think? JB ? http://www.ebay.com/itm/A9-1959-Movie-Star-Basil-Rathbone-Tattered-Clothes-Post-Battle-Original-Photo-/351031365565?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item51bb198fbd#ht_1010wt_1105 not a bad figuer for a man of 67 either.
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another this ones a bit strange it looks like he’s sniffing there hair http://www.ebay.com/itm/THE-MAD-DOCTOR-ELLEN-DREW-BASIL-RATHBONE-JOHN-HOWARD-original-1940-movie-still-/121334682801?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item1c401c54b1#ht_72wt_1001 http://www.ebay.com/itm/BASIL-RATHBONE-THE-MAD-DOCTOR-8×10-PHOTO-/131154970281?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item1e897206a9#ht_1525wt_1001 dif to me too http://www.ebay.com/itm/Basil-Rathbone-Make-A-Wish-VINTAGE-Photo-/360652064158?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item53f889c59e#ht_109wt_1001 I liked ebay better when every thing didnt come up titled $57 and you now have to think of a title for everthing you save.
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That photo is from the play J.B. The tattered clothes were part of the costume.
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Woah……sudden ONSLAUGHT -o- comments!! 😮
Love the BR contract & letter—it must feel great to own something SO personal of his.
I have an original headshot photo and 1940s paycheck-stub from Shemp Howard of the “Three Stooges”, which his granddaughter Sandie sent me as “thanks” for some portraits I painted of him (back in the early 2000s) for she and her sister, Jill.
I’m also blessed to have a handwritten letter I received several years ago from the recently-deceased “Sherlock Holmes” PBS series actor Edward Hardwicke (son of actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke)—which was sent in response to my letter asking him about how I might contact the families of his (and his dad’s) old buddies Basil Rathbone, and Vincent Price; as well as that of his co-star and friend, Jeremy Brett.
These items are more precious than gold to me, because these PEOPLE are. It’s nice knowing they’re all together, again. 🙂
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Sudden onslaught of coments.. yes I was begening to feel like Mikufan and i were orphans.Isnt it lovely how frendily a lot of “famous” people are.Most celebs I have met are verry nice.i think I’ve mwntioned the few outstanding stinkers b4 and wont dewel on them now.Afraid If I got any thing Basil owned signed or touched i’d have to go all fangirlie and kiss it and pet it to peices.
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Yup, that’s what I’m like with Basil’s old book. Yup.
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I have to admit I get a little giddy knowing that Basil actually touched the contract and the letter. I can almost see him sitting at his desk as he wrote the letter, gathering his thoughts as he put pen to paper. Sigh … I feel very fortunate to have them both. Rest assured they are both fondly taken care of.
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Wonder if Baz’s family ever read the “Real” deal?Or the “Real” diary?Saw Baz’s real love last nite in a movie,she really was multi-talented and beautiful!Rereading some of her interviews on Baz,she was truly a lady to put up with the shrew he married,and I can’t believe how deranged it was meeting with X’s husband to “tell all”.No wonder he was afraid of what her big yap would tell the scandalmongers if he left her.Hope there’s a special place in H-E-double toothpicks for “the love of Baz’s money-I mean life”!
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Your money or your life..ah wife. now take my wife ..please..thank you Locksle Mendoza..
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speaking of “you know who” and her blog..i lost the link when i had to get a new compuker..so i havent checked in about a month but last time i did her page was all ready and set to “reveal’ Basils “diary”. Hummmm. has not and in my humble op. wont happen.Perhaps she has developed a Justin Beaver crush and dithered off. to anoy his fans…one can hope. oh and what IS that about the commie party h.q. stuff on the side bar?
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“You know who” hasn’t written anything on her blog since last November.
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Just as a highly suspected..can i say it ..no loss.
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well i guess it meens we 3 [kings of orient r..now stop that!] have less ladies we have to share our lovie with. 😛
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Not to fear. No way I’m giving up The Baz for any other BR blog, especially not for “You Know Who’s”. This is where it’s at. I visit every day to see what’s happening. I hope everyone is well, especially our Blog Hostess with the Mostest.
I’m going to gloat (just a little) about the two original BR documents I have acquired, the possession of which was made possible by a very generous end of the year bonus from my boss. I’d love to share them with all of you kindred Basil lovers, but I can’t make anything paste here. Nothing earth-shattering, but interesting nonetheless. Perhaps I should send them to Marcia at basilrathbone.net and she can make them available to everyone here.
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You are welcome to send your documents my way (gisbourne@basilrathbone.net) and I will find a way to share with everyone! I’m curious now to know what you bought. (Not the infamous–fictitious?– diary, I presume!)
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Fortunately the infamous “diary” is not one of them. I may be old, but not completely dotty yet! I will gladly send both of the document to you to share as you wish. BTW I love your website. So many great things about dear Baz. The photo galleries are quite exceptional.
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Here’s one of the items that Landra acquired: a contract signed by BR to perform in a radio play for The Theatre Guild. I’ll post the other one later.
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And here is the other item that Landra bought, a letter from BR to a Mr. Brandt. Although it is undated, it must be from the early 1950s. BR lived at the address on the letter from 1950 to 1954.
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Thanks for posting the links to the contract and letter. Of course you are welcome to make them both an addition to the basilrathbone.net collection of all things BR.
The contract I pretty much stole in an E-Bay auction. I love the handwritten insertion at the end of paragraph #1. A little BR ego showing?
The handwritten letter was purchased from a German/Swiss autograph dealer and was never listed on E-Bay. I had to do a little research before I purchased it. First, I wasn’t familiar with the address BR used in the letter. After checking my go-to Mary Sandman letters I found one written in 1951 using the same address. After a Google search, I found that this was a pretty posh place. Second, I wasn’t familiar with the “Vincent Starrett” referenced in the postscript. Another Google search revealed that this gentleman was quite the Sherlockian scholar. What I would have given to have gotten the enclosures BR mentions in the PS. Third, I did a final search to try and determine who Mr. Brandt might be. When I searched on “Rathbone and Brandt”, lo and behold it led me to your website. There I found a Martin Brandt listed as a cast member in OR’s ill-fated Sherlock play. Martin Brandt was a well known German actor and played in some really A-list films. It seems likely to me that it was Martin Brandt that BR was writing to, especially in light of the fact that the letter was purchased from a German/Swiss dealer. If BR was scouting for cast members, I would date the letter as 1951 or 1952. For all of dear Basil’s protestations about Sherlock Holmes, it seems he knew which side his bread had been buttered on for quite a few years! I was a bit puzzled by the two Sacramento entries after the signature. It suddenly dawned on me that telephone numbers used to be listed that way, including my own phone when I was a kid. We won’t go into how long ago that was! I love the reference to Cynthia and Spence School at the close of the letter. I think BR was “sucking up” just a tad. I had a great time doing all of the searching prior to my purchase. Always something new to learn.
Thanks again for taking the time to post the links and I hope some of our other Baz followers enjoy the contract and letter as much as I do.
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Thanks, Landra! Hey, I remember phone numbers like BR’s number. When I was a little girl, our phone number was Yorkshire 8 (plus 4 numbers). When we moved to another state, our number became Lawrence 5 (plus 4 numbers).
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wow are we all that old? ours was Tempel 2 -4479.often shortened to te2. My Dads work phone was Glendale-2-6555 call it if you like but unlees you have a phone in your tardis no one will answer.Dont you wish we could call Basil.
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i’m back whered every body go?
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I’m not sure, Countess……seems like it’s just been you, me, Mikufan and Ellen checking-in, lately. Maybe everyone ELSE out there went on a temporary “Baz-vacation”, or found another Basil blog-site to infest—hopefully not “You Know Who’s”—perish the thought! 😮
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IKR? It’s post-apocalyptic Basilness.
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🙂 HAPPY * EASTER!!! 🙂
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Is it me or does the king from ‘Frozen’ look a little bit like Basil? o_o I only just spotted it myself. (And maybe I can see a little bit of Errol Flynn there aswell?…)
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I can totally see it. I want to watch the movie again now. The Queen doesn’t look much like Ouida though 😆
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I’m still having compuker ishues that fancy new laptop froze up on me the day after I got it. cant imagen what I did wrong? Has no instruction book. have to call my computer geek pal. fraid to put the old one back on the net as its xp and @#^&ing Microsoft wont support my browser any longer so no sucrety stuff gerr Microsoft may they rot and burn in hades! yes I mean that and worse… but like Auntie Em..being a Christian woman..I cant say it! So till I figure out all the prob. with a laptop[read that alian unit] to me i’ll be MIA awhile..mabey new stuff while i’m gone.
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Hello there kind Rathbonians! (^0^)/
I’ve not been here a while because I’ve been away from home, just figured I should just let you know that I’m still coping with Rathbone-obsession disorder. (Not that it’s a bad thing to cope with! :3)
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Love the Rathbone-obsession disorder,not a bad type of OCD,as it’s not considered anti-social.RIP,Mr Rooney,you were one-of-a-kind!Both Shirley Temple and Mickey so close together.
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Oh BTW, Found these Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce that I thought were pretty cute.
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hope you had a good time
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Thanks! ^_^
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Found out that Ark divorce records are on line well the index is..unfourtunly not before 1923..but take hart maby they will get them further back too.Does anybody know WHERE Fitz married Weedy? His citz papers say in 1910 unmarried but 2nd ones in 1917 say he’s + to eula. But I cant find any wedding for them anyplace…when they lived in la he gives wife name as eula burgess fitzmaurice. her paspourt said she lived at great nick long island so i checked Ny La and Il and Ark no luck. courious? How tall is Weedy? Geo is only 5 foot and a half Man he’s even shorter then me.and I’m an elf.
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I’m a giant, I’m about 5ft 9. :O
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Cool. Love to be that tall. I’m only 5ft 5.
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I’m almost 5′ 7″……by age 11, I was already 5′ 2″—most people thought I was in high school! 😮
BTW, what’s with these “new” emoticon cartoon faces?? I kind-of liked the old ones better…they were less…blurry. 😉
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I know that feel! *Comforting tall-girl hug* I had teenage boys wolf whistling at me when I was like, twelve. xD
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Even weirder—because I never aged beyond puberty (both physically OR mentally), I STILL get tween and teen boys “checking me out” at stores/theme-parks/events, etc. when I’m in public; acting all “shy” around me, flirting and stuff—I’ll be 39 in July!! 😮
One afternoon, I went to the bank to cash a check. There were no other customers, and the ONLY available teller (the rest were on break or something) was this cute teen guy—he was SO taken with me, he just smiled and handed-over the money without asking for my ID or even a signature! I brought this to his attention, and he looked pretty embarrassed…then giggled nervously and said something clever, like: “Oh, it’s no big deal. I can trust you”. I made sure he followed the correct protocol anyway, so he wouldn’t get in trouble or lose his job. He was thankful I’d caught his mistake……it’s a good thing no one ELSE was around. 🙂
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Thats kinda funny because at the bank i go to the only tellers that ask you for id are realy new ones.And the custmers get huffy if there asked for idgot a new compuker not sure i like? it huge learning curve even the keyboard is dif the keys are in dif places that def. improve my spelling..lol oh and i’m a huge tall 5foot 1 i told you i was a elf.
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I’ve been thinking…
There are supposedly “more than 1900 followers” on this blog, yet it seems the SAME 4-5 of us are “regular” commenters most of the time. I guess everyone’s BORED right now, ’cause there’s no “juicy” Baz gossip being tossed-about.
Hmmm……whatever.
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BREAKING NEWS—
Mickey Rooney just died, at age 93. 😦
He was a pretty special little fella………I know Basil’s been waiting a long, LONG time to fervently shake his hand without letting-go and talk his ears off, again! (If you watch that YouTube ’50s game-show clip from “The Name’s the Same”, you’ll see what I mean.) 😉
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my Dad HATED!!! with a passion!!! Mick Rooney.Unsure why? Possibal run in with him if he did USO in 1940s.
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The blog gets about 200 visitors a day even when there’s nothing new here!
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It feels good knowing SO many people still love and remember Basil, and want to learn more about his life by coming to this site.
I like to check-in here a few times a day myself, just to see what’s up…it’s fun to read all the older posts and info. from past months, as well. Occasionally, I’ll find something really intriguing I’d missed from a while back. There’s ALWAYS great stuff on “The Baz”! 🙂
BTW, I received a letter from my longtime friend/pen-pal Saxon Sitka (son of the late “Three Stooges” character-actor Emil Sitka), yesterday. He’s in the process of publishing a book regarding his father’s work in the Stooges shorts, and mentioned that I’ll be receiving one of the FIRST copies as a gift for being a loyal supporter of his dad these past many years. What a NICE GUY!! I think I’ll tell Saxon all about this blog, so he can enjoy it, too. Who knows…maybe Basil and Emil were acquainted with one-another during their acting careers. That would be pretty COOL. I don’t yet have the name of the new book, but he said it might be finished (perhaps released?) by the end of this year—so, all you Stooges fans, be on the look-out! 😉
Here’s Saxon’s tribute-website to his father: http://www.emilsitka.com/
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all my x-s live in Texas ..that’s why I live in tenn.[she lied]
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Maybe she was Golden Gloves Champ.Doubt fight your husband was meant literally.Bogie called Mayo “Sluggie”,wonder what OR’s exes from Texas (just a take on that C&W classic) would’ve said.Wait for it,wait for it-Hello,realbasilrathbone.wordpress
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With you on that. I doubt she started with Fitz…Rember that stuff she told Basil about her being.a battered wife?And i suggested that mabey it was the other way around? Sticking to my guns.I wish I had access to her hometown paper back in Sercey or the LittleRock one which is likely bigger.She could hide that sorta thing back then now with access to lots of records and the like..Miss party mavens lies are comeing to the for[or 5] “Truth Is The Daughter Of Time”.
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Glad everything is a little better.Usedto work too many hours,too,never knowing when I’d get called in at last minute to pick up time someone else never should have taken on.As for OR fighting husbands,doubt she started with George,seemed to be Heavyweight champ of all wives.Who knows,maybe she broke Baz’s nose ,she sure seemed to like to break something to try to dominate his life,ie,it was a very contentious marriage and not as she portrayed in IAOOC.Why else would she deny him friendship with Chris Plummer?What harm was there in that friendship,or closer ties with his son and grandkids.
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Welcome Back. Glad Your on the top side of the grass.Happy St. Pats Day To All. Most of it came through as unreadable..but “wild tempermental latin” WEEDY? well the first 2 were right. Thats probly a AP release may turn up in other papers I’ll look localy for a clearer copy. Not before the Weekend ..My job gets in the way sometimes too. Le Sigh.
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Lovely to have you back! I visit every day and have been hoping it was a temporary lull. This blog is Basil Mecca for so many of us!!!
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