Nigel Bruce

2025-08-23T04:35:17Z

2001:8003:2640:F600:6C6A:9DED:8F1F:2445:

{{Short description|British actor (1895–1953)}}
{{About|2=the South African journalist and politician|3=Nigel Bruce (journalist)|4=the 13th-century aristocrat|5=Nigel de Brus}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Nigel Bruce
| image = Nigel Bruce in The Last of Mrs Cheyney trailer.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Bruce in ''[[The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937 film)|The Last of Mrs. Cheyney]]'' (1937)
| birth_name = William Nigel Ernle Bruce
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1895|02|04|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Ensenada, Baja California]], Mexico
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1953|10|08|1895|02|04|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| resting_place = [[Chapel of the Pines Crematory]]
| citizenship = British
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1920–1953
| relatives = {{ubl|[[Sir Michael Bruce, 11th Baronet]] (brother)|[[Julian Gilbey]] (great-grandson)|[[Will Gilbey]] (great-grandson)}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Violet Pauline Shelton|1921}}
| children = 2
}}

'''William Nigel Ernle Bruce''' (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was a British [[character actor]] on stage and screen.<ref>Obituary ''[[Variety Obituaries|Variety]]'', 14 October 1953.</ref> He was best known for his portrayal of [[Dr. Watson]] in a [[Sherlock Holmes (1939 film series)|series of films]] and in the radio series ''[[The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]'', starring alongside [[Basil Rathbone]] as [[Sherlock Holmes]] in both. Bruce is also remembered for his roles in the [[Alfred Hitchcock]] films [[Rebecca (1940 film)|''Rebecca'']] and [[Suspicion (1941 film)|''Suspicion'']], as well as [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s ''[[Limelight (1952 film)|Limelight]]'' and the original [[Lassie]] film ''[[Lassie Come Home]]''.

==Early life==
[[File:Bruce, William Nigel Ernle (1895-1953) - cricket first team 1912.jpg|thumb|Bruce pictured in the Abingdon School first XI cricket team in 1912]]
Bruce was the second son of Sir William Waller Bruce, [[Bruce baronets#Bruce baronets, of Stenhouse (1628)|10th Baronet]] and his wife Angelica, Lady Bruce, daughter of General George Selby, [[Royal Artillery]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.victorianresearch.org/atcl/show_author.php?aid=2356 |title= Author: Angelica Mary Selby |author= |date= |website= Victorian Research |publisher= |access-date= July 22, 2025 |quote=}}</ref> He was born in [[Ensenada, Baja California|Ensenada]], [[Baja California]], Mexico, while his parents were touring the world.<ref name="js">{{cite news |title=Nigel Bruce-Dr. Watson To You, In 'Sherlock Holmes' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99856956/nigel-bruce/ |access-date=16 April 2022 |work=The Jackson Sun |date=3 November 1946 |page=12|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> His older brother was the author and adventurer [[Sir Michael Bruce, 11th Baronet|Sir Michael Bruce]].

He received his formal education at The Grange School in [[Stevenage]], and from 1908 to 1912 at [[Abingdon School]] in [[Abingdon-on-Thames]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abingdon.org.uk/uploads/school/flipping/SchoolRegister/files/assets/basic-html/index.html#page259|title=Register|publisher=Abingdon School}}</ref> 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 the [[City of London]].<ref>Abingdon School register entry for Bruce.</ref> In early 1914, while working in the City he voluntarily enlisted in the [[British Army]]'s [[Territorial Force]] as an [[infantry]] soldier with the [[Honourable Artillery Company]] as its Private #852. On the outbreak of [[World War I]] in early August 1914, he was [[mobilised]] with the regiment, and went out to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] with its 1st Battalion on 18 September 1914 at the age of 19.<ref>Bruce's WW1 Medal Index Card, The National Archive, Kew, Surrey, England. Archive document code: WO 372/3/140620.</ref> On 5 January 1915, while in trenches at [[Kemmel]] 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 in [[Cambridge]], subsequently receiving a commission in January 1917, as a [[Subaltern (military)|subaltern]] with the 10th (Service) Battalion, of the [[Somerset 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.<ref>'Famous 1914–1918', by Richard Van Emden & Vic Piuk (Pub. Pen & Sword, 2009).</ref>

==Career==
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's [[Comedy Theatre]] as a [[footman]] in the play ''[[Why Marry?]]''. In October of 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 in the same role. He appeared regularly on-stage thereafter, and 8 years later began working in silent films. In 1926 he made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut as Major Evelyn Bathurst in [[Noël Coward]] ''[[This Was a Man]]''. He returned to Broadway several times during the 1930s, portraying Philip Downes in [[Ronald Jeans]]'s ''[[Lean Harvest]]'' (1931), Mr. Jelliwell in [[Benn W. Levy]]'s ''Springtime for Henry'' (1931–1932), His Excellency, Governor of the Colony in [[Arthur Schwartz]]'s ''[[Virginia (operetta)|Virginia]]'' (1937),<ref>{{cite news |title=THE PLAY: 'Virginia' Opens the Season With a Large Musical Drama at the Center Theatre Theatre Units' Plays Tonight|author=[[Brooks Atkinson]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=3 September 1937|page=13}}</ref> and [[W. S. Gilbert]] in [[Oscar Hammerstein II]]'s ''Knights of Song'' (1938).<ref>{{cite magazine|title=New Plays on Broadway – 51ST STREET|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=50|issue=45|date=5 November 1938|pages=17–18}}</ref> He reprised this final role in the film ''[[Lillian Russell (film)|Lillian Russell]]'' (1940).

In 1934, he had moved to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], 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, including ''[[Treasure Island (1934 film)|Treasure Island]]'' (1934), ''[[The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936 film)|The Charge of the Light Brigade]]'' (1936), ''[[Rebecca (1940 film)|Rebecca]]'' (1940), and ''[[Suspicion (1941 film)|Suspicion]]'' (1941).

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

==Dr. Watson==
[[File:Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942) 1.jpg|thumb|right|L. to R.: Nigel Bruce, [[Evelyn Ankers]], and Basil Rathbone from the film [[Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror]] (1942)]]
Bruce's career signature role was that of Dr. Watson in [[Sherlock Holmes (1939 film series)|the 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 of ''[[The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]''.<ref name="sherlockiana">{{cite book |author=Matthew E. Bunson |title=Encyclopedia Sherlockiana |year=1997 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |page=38 |isbn=0-02-861679-0 }}</ref> 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".{{r|sherlockiana}}) [[Loren D. Estleman]] wrote of Bruce:

{{Blockquote|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.<ref>Estleman, Loren D., "On the Significance of Boswells," introduction to ''Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories Volume I'', Bantam Classic, page vii, {{ISBN|0-553-21241-9}}</ref>}}

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".{{sfn|Parkinson|2004}} Historian [[Alan Barnes (writer)|Alan 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".{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=256}} 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-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==
Bruce was married, from 1921 until his death, to British actress Violet Campbell (née Violet Pauline Shelton<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001180/19700115/146/0017 |title=DEATH - VIOLET CAMPBELL |date=12 January 1970 }}</ref>) 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]];<ref>{{cite web |url= https://historicimages.com/products/mja17525 |title= 1946 Press Photo Mrs Jennifer Bruce Gould appears in Superior Court - Divorce |author= |date= |website= Historic Images |publisher= |access-date= July 22, 2025 |quote=}}</ref>

* Pauline, married in 1946 the British flying ace [[Geoffrey Page|Alan Geoffrey Page]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/PageAG.htm |title= The Airmen's Stories - F/O A G Page |author= |date= |website= Battle of Britain Monument|publisher= |access-date= July 22, 2025 |quote=}}</ref>

He was also a second cousin of the Canadian actor [[Christopher Plummer]].<ref>{{harvnb|Plummer|2008|p=63}}</ref>

==Later life==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2022}}

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]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4V6bR2X86Z077q2JBVHZcp/the-story-behind-the-glamorous-hollywood-cricket-club |title= The story behind the glamorous Hollywood Cricket Club |author= |date= |website= BBC |publisher= |access-date= July 22, 2025 |quote=}}</ref> 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 of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]],<ref>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/24024%7C117568/Nigel-Bruce/ Turner Classic Movies]</ref> in [[Santa Monica, California]] in 1953 at the age of 58. His body was subsequently cremated, with his ashes being placed in a niche at the [[Chapel of the Pines Crematory]] in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]].<ref>'Famous 1914–1918', by Richard Van Emden & Vic Piuk (Pub. Pen & Sword, 2009).</ref>

In 1947 he began writing an autobiography entitled ''Games, Gossip and Greasepaint'', which is unpublished; however, excerpts have been printed in the ''Sherlock Holmes Journal'', and these have been posted online with permission.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fanning |first=Stuart (poster) |date=Winter 1998 |editor-last=Utechin |editor-first=Nick |title=Excerpts from ''Games, Gossip and Greasepaint''|url=http://scarletstreet.yuku.com/topic/1101/t/Games-Gossip-and-Greasepaint-Nigel-Bruce-s-Autobiography.html |journal=Sherlock Holmes Journal |volume=19 |issue=1 |access-date=12 August 2007}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col"| Title
! scope="col"| Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Notes
|-
| 1922 || ''[[Flames of Passion]]'' || Undetermined minor role || Uncredited
|-
| rowspan=4|1930 || {{sort|Squeaker|''[[The Squeaker (1930 film)|The Squeaker]]''}} || Collie ||
|-
| ''[[Escape (1930 film)|Escape]]'' || Constable ||
|-
| ''[[Red Aces]]'' || Kinsfeather, T. B. ||
|-
| ''[[Birds of Prey (1930 film)|Birds of Prey]]'' || Major ||
|-
| 1931 || {{sort|Calendar|''[[The Calendar (1931 film)|The Calendar]]''}} || Lord Willie Panniford ||
|-
| rowspan=2|1932 || ''[[Lord Camber's Ladies]]'' || Lord Camber ||
|-
| {{sort|Midshipmaid|''[[The Midshipmaid]]''}} || Major Spink ||
|-
| rowspan=2|1933 || ''[[I Was a Spy]]'' || Scottie ||
|-
| ''[[Channel Crossing]]'' || Nigel Guthrie ||
|-
| rowspan=7|1934 || ''[[Coming Out Party]]'' || Troon, the Butler ||
|-
| ''[[Stand Up and Cheer!]]'' || Eustis Dinwiddle ||
|-
| ''[[Murder in Trinidad]]'' || Bertram Lynch ||
|-
| {{sort|Lady Is Willing|''[[The Lady Is Willing (1934 film)|The Lady Is Willing]]''}} || Welton ||
|-
| ''[[Treasure Island (1934 film)|Treasure Island]]'' || [[Squire Trelawney]] ||
|-
| ''[[Springtime for Henry]]'' || Johnny Jewlliwell ||
|-
| {{sort|Scarlet Pimpernel|''[[The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934 film)|The Scarlet Pimpernel]]''}} || [[George IV of the United Kingdom|The Prince of Wales]] ||
|-
| rowspan=4|1935 || ''[[Becky Sharp (film)|Becky Sharp]]'' || Joseph Sedley ||
|-
| ''[[She (1935 film)|She]]'' || Horace Holly ||
|-
| ''[[Jalna (film)|Jalna]]'' || Maurice Vaughn ||
|-
| {{sort|Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo|''[[The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo (film)|The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo]]''}} || Ivan ||
|-
| rowspan=6|1936 || {{sort|Trail of the Lonesome Pine|''[[The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936 film)|The Trail of the Lonesome Pine]]''}} || Major Thurber ||
|-
| ''[[Under Two Flags (1936 film)|Under Two Flags]]'' || Capt. Menzies ||
|-
| {{sort|White Angel|''[[The White Angel (1936 film)|The White Angel]]''}} || Dr. West ||
|-
| ''[[Follow Your Heart (1936 film)|Follow Your Heart]]'' || Henri Forrester ||
|-
| {{sort|Charge of the Light Brigade|''[[The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936 film)|The Charge of the Light Brigade]]''}} || Sir Benjamin Warrenton ||
|-
| {{sort|Man I Marry|''[[The Man I Marry]]''}} || Robert Hartley ||
|-
| rowspan=2|1937 || ''[[Thunder in the City]]'' || Duke of Glenavon ||
|-
| {{sort|Last of Mrs. Cheyney|''[[The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937 film)|The Last of Mrs. Cheyney]]''}} || Lord Willie Winton ||
|-
| rowspan=3|1938 || {{sort|Baroness and the Butler|''[[The Baroness and the Butler]]''}} || Major Andros ||
|-
| ''[[Kidnapped (1938 film)|Kidnapped]]'' || Neil MacDonald ||
|-
| ''[[Suez (film)|Suez]]'' || Sir Malcolm Cameron ||
|-
| rowspan=3|1939 || bgcolor=#F5F5DC|{{Sort|Hound of the Baskervilles|''[[The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939 film)|The Hound of the Baskervilles]]''}} || bgcolor=#F5F5DC|[[Dr. Watson|Dr. John H. Watson]] || bgcolor=#F5F5DC|
|- bgcolor=#F5F5DC
| {{sort|Adventures of Sherlock Holmes|''[[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (film)|The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]''}} || Dr. John H. Watson ||
|-
| {{sort|Rains Came|''[[The Rains Came]]''}} || Lord Albert Esketh ||
|-
| rowspan=6|1940 || {{sort|Blue Bird|''[[The Blue Bird (1940 film)|The Blue Bird]]''}} || Mr. Luxury ||
|-
| ''[[Adventure in Diamonds]]'' || Col. J. W. Lansfield ||
|-
| ''[[Rebecca (1940 film)|Rebecca]]'' || Major Giles Lacy ||
|-
| ''[[Lillian Russell (film)|Lillian Russell]]'' || [[W. S. Gilbert]] ||
|-
| ''[[Susan and God]]'' || Hutchins Stubbs ||
|-
| ''{{Sort|Dispatch from Reuters|[[A Dispatch from Reuters]]}}'' || Sir Randolph Persham ||
|-
| rowspan=6|1941 || ''[[Hudson's Bay (film)|Hudson's Bay]]'' || Prince Rupert ||
|-
| ''[[Play Girl (1941 film)|Play Girl]]'' || William McDonald Vincent ||
|-
| ''[[Free and Easy (1941 film)|Free and Easy]]'' || Florian Clemington ||
|-
| ''[[This Woman Is Mine]]'' || Duncan MacDougall ||
|-
| {{sort|Chocolate Soldier|''[[The Chocolate Soldier (film)|The Chocolate Soldier]]''}} || Bernard Fischer, Critic ||
|-
| ''[[Suspicion (1941 film)|Suspicion]]'' || Gordon Cochrane 'Beaky' Thwaite ||
|-
| rowspan=6|1942 || ''[[Roxie Hart (film)|Roxie Hart]]'' || E. Clay Benham ||
|-
| ''[[This Above All (film)|This Above All]]'' || Ramsbottom ||
|-
| ''[[Eagle Squadron (film)|Eagle Squadron]]'' || McKinnon ||
|- bgcolor=#F5F5DC
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror]]'' || Dr. John H. Watson ||
|-
| ''[[Journey for Margaret]]'' || Herbert V. Allison ||
|- bgcolor=#F5F5DC
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon]]'' || Dr. John H. Watson ||
|-
| rowspan=6|1943 || ''[[Forever and a Day (1943 film)|Forever and a Day]]'' || Maj. Garrow ||
|- bgcolor=#F5F5DC
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes in Washington]]'' || Dr. John H. Watson ||
|- bgcolor=#F5F5DC
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes Faces Death]]'' || Dr. John H. Watson ||
|-
| ''[[Lassie Come Home]]'' || Duke of Rudling ||
|-
| ''[[Crazy House (1943 film)|Crazy House]]'' || Dr. John H. Watson || Cameo
|- bgcolor=#F5F5DC
| {{sort|Spider Woman|''[[The Spider Woman]]''}} || Dr. John H. Watson ||
|-
| rowspan=5|1944 || ''[[Follow the Boys (1944 film)|Follow the Boys]]'' || Himself || Uncredited
|- bgcolor=#F5F5DC
| {{sort|Scarlet Claw|''[[The Scarlet Claw]]''}} || Dr. John H. Watson ||
|- bgcolor=#F5F5DC
| {{sort|Pearl of Death|''[[The Pearl of Death]]''}} || Dr. John H. Watson ||
|-
| ''[[Gypsy Wildcat]]'' || High Sheriff ||
|-
| ''[[Frenchman's Creek (film)|Frenchman's Creek]]'' || Lord Godolphin ||
|-
| rowspan=5|1945 || bgcolor=#F5F5DC| ''[[Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear]]'' || bgcolor=#F5F5DC|Dr. John H. Watson || bgcolor=#F5F5DC|
|-
| {{sort|Corn Is Green|''[[The Corn Is Green (1945 film)|The Corn Is Green]]''}} || The Squire ||
|-
| ''[[Son of Lassie]]'' || Duke of Rudling ||
|- bgcolor=#F5F5DC
| {{sort|Woman in Green|''[[The Woman in Green]]''}} || Dr. John H. Watson ||
|- bgcolor=#F5F5DC
| ''[[Pursuit to Algiers]]'' || Dr. John H. Watson ||
|-
| rowspan=2|1946 || bgcolor=#F5F5DC| ''[[Terror by Night]]'' || bgcolor=#F5F5DC|Dr. John H. Watson || bgcolor=#F5F5DC|
|- bgcolor=#F5F5DC
| ''[[Dressed to Kill (1946 film)|Dressed to Kill]]'' || Dr. John H. Watson ||
|-
| rowspan=2|1947 || {{sort|Two Mrs. Carrolls|''[[The Two Mrs. Carrolls]]''}} || Dr. Tuttle ||
|-
| {{sort|Exile|''[[The Exile (1947 film)|The Exile]]''}} || Sir Edward Hyde ||
|-
| 1948 || ''[[Julia Misbehaves]]'' || Col. Bruce "Bunny" Willowbrook ||
|-
| 1950 || ''[[Vendetta (1950 film)|Vendetta]]'' || Sir Thomas Nevil ||
|-
| rowspan=3|1952 || ''[[Hong Kong (film)|Hong Kong]]'' || Mr. Lighton ||
|-
| ''[[Limelight (1952 film)|Limelight]]'' || Postant, an Impresario ||
|-
| ''[[Bwana Devil]]'' || Dr. Angus McLean ||
|-
| 1954 || ''[[World for Ransom]]'' || Governor Sir Charles Coutts || Released posthumously
|}

==See also==
* [[List of Old Abingdonians]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== General and cited sources ===
* {{cite book|last=Barnes|first=Alan|author-link=Alan Barnes (writer)|title=Sherlock Holmes on Screen|year=2011|publisher=Titan Books|isbn=9780857687760}}
* {{cite ODNB|last=Parkinson|first=David|title=Bruce, (William) Nigel Ernle (1895–1953)|id=57390|year=2004}}
* {{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lYC9TYz3fUQC| title=In Spite of Myself: A Memoir| first=Christopher| last=Plummer| place=New York|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf | date=2008| isbn=978-0-307-39679-2| access-date=30 October 2020|via=Google Books}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last= Alistair |first= Rupert |title= The Name Below the Title: 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age |chapter= Nigel Bruce |pages= 54–56 |date= 2018 |edition= First |type= softcover |publisher= Independently published |location= Great Britain |isbn = 978-1-7200-3837-5}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Parker |editor-first=John | pages=341–2 | title=Who's Who in the Theatre | edition=10th revised | location=London | publisher=Pitman | year=1947 | oclc=6344958 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Townend |editor-first=Peter | pages=389 | title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage | edition=105th | location=London | publisher=Burke's Peerage | year=1970 | oclc=8948585}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{IMDb name|115558}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{Discogs artist|Nigel Bruce}}
* {{Find a Grave|5429}}
* [https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNzwkad4u21tYW4pvgYgde4bHvch7OC5gVv3E30 Extracts from Bruce's memoirs: 'Games Gossip and Greasepaint']

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Nigel}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1953 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Baja California]]
[[Category:20th-century British male actors]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:British male film actors]]
[[Category:British male radio actors]]
[[Category:British male stage actors]]
[[Category:British male television actors]]
[[Category:Burials at Chapel of the Pines Crematory]]
[[Category:Ernle family]]
[[Category:Territorial Force soldiers]]
[[Category:Honourable Artillery Company soldiers]]
[[Category:People educated at Abingdon School]]
[[Category:Male actors from Baja California]]
[[Category:People from Ensenada]]
[[Category:Somerset Light Infantry officers]]
[[Category:Younger sons of baronets]]
[[Category:British expatriate male actors in the United States]]

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Nigel Bruce