William Nigel Ernle Bruce , 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 . Bruce is also remembered for his roles in the Alfred Hitchcock films Rebecca and Suspicion. Bruce was the second son of Sir William Waller Bruce, 10th Baronet and his wife Angelica , daughter of General George Selby, Royal Artillery. Bruce was born in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico while his parents were on holiday there. 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 - 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?.
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| Birthdate: | February 4, 1895 |
| Birthplace: | Ensenada |
| Date of death: | October 8, 1953 |
| Height: | 6' 0" |
| Also known as: | William Nigel Ernle Bruce, Willie |