Douglas Wilmer

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Douglas Wilmer
Born 8 January 1920
London, England

Douglas Wilmer (born 8 January 1920) is an English actor.

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[edit] Early career

Wilmer was born in London and educated at Stonyhurst College. He trained at the RADA and made his 1945 stage debut in repertory at Rugby. He appeared frequently on the London stage, mainly in classical and Shakespearean roles.

[edit] Films and television

He made his first major film appearance in Laurence Olivier's Richard III (1955) and since then, has appeared in a large number of films, mostly in supporting roles. They include several epic films: El Cid (1961), Cleopatra (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire(1964), Khartoum (1966), Patton (1970), Cromwell (1970), and Antony and Cleopatra (1972). Other appearances include Jason and the Argonauts, the Pink Panther films, A Shot in the Dark (1964) and Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), The Brides of Fu Manchu, The Vengeance of Fu Manchu, The Vampire Lovers, Unman, Wittering and Zigo, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and Octopussy ( (1983).

[edit] Sherlock Holmes

Douglas Wilmer as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series
Douglas Wilmer as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series

He is mainly associated with the role of Sherlock Holmes which he first played in the BBC's 1964 production of The Speckled Band. Together with co-star Nigel Stock, who played Doctor Watson, Wilmer was brought back for a further twelve episodes of the series. In 1973, Wilmer played Professor Van Dusen in The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes on BBC TV and in 1975 appeared in Gene Wilder's The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother with Thorley Walters as Dr. Watson.

Wilmer was an honorary member of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London. He has recorded a series of the stories on audio cassette for Penguin audio books and has appeared as a guest at several UK and US events, the most recent being the Society's Golden Jubilee Dinner in January 2001.[1]

His other television credits include: The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Saint, The Troubleshooters, The Avengers, The Baron, UFO and Space: 1999.

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