Actor Edward Hardwicke dies age 78.
It was with great sadness that I learned yesterday of the death of actor Edward Hardwicke. He died on Monday at the age of 78.
Edward Hardwicke was probably best-known for his portrayal of Doctor Watson alongside Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes in Granada Television's series which ran from 1984-1994. He took on the role of Watson after David Burke left after the end of Series One to spend more time with his family. Hardwicke was also well-known for his role in war-time series "Colditz", when he played a character based on the real-life war hero Pat Reid.
Edward Hardwicke (right) as Doctor Watson & Jeremy Brett (left) as Sherlock Holmes.
Edward Cedric Hardwicke was born on August 7 1932 in London, the son of the actors Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Helena Pickard. His film career in Hollywood began when he was only 10, in Victor Fleming's film "A Guy Named Joe" (1943), with Spencer Tracy. Returning to England, he was educated at Stowe, and did his National Service as a pilot officer in the RAF. He then went to Rada.
He appeared at the Bristol Old Vic, the Oxford Playhouse and the Nottingham Playhouse before joining Laurence Olivier's National Theatre in 1964, performing there regularly for seven years. He appeared with Olivier in "Othello" and "The Master Builder".
Away from "Sherlock Holmes" and "Colditz", Hardwicke's work includes "My Old Man", "Holocaust" (1978); "Oppenheimer" (1980); "Lovejoy" (1992); "The Ruth Rendell Mysteries" (1997); "David Copperfield" (2000); "Agatha Christie's Poirot" (2004); and "Fanny Hill" (2007). In 1978 he appeared in the last episode of "The Sweeney".
He also had parts in numerous films, among them "The Day of the Jackal" (1973); "The Black Windmill" (1974); Richard Loncraine's 1995 version of "Richard III"; "The Scarlet Letter" (1995); "Elizabeth" (1998); "Enigma" (2001); "The Gathering Storm" (2002); ; the romantic comedy "Love Actually" (2003); and Roman Polanski's adaptation of "Oliver Twist" (2005).
Numerous theatre roles include "Charley's Aunt"; Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead"; Congreve's "The Way of the World"; and with Robert Stephens in Peter Shaffer's "The Royal Hunt of the Sun". He returned to the National in 1977 for a production of Feydeau's "The Lady From Maxim's". In 2001 he played Arthur Winslow in "The Winslow Boy" at the Chichester Festival Theatre, reprising a role taken by his father in the 1948 film (1).
Edward Hardwicke is survived by his second wife Prim Cotton and two daughters from his first marriage.
(1) Partial filmography and biography taken from The Daily Telegraph TV & Radio Obituaries: Edward Hardwicke (17th May 2011) (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/8519646/Edward-Hardwicke.html)
Photograph: Edward Hardwicke as Doctor Watson & Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, Granada Television, 1990.
Edward Hardwicke was probably best-known for his portrayal of Doctor Watson alongside Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes in Granada Television's series which ran from 1984-1994. He took on the role of Watson after David Burke left after the end of Series One to spend more time with his family. Hardwicke was also well-known for his role in war-time series "Colditz", when he played a character based on the real-life war hero Pat Reid.
Edward Hardwicke (right) as Doctor Watson & Jeremy Brett (left) as Sherlock Holmes.
Edward Cedric Hardwicke was born on August 7 1932 in London, the son of the actors Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Helena Pickard. His film career in Hollywood began when he was only 10, in Victor Fleming's film "A Guy Named Joe" (1943), with Spencer Tracy. Returning to England, he was educated at Stowe, and did his National Service as a pilot officer in the RAF. He then went to Rada.
He appeared at the Bristol Old Vic, the Oxford Playhouse and the Nottingham Playhouse before joining Laurence Olivier's National Theatre in 1964, performing there regularly for seven years. He appeared with Olivier in "Othello" and "The Master Builder".
Away from "Sherlock Holmes" and "Colditz", Hardwicke's work includes "My Old Man", "Holocaust" (1978); "Oppenheimer" (1980); "Lovejoy" (1992); "The Ruth Rendell Mysteries" (1997); "David Copperfield" (2000); "Agatha Christie's Poirot" (2004); and "Fanny Hill" (2007). In 1978 he appeared in the last episode of "The Sweeney".
He also had parts in numerous films, among them "The Day of the Jackal" (1973); "The Black Windmill" (1974); Richard Loncraine's 1995 version of "Richard III"; "The Scarlet Letter" (1995); "Elizabeth" (1998); "Enigma" (2001); "The Gathering Storm" (2002); ; the romantic comedy "Love Actually" (2003); and Roman Polanski's adaptation of "Oliver Twist" (2005).
Numerous theatre roles include "Charley's Aunt"; Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead"; Congreve's "The Way of the World"; and with Robert Stephens in Peter Shaffer's "The Royal Hunt of the Sun". He returned to the National in 1977 for a production of Feydeau's "The Lady From Maxim's". In 2001 he played Arthur Winslow in "The Winslow Boy" at the Chichester Festival Theatre, reprising a role taken by his father in the 1948 film (1).
Edward Hardwicke is survived by his second wife Prim Cotton and two daughters from his first marriage.
(1) Partial filmography and biography taken from The Daily Telegraph TV & Radio Obituaries: Edward Hardwicke (17th May 2011) (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/8519646/Edward-Hardwicke.html)
Photograph: Edward Hardwicke as Doctor Watson & Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, Granada Television, 1990.