William Gillette(1853-1937)
- Writer
- Actor
Handsome American actor, playwright and stage director/producer William
Gillette was born in Hartford, CT, in 1853. His father Francis was
a former United States Senator and crusader for women's suffrage and the abolition of
slavery; his mother Elisabeth Daggett Hooker is a
descendant of Rev. Thomas Hooker, who either wrote or inspired the
first written constitution in history to form a government.
In 1873
William left Hartford to begin his apprenticeship as an actor, briefly working for a stock theatre company in New Orleans and then
returning to New England. He made his debut at the Globe Theatre in
Boston with Mark Twain's play "The Guilded Age" in 1875. His first
major Civil War drama, "Hold by the Enemy", was a major step forward to
modern theatre in that it abandoned many crude devices of Victorian
melodrama and introduced realism into the sets, props, costumes, sound
effects and performances; it was a critical and commercial success in
America and Britain.
Gillette is probably best remembered, however, as the first actor to be
universally acclaimed for portraying Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famed detective Sherlock Holmes, playing the role
first on stage in 1899 and continuing for more than 35 years. He also wrote many stage
versions from Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels and even
starred in the film version, Sherlock Holmes (1916), directed by Arthur Berthelet for the Essanay Film Co. He had previously appeared in two other films, his debut being in J.P. McGowan's The Battle at Fort Laramie (1913) and the following year he played support as Jack Lane in The Delayed Special (1914), both of which starred Helen Holmes and were made for the Kalem Film Co. Gillette also became popular on radio, performing the first radio serial version
of Sherlock Holmes in 1930 and in 1935. His last stage appearance was
in Austin Strong's "Three Wise Fools" in 1936. He wrote 13 original
plays, seven adaptations and some collaborations, encompassing farce,
melodrama and novel adaptation. He also wrote two pieces based on the US Civil War, "Held by the Ememy" and "Secret Service", which were highly acclaimed. In
1882 he married Helen Nichols, who died in 1888 from peritonitis; he never
remarried.
Gillette died from pulmonary hemorrhage in Connecticut in
1937 at age 83.
Gillette was born in Hartford, CT, in 1853. His father Francis was
a former United States Senator and crusader for women's suffrage and the abolition of
slavery; his mother Elisabeth Daggett Hooker is a
descendant of Rev. Thomas Hooker, who either wrote or inspired the
first written constitution in history to form a government.
In 1873
William left Hartford to begin his apprenticeship as an actor, briefly working for a stock theatre company in New Orleans and then
returning to New England. He made his debut at the Globe Theatre in
Boston with Mark Twain's play "The Guilded Age" in 1875. His first
major Civil War drama, "Hold by the Enemy", was a major step forward to
modern theatre in that it abandoned many crude devices of Victorian
melodrama and introduced realism into the sets, props, costumes, sound
effects and performances; it was a critical and commercial success in
America and Britain.
Gillette is probably best remembered, however, as the first actor to be
universally acclaimed for portraying Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famed detective Sherlock Holmes, playing the role
first on stage in 1899 and continuing for more than 35 years. He also wrote many stage
versions from Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels and even
starred in the film version, Sherlock Holmes (1916), directed by Arthur Berthelet for the Essanay Film Co. He had previously appeared in two other films, his debut being in J.P. McGowan's The Battle at Fort Laramie (1913) and the following year he played support as Jack Lane in The Delayed Special (1914), both of which starred Helen Holmes and were made for the Kalem Film Co. Gillette also became popular on radio, performing the first radio serial version
of Sherlock Holmes in 1930 and in 1935. His last stage appearance was
in Austin Strong's "Three Wise Fools" in 1936. He wrote 13 original
plays, seven adaptations and some collaborations, encompassing farce,
melodrama and novel adaptation. He also wrote two pieces based on the US Civil War, "Held by the Ememy" and "Secret Service", which were highly acclaimed. In
1882 he married Helen Nichols, who died in 1888 from peritonitis; he never
remarried.
Gillette died from pulmonary hemorrhage in Connecticut in
1937 at age 83.