Edward Hardwicke
Edward Hardwicke ( born August 7, 1932 in London, † 16 May, 2011 Chichester, West Sussex, England ) was a British actor who was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in the British television series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Life and work
Edward Hardwicke, was born as the only child of actor pair Cedric Hardwicke and Helena Pickard. Even as a seven year old gave Hardwicke his theater debut, in 1943, he played as a ten year old in Hollywood alongside Spencer Tracy in the film war battle in the clouds. A year later, Hardwicke's family came back to England, where he graduated from school and from 1951 served in the Royal Air Force until 1952. After his military service Hardwicke attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
1953 had Edward Hardwicke in the British film hell below zero with, a year later he made his debut in London's West End. Hardwicke played at the Bristol Old Vic, the Oxford Playhouse and the Nottingham Playhouse before joining in 1964 Laurence Olivier Ensemble at the National Theatre. In the following decades Hardwicke was a busy stage actor, in addition he worked in supporting roles in several movies and television films.
Hardwicke's final, and partly international breakthrough came with the role of Dr. Watson in a television series from Granada Television, entitled The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, had assumed the role of Sherlock Holmes in the Jeremy Brett. But Hardwicke came with the second season in 1986 to Watson because the previous actor David Burke 's role no longer wanted to play. Hardwicke then played with in more than 20 Holmes films, including The numbers 4 and The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Hardwicke was married twice, from his first marriage to actress Anne Iddon were born two daughters. His daughter Emma Hardwicke was also active as an actress.