Clive Merrison

 "an incomparable actor" [STUD] 

Anyone who is interested in the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and audio (that's why you're here, isn't it?) is familiar with the name Clive Merrison.

The definitive Sherlock Holmes of the audio realm, Clive Merrison holds the distinction of being the only actor to play Sherlock Holmes in dramatized form in every one of the 60 stories from the Canon, as well as in 15 additional pastiches.

Together with Michael Williams (and later Andrew Sachs), Merrison brought Holmes to life and gave him real humanity—particularly in the sometimes prickly, sometimes tender friendship with his Watson.

We talked with Clive Merrison about his real-life friendship with Michael Williams, his time on the stage, what his Uncle Norman did to influence him, his adventures with "Hobbo," the actor he would sneak into the sound booth to watch perform and the actor from whom he wished he could flee from the recording studio, what made Sir Laurence Olivier hug him, the Sherlock role he turned down, the next Sherlock Holmes story he'd like to perform in, and much more.

You won't want to miss this episode — and the eventual outtakes from it that will be available only to our Patreon supporters.

See if you can test your knowledge with the Canonical Couplet: we give you two lines of poetry that describe one of stories, and you name it. The winner gets a copy of Bert Coules' 221 BBC: Writing for the World's Only Complete Dramatised Canon and Beyond. Entries are due by 11:59 pm EDT on October 29, 2020.

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Wessex Press is the premiere publisher of books about Sherlock Holmes, including the Sherlock Holmes Reference Library, scholarly work, and titles dedicated to the stage and screen, including The Complete Paget Portfolio by Nicholas Utechin.

 

MX Publishing has the largest collection of new Sherlock Holmes novels, biographies, graphic novels and short story collections in the world. And the latest MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories features Volumes XXII, XXIII, and XXIV.

Dan Andriacco's delightful pair of Sebastian McCabe and Jeff Cody are back and have a full lineup of stories. Check them out at DanAndriacco.com.

 

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Links

• This episode: ihose.co/ihose202
• 221 BBC: Writing for the World's Only Complete Dramatised Canon and Beyond
• Clive Merrison (IMDb page)
• Clive Merrison's Wikipedia Page
• The BBC Complete Audio Sherlock Holmes
• Previous episodes referenced on this show:
• • Episode 26: A Musical Stroll Down Baker Street (with Fritz Weaver)
  • Episode 40: One Voice of Sherlock Holmes (with David Ian Davies)
  • Episodes 68 and 69 with Bert Coules

Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at ihose.co/flipsherlock as well as through our accounts on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.

 

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Transcript

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