William Hooker Gillette Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
William Hooker Gillette (July 24, 1853 – April 29, 1937) was an American actor, playwright and stage-manager in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best remembered today for portraying Sherlock Holmes on stage and in a now lost 1916 silent film.Gillette's most significant contributions to the theater were in devising realistic stage settings and special sound and lighting effects, and, as an actor, in putting forth what he called the Illusion of the First Time. His portrayal of Holmes helped create the modern image of the detective. His use of the deerstalker cap (which first appeared in some Strand illustrations by Sidney Paget) and the curved pipe became durable symbols of the character. He assumed the role onstage more than 1,300 times over thirty years, starred in a silent motion picture based on his Holmes play, and voiced the character twice on radio.Held by the Enemy (1886), his first Civil War drama, was a major step toward modern theater in that it abandoned many of the crude devices of 19th century melodrama and introduced realism into the sets, costumes, props and sound effects. And, at a time when the British had a very low opinion of American art, in any form, Held by the Enemy was also the first wholly American play with a wholly American theme to be a critical and commercial success on British stages.
Performed his "Sherlock Holmes" character around 1,300 times.
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His home in East Haddam, CT, is known as Gillette's Castle and is now a state park. The castle was built for him and contains many ingenious and unique items designed by him; for example, no two of the 47 interior doors are alike.
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As Holmes, he smoked a curved Meerschaum pipe, rather than the more accurate straight clay pipes that Holmes always smoked in the stories. Gillette did this because it was nearly impossible for him to do believable "business" with the clay pipes. Because of this, one of the stereotypical Holmes trademarks is a Meerschaum.
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In one of his productions of "Sherlock Holmes," he gave a young unknown actor the supporting role of Billy, the messenger boy. That actor was the later famous comedian Charles Chaplin.
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Was the first actor to be universally acclaimed for portraying Sherlock Holmes, having staged the first authorized play in 1899.
$200,000
