“A light went out in many people’s lives when he died, for he was one of life’s true originals.”
Anna Massey
Mr Jeremy Brett left us twelve September 1995. 28 years ago. After completing ten years of defining the greatest interpretation of Sherlock Holmes, there ever was or will be. Just treat yourself to his reading of the opening lines of Doyle’s “Adventure of the Copper Beeches.“ It is definitive Holmes. And out of hundreds of others who played the part, not one of them comes close to Brett’s performance.
Mr. Brett developed the character of Sherlock Holmes while reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. Like sculptors Rodan or Michaelangelo he found the cracks in the marble of his heroic protagonist, allowing his own light to shine through. Jeremy Brett was a gentleman who lived his dreams, even through formidable difficulty, and encouraged us all to do the same. This encouragement was essential to the success of my fledgling beginnings as an author. He was a true-hearted English gentleman, who, like Conan Doyle, also loved my country, America. He lived and worked in Los Angeles (played Dracula and Macbeth, among others) revelling in the mild winters with his wife Joan and their children in the Hollywood Hills. His ability to love and share the joy of living was unbounded.
“So, darling, always remember to believe in your ability to make your dreams come true. It is doubt that stops us from achieving our ambitions and aspirations. Never ever let doubt override the power that is within you to make your dreams come true.”1
When he assumed the role of Sherlock Holmes, he topped a long line of hundreds of actors who came before him, and he embodied an unforgettable Holmes.
“I became fascinated with Doyle’s tales. I thought, Oh yes, there are things I can do with this fellow! They held me entranced; the late Victorian era, full of gaslit, fogbound streets, the scent of shag tobacco. Then the details began to pop up at me from the page. Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair as was his habit when in high spirits… Lighting his long cherrywood pipe which he was wont to replace his clay when he was in a disputatious, rather than a meditative mood… Holmes hunted about among the grass and leaves like a retriever after a wounded bird… Images that I had not seen before. The actor in me was on the hunt. The more I delved, the more I realised there was room for me to be someone else, to do something different… I discovered all sorts of things that I could do if I had the opportunity to do so. So I said ‘yes!’ with enormous temerity, and a certain amount of fear, and an element of excitement.”2
In the long history of Sherlock Holmes, now delineating its third century, that “Yes” will forever echo. Mr. Brett once said that Holmes made him. It is clear that he also remade Holmes, adding more of what he found in Conan Doyle’s stories — A genius, a man ahead of his time, a very modern man in period dress. He found parts of the character no other actor played. Brett studied and performed the stories of Doyle as he did the plays of Shakespeare.
“The standout scene in the first [Granada Sherlock Holmes] episode recorded, The Solitary Cyclist,” where Holmes confronts the repulsive Jack Woodley. “The ‘delicious’ encounter is only fleetingly reported in Doyle; its mechanics here are entirely invented . . . In just one minor sequence, Peter Cushing’s arch superman, John Neville’s self-righteous physicality and Basil Rathbone’s sharp superiority are fused into a fascinating whole.” Alan Barnes.3
Brett’s joie de vivre was contagious. To us, it was the gift that kept on giving.
“Life on earth is meant to be well-lived and enjoyed at every possible moment.”4
I don’t think he meant indulgently. But creatively, joyously, the joy that came from using our talent to reach out to others and fearlessly, happily share the road of life. Yet, a little champagne to celebrate couldn’t hurt.
Jeremy Brett had a comfortability with men that was unique, refreshing, and welcoming. He could waltz a gentleman around the floor just as graciously as his wife, Joan. Once he honoured David Burke, his Watson, on his birthday by publicly serenading him at the top of his lungs, and this was not unusual. It was his way. I imagine Mr Brett would have waltzed Mr Burke around the restaurant if he could. He was a conduit of joy and could not hold back the joy that was bursting out of him. Celebration was his natural forte. And we, his audience and lucky friends, were invited to join him in the dance.
“You must have a twinkle in your eye, a naughtiness – and the audience must realise your mind is working faster than your words.”5
Along with his assiduously crafted talent and ability as an actor, Jeremy Brett had the qualities of glamour and attraction on film, on stage, and in life. His presence as Sherlock Holmes twinkled like the star he strived to reach. During “The Dancing Men,” he threw his arms out, using his whole body to represent the code to Watson. Afterwards, he turned back and gave one of his reassuring smiles. One of those cracks in the marble that defined Holmes’ relationship with Watson. That twinkle he also shared with his audience and we could never get enough of it.
Watch the beautifully played give and take with his Watson, David Burke, in The Blue Carbuncle as Holmes explains his deductions from a lost hat. The story takes place during the Holiday season and Holmes would rather have the small problem this battered old hat represents than any gift. The gift for us is this lovely duet as they work through the conundrum.
Mr Brett’s talent led him through many wonderful roles on stage and screen as Maureen Whittaker’s book, Jeremy Brett Playing a Part shows in marvellous detail. Watch the playful interaction with his National Theatre mentor, Sir Laurence Olivier, in Merchant of Venice, or lovesick Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost. His graceful performance of Oscar Wilde’s ‘mist of words’ as Lord Goring in An Ideal Husband, or as Wilde’s painter, Basil Hallward, in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Max de Winter in Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Just before Holmes, he played William Pit the Younger in Number 10.
Eventhough Jeremy Brett had rheumatic heart disease and at the age of sixteen was told by his doctor this would cripple his life. Jeremy lived full-out, he gave his all at all times, and more. There is conjecture that his death was iatrogenic. Caused by the heart-destroying medication he was given for bipolar symptoms at a strength that would kill a horse. Yet, what did Jeremy do at this time? Nine days before his death, he made a beautiful speech on behalf of the Manic Depression Fellowship and detailed his own experience with the illness on BBC Radio 4’s The Week’s Good Cause. He was the first celebrity to do this. As was his way, he offered hope to others with his final public appearance.
“Bless your darling hearts. Much love, keep warm and dry and if you see him whisking around the corner – you know who, SH – then wave, because that’s all you’ll see of him. Bless his darling heart, isn’t he wonderful, streets ahead of us – still.” 1995.6
1,4 Pritchard, Linda. On The Wings of Paradise. Jeremy Brett quotes.
2 Whittaker, Maureen. Jeremy Brett IS Sherlock Holmes. Quote from Armchair Detective and Foreword to Television Sherlock Holmes.
3,5,6 Whittaker, Maureen. Jeremy Brett Playing a Part. Quote from Alan Barnes in “Sherlock Holmes Onscreen. Other Jeremy Brett quotes.”
Award-Winning author, Gretchen Altabef, publishes with MX, Belanger Books, Mondadori, and Mystery Magazine. These Scattered Houses, in Sherlock Holmes’ own voice, chronicles the conclusion of his ‘Great Hiatus’. In Remarkable Power of Stimulus, Holmes finds London awash in murders, anarchists threatening Paris, and the return of Irene Adler. Under surveillance by Moriarty’s henchmen, Holmes steps into Baker Street knowing he will find Watson’s friendship and unerring aim are as dependable as the British Rail. THE KEYS OF DEATH is a genesis story of the young occupants of No. 221B Baker Street.
Do you enjoy my stories? Are there ways they could have been improved? Please help me and future readers of my books by posting a review on Amazon. Doing so would be incredibly helpful. Thanks in advance, Gretchen.
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