Holmes, Sweet Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is arguably the first major pop culture icon ever created. It not only has to do with the character itself and his intricacies, but he came into popularity just as mass media was starting to rumble. His stories were printed in the Strand magazine, which was available to everyone in London And the movie industry, which was just coming into existence, latched onto Holmes immediately as  source for entertainment. It is no wonder why Sherlock Holmes is, per Guinness, the most widely portrayed human literary character (Dracula, a non human, holds the overall title).

And as most fans of Sherlock Holmes know, while Benedict Cumberbatch is very popular amongst the young crowd of new fans to embrace the character, the title of "best Sherlock Holmes" deservedly goes to Jeremy Brett. The logo next to my name in this blog is a picture of him.

There is a lot I can say about Brett's portrayal, His episodes which ran on ITV and PBS from 1984-1994, are must watch items for those who like Holmes and for those who want to get to know the detective. But to represent how good of a job he did, I would like to put up an interview he did in 1988 with Terry Wogan.

The most brilliant part of this interview is unfortunately split between part I and II but I do suggest you look at. He talks about the method he uses to play Holmes and then, all of the sudden, this jovial actor transforms himself, right on the spot, into the great detective himself. It is an amazing job.

He never got to finish the whole canon. He was bipolar, which some people say helped contribute to his performance, and he had a major smoking habit and a weak heart. He died in 1995. 

I go on Twitter sometimes to see what people say about him, and it is good to know that people still talk about him, in this day and age of Benedict Cumberbatch, who was also a fan. Other major celebrity fans include Daniel Radcliffe, who credits Brett's performance for teaching him "how to play a completely over the top character by playing him real", and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was a co-author of a Holmes-esque novel. 

I actually was into Agatha Christie televised mysteries before Sherlock Holmes, but now I have dived both feet in into this canon. And for those who want to or for those that haven't yet seen him, I recommend wholeheartedly watching his stories. They are a great pleasure.