Holmes and Watson Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hubert Willis

Eille Norwood (born Anthony Edward Brett) was a British actor of the theatre and of silent films, who lived from 1861 to 1948. He portrayed Sherlock Holmes in 47 silent films between 1921 and 1923.

1921 - "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (15x 20-min short films)
1921 - "The Hound of the Baskervilles"
1922 - "The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (15x 20-min short films)
1923 - "The Last Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (15x 20-min short films)
1923 - "The Sign of Four"

In all but "The Sign of Four," Norwood's Holmes was matched with Hubert Willis in the role of Dr. John Watson. Willis (1876-1933) was also a British actor of the stage and (silent) screen. His first role on film was the film "The House of Temperley," an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's novel "Rodney Stone."

In "The Sign of Four," the role of Dr. Watson was filled by English actor Arthur M. Cullin (1862-1926).

Answer: H. Reeves-Smith

Clive Brook (1887-1974) was an English actor who worked from 1920 until the early 1950s in stage, film, and radio.

Brook was the first actor to play Sherlock Holmes in a 'talkie,' although the film company also made a silent version for theatres that had not yet converted to sound. This was also the first time that the phrase, "Elementary, my dear Watson" was spoken on film (or heard on radio). Brook would reprise his role as Holmes in the "Murder Will Out" segment of the musical review "Paramount On Parade" (1930), and "Sherlock Holmes" (1932).

Holmes' counterpart Dr. John Watson was portrayed by H. Reeves-Smith (1862-1938) in the first film, "The Return of Sherlock Holmes," but it was Reginald Owen (1887-1972) who took over the role for 1932's "Sherlock Holmes."

Answer: Leigh Lovell

Before taking on the premiere episode of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" radio show on October 20, 1930, William Gillette (1853-1937) was already well-established in the world of Arthur Conan Doyle, knowing the author personally, and working together to bring Holmes to visual life. They adapted "Sherlock Holmes" together for the stage in 1899 and over his career, played the detective approximately 1,300 times. Only one of those was on the silver screen, a 1916 silent film titled, appropriately enough, "Sherlock Holmes," with Edward Fielding (1875-1945) as Watson.

While the 1930-36 radio show "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" was not the first time the great detective appeared on the radio, it was the first time that it was presented as a serial broadcast. Gillette only portrayed Holmes for the pilot episode, with two other actors filling the role for the remainder of the series. In that pilot episode, Gillette's Holmes was matched with Leigh Lovell, who played Dr. Watson for most of the series.

The other actors who portrayed Holmes during the series were Clive Brook (episodes 2 &3), Richard Gordon (until 1933, and for the final season in 1936) and Louis Hector (in 1934-35). In the final 1936 season, Dr. Watson was played by Harry West.

Answer: Nigel Bruce

Basil Rathbone (1892-1967) was a South African-born English actor who has come to be synonymous with the character of Sherlock Holmes. In total, he starred in 14 films between 1939 and 1946, while simultaneously portraying Holmes in the radio series "The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" over the same timeframe.

The first two movies took place in the Victoria era of the novels, but the subsequent films were set in 'modern' times.

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" (March, 1939)
"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (September, 1939)
"Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror" (September, 1942)
"Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon" (February, 1943)
"Sherlock Holmes in Washington" (April, 1943)
"Sherlock Holmes Faces Death" (September, 1943)
"The Spider Woman" (January, 1944)
"The Scarlet Claw" (May, 1944)
"The Pearl of Death" (September, 1944)
"The House of Fear" (March, 1945)
"The Woman in Green" (June, 1945)
"Pursuit to Algiers" (October, 1945)
"Terror by Night" (February, 1946)
"Dressed to Kill" (June, 1946)

Over that entire run of movies and serial radio shows, Rathbone's Holmes was matched with Dr. Watson as portrayed by British character actor Nigel Bruce (1895-1953). When the movie series ended, Rathbone also ended his involvement with the radio show. Bruce continued on for another two seasons as Dr. Watson, with Tom Conway (1904-1967) taking on the role of Holmes.

Answer: Norman Shelley

Carleton Hobbs (1898-1978) was an English actor who had the distinction of portraying Sherlock Holmes over the longest period of time in a radio show, accumulating 56 different stories between 1952 and 1969 (75 episodes, including reruns). For all of the shows in the serial, Hobbs' Holmes was paired with Dr. Watson as played by fellow Brit Norman Shelley (1903-1980). The series produced all but four of Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" stories.

Hobbs is also the only actor to have played not only Sherlock Holmes, but also Dr. John Watson (in a 1943 radio show titled "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" with Arthur Wontner as Holmes) AND Arthur Conan Doyle (in the 1972 radio play "Conan Doyle Investigates (The Edalji Case)."

Answer: André Morell

Peter Cushing (1913-1994) was an English actor with a 60-year career and over 100 films, plus numerous roles in television, radio and theatre productions. In 1959, Cushing took on the role of Sherlock Holmes for the first time with "The Hound of the Baskervilles," which also starred Christopher Lee (1922-2015) as Sir Henry Baskerville. More importantly, for the purposes of this quiz, Peter Cushing was matched with English actor André Morell (1909-1978) as Dr. John Watson.

Cushing went on to play Holmes a couple more times in subsequent years:

TV series - 16 episodes of the "Sherlock Holmes" (1968) with Nigel Stock as Dr. Watson
TV movie - "The Masks of Death" (1984) with John Mills as Dr. Watson

And also portrayed the great author:

TV movie - "The Great Houdini" (1976) as Arthur Conan Doyle

Answer: Colin Blakely

Robert Stephens (1931-1995) was a renowned British actor of stage and screen who only portrayed Sherlock Holmes once, but did it with flair in a film directed by the brilliant and versatile Billy Wilder (1906-2002), who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director eight times during his career. Coincidentally, this Holmes film also had Christopher Lee in a supporting role, this time as Sherlock's brother Mycroft Holmes.

In "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" (1970), Robert Stephens played Sherlock Holmes opposite Irish actor Colin Blakely (1930-1987).

Answer: David Burke

In the same way that William Gillette and Basil Rathbone were known for portraying the defining Sherlock Holmes of their generations, Jeremy Brett (1933-1995) did the same for the 1980s and 90s. Born Peter Williams Jeremy Huggins, Brett was an accomplished English actor who came to be best known for his decade of playing Holmes on British television, but he also played Holmes on the stage, and prior to any of that, had also played Dr. Watson opposite Charlton Heston in 1980.

Over the run of the "Sherlock Holmes" television series (1984-94), Brett played Holmes opposite two different Dr. Watsons. The first was English actor David Burke (b. 1934), who carried the role for the first 13 episodes. The remaining portion (28 episodes) was played by fellow Englishman Edward Hardwicke (1932-2011), who would also reprise the role with Jeremy Brett as Holmes on the stage play "The Secret of Sherlock Holmes" between August, 1988 and December, 1989, while the television series was ongoing.

Answer: Jude Law

Robert Downey, Jr. (b. 1965) is an American actor who has the distinction of being the first actor to earn a Golden Globe award for portraying Sherlock Holmes on film (Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy). In total, Downey played the consulting detective on two separate occasions, both opposite English actor Jude Law (b. 1972) as Dr. John Watson.

"Sherlock Holmes" (2009)
"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" (2011)

A third film in the series was announced shortly after the release of "A Game of Shadows," but as of 2023, it had not yet been produced, with no timeline announced.

Answer: Martin Freeman

In 2010, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (of "Doctor Who" fame) created a new BBC series titled simply, "Sherlock" with English actor Benedict Cumberbatch (b. 1976) in the title role. Set in modern times with modern amenities (such as cell phones), the series has received critical acclaim, and numerous awards.

Starring opposite Cumberbatch is his fellow Englishman Martin Freeman (b. 1971) as Dr. Watson. Both actors have won Emmy Awards for their excellent portrayals.