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' . Entries are due by 11:59 pm EDT on October 29, 2020.   Information on sponsors, links, and notes available below.   Please do consider becoming a . Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and this year, transcription services. All Patreon supporters will receive a special outtakes episode at the end of the season.     Sponsors  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 by Nicholas Utechin.    has the largest collection of new Sherlock Holmes novels, biographies, graphic novels and short story collections in the world. And the latest  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 .   Would you care to advertise with us? You can find . Let's chat!   Links This episode:  (IMDb page) Previous episodes referenced on this show: (with Fritz Weaver) (with David Ian Davies) Episodes and with Bert Coules Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at  as well as through our accounts on , , , and .   Please subscribe on the podcast provider of your choosing: And would you consider leaving us a rating and review? It would help other Sherlockians to find us.   Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323).   Transcript Transcript costs have risen and you can help us to reach the  level on Patreon to cover these costs. Please consider signing up by clicking the link, for as little as $1 an episode. Transcript will be here soon (if you can contribute to making that happen).