Louis Hector
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Louis Hector (March 19, 1883 – October 1968) was an American radio, theater, film, and television actor. He is best known for his roles of
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
in the 1937 broadcast of ''
The Three Garridebs ''The Three Garridebs'' is a 1937 television presentation that aired on NBC, based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1924 story " The Adventure of the Three Garridebs". Louis Hector played Sherlock Holmes, the first actor to do so on television. Pl ...
'' (the first US televised portrayal of Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
's protagonist Holmes); and that of the Reverend Browne in
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's 1940
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release of ''
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''.


Life and career

Hector was born in March 1883 in England. He started his acting career in Theatre performances in London and Broadway.''Holmes is from London''; ''Obituary''
January 13, 1935; article,
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
(via ''Faces of Holmes: Louis Hector'' at the Fourth Garrideb website); accessed August 2019
He acted in several plays in London, mainly
Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, with actress
Jane Cowl Jane Cowl (December 14, 1883 – June 22, 1950) was an American film and Theatre, stage actress and playwright who was, in the words of author Anthony Slide, "notorious for playing tear jerkers, lachrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named ...
before emigrating to the US in 1920, where he appeared in several Broadway productions, including ''No More Ladies'', and ''Arms and Men''; and choreographed duels in Ziegfeld's 1928 musical version of '' Three Musketeers''.''The Three Musketeers – A Musical Adventure''
play; production staff; The Broadway League.com; accessed August 2019
Hector made his American radio debut on WJZ in New York in 1924, and played many roles on American radio including
Long John Silver Long John Silver is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1883 novel '' Treasure Island'' by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing leg ...
and
William Tell William Tell (, ; ; ; ) is a legendary folk hero of Switzerland. He is known for shooting an apple off his son's head. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albrecht Gessler, ...
. Hector worked regularly as a radio performer in the 1930s, often portraying Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
's protagonist,
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
. Hector was chosen to play Holmes in an early
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
experimental television broadcast of ''
The Three Garridebs ''The Three Garridebs'' is a 1937 television presentation that aired on NBC, based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1924 story " The Adventure of the Three Garridebs". Louis Hector played Sherlock Holmes, the first actor to do so on television. Pl ...
'' on November 27, 1937. This is the first televised adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes character. The show ran for 30 minutes, and was processed in B&W.''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - 23 Old-time Radio Shows with Various Actors''
at
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; retrieved May 2016
The New York Times wrote a positive review of his performance in the teleplay.


Death

Hector died in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in early to mid-October 1968, his obituary was published in the
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
on October 19.


Radio, film, and TV work

Hector performed on radio in the NBC Blue network radio series ''
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, which h ...
''. He played
Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...
in at least one episode, "The Missing Leonardo Da Vinci", which aired on May 19, 1932. From 1934 to 1935, he played Sherlock Holmes in the series.''Louis Hector''
the Sir A. C. Doyle Dictionary online; retrieved May 2016
''The Three Garridebs on Radio''
Ruby, Greg D.; September 3, 2014; The Fourth Garrideb - Numismatics of Sherlock Holmes; accessed August 2019
Only three episodes of Hector as Holmes are believed to have survived to 2020. Hector played Holmes in 29 episodes. Many of these episodes, particularly those that aired in 1934 and early 1935, were new stories or based on non-Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle (such as " The Case of the Lost Special", which aired on 18 November 1934), while the episodes that aired in 1935 were generally based on Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. The episodes in which Hector portrayed Holmes that were based on Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories include the following: Hector's other performances include: ;Film and TV * ''
The Three Garridebs ''The Three Garridebs'' is a 1937 television presentation that aired on NBC, based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1924 story " The Adventure of the Three Garridebs". Louis Hector played Sherlock Holmes, the first actor to do so on television. Pl ...
''; televised play with two pre-filmed segments; 1937; Sherlock Holmes; performed live six times''The Three Garridebs on Television''
Ruby, Greg D.; TV film; September 4, 2014; The Fourth Garrideb - Numismatics of Sherlock Holmes; accessed August 2019
* ''
Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...
'';
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
film; 1940; Reverend Browne * ''
Tales of Tomorrow ''Tales of Tomorrow'' is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as ''Frankenstein'' starring Lon Chaney Jr., ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' ...
''; TV series; June 20, 1952; Dr. Bache''The Miraculous Serum''
actor, Louis Hector on Tales of Tomorrow;
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; retrieved May 2016
* ''
King Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...
''; TV film; 1954; Henry Percy; Hallmark Hall of Fame (#3.18) ;Radio * '' The Planets: A Modern Allegory''; (
radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
); 1938; SaturnKreymborg, Alfred; ''The Planets: A Modern Allegory''; Farrar & Rinehart; New York; 1938; retrieved May 2016 * ''
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a radio drama series which aired in the USA from 1939 to 1950, it ran for 374 episodes, with many of the later episodes considered lost media.Dickerson (2019), pp. 276–279. The series was based on ...
''; radio series, 1939–50; Professor Moriarty; recurring role; NBC Blue radio network and Mutual Broadcasting radio network. * '' Great Plays''; radio series; 1938–1940; various characters; seven episodes ** '' Richelieu''; radio episode; February 5, 1939; Richelieu ** ''
The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...
''; radio episode; November 24, 1940


Theatre work

* ''Romeo and Juliet''; ;
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* ''Antony and Cleopatra''; ; London * ''Pelleas and Melisande''; ; London * ''The Road to Rome''; ; London * ''Inherit the Wind''; National Theatre,
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,
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; 1924 * ''No More Ladies''; Broadway;
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
* ''Arms and Men''; Broadway; New York * '' Three Musketeers Musical'' (choreographer); Broadway; New York


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hector, Louis 1883 births 1968 deaths British male actors