Editing Jeremy Brett

{{short description|English actor (1933–1995)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Jeremy Brett
| image              = Jeremy Brett as Hamlet.jpg
| caption            = Brett in ''Hamlet'' (1960)
| birth_name         = Peter Jeremy William Huggins
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1933|11|3|df=y}}<ref name=Birth/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/14/obituaries/jeremy-brett-an-unnerving-holmes-is-dead-at-59.html|title=Jeremy Brett, an Unnerving Holmes, Is Dead at 59|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 September 1995|access-date=11 November 2017}}</ref>
| birth_place        = [[Berkswell]], Warwickshire, England
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1995|9|12|1933|11|3|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Clapham]], London, England
| education          = [[Eton College]]
| alma_mater         = [[Central School of Speech and Drama]]
| other_names        =
| years_active       = 1954–1995
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Anna Massey]] |1958|1962|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Joan Wilson |1976|1985|end=died}}
}}
| children           = 1<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/nov/14/shopping.familyandrelationships |title=At Christmas I dreaded playing charades |via= The Guardian|date=14 November 2001|access-date=1 March 2025}}</ref>
| website            =
}}
'''Peter Jeremy William Huggins''' (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), known professionally as '''Jeremy Brett''', was an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of [[Sherlock Holmes]] from 1984 to 1994 in 41 episodes of a [[Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)|Granada TV series]]. He also played the smitten Freddy Eynsford-Hill in the 1964 [[Warner Bros.]] production of ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]''. His career spanned stage, television and film, to Shakespeare and musical theatre. 

==Early life==
Jeremy Brett was born Peter Jeremy William Huggins at Berkswell Grange in [[Berkswell]], then in [[Warwickshire]]. His birthdate was actually 3 November 1933,<ref name=Birth>Birth Record on 3 November 1933 for Peter Jeremy William Huggins in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2005{{dubious|reason=Index only gives quarter birth registered in not an exact date|date=January 2018}}</ref> but it has also been stated as December 1933<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=HpzQYxvud%2B4541Y9IxMQSw&scan=1 |title=Index entry |work=FreeBMD |publisher=ONS |access-date=6 July 2011}}</ref> or 1935, according to many sources.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/8365/Jeremy-Brett/biography |title=Jeremy Brett biography |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020175818/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/8365/Jeremy-Brett/biography |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |year=2012 |archive-date=20 October 2012}}</ref> He was the son of [[Lieutenant Colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant Colonel]] Henry William Huggins, [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]], [[Military Cross|MC]], [[Deputy Lieutenant|DL]] (1891–1965), an [[British Army|Army]] officer, and Elizabeth Edith [[Cadbury]] (née Butler; 1903–1959), of the confectionery dynasty.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pennyghael.org.uk/Cadbury.pdf |title=The Descendants of James Cadbury |first=Charles E. G. |last=Pease |work=pennyghael.org.uk |page=19 |date=19 November 2015 |access-date=5 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Huggins of Berkswell Grange |title=[[Burke's Landed Gentry]] |year=1952}}</ref> He had three older brothers: John Henry (1924–1999), Michael William (1927–2000) and Patrick William (1929–2017). The actor [[Martin Clunes]] is his nephew<ref>{{cite news |title=Martin Clunes: My family values |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=28 March 2014 |first=Camilla |last=Palmer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/28/martin-clunes-doc-martin-my-family-values}}</ref> (or, according to other sources, either his cousin or 2nd cousin, once removed).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/martin-clunes-interview-the-actor-stars-as-the-sherlock-holmes-creator-in-arthur-george-10070879.html |first=Gerard |last=Gilbert |title=Martin Clunes to star as Sherlock creator in Arthur & George |date=25 February 2015 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |access-date=5 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8770624/Martin-Clunes-tells-of-boarding-school-beatings-and-childhood-traumas.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8770624/Martin-Clunes-tells-of-boarding-school-beatings-and-childhood-traumas.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Martin Clunes tells of boarding school beatings and childhood traumas |first=Roya |last=Nikkah |date=18 September 2011 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=5 December 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-02-16/conan-doyle-investigates-martin-clunes-wants-a-full-series-as-the-sleuthing-sherlock-holmes-creator |title=Conan Doyle Investigates? Martin Clunes wants a full series as the sleuthing Sherlock Holmes creator |first=Ben |last=Dowell |date=16 February 2015 |journal=[[Radio Times]] |access-date=5 December 2016}}</ref> Educated at [[Eton College]], he claimed to have been an "academic disaster", attributing his learning difficulties to [[dyslexia]]. Brett belonged to the [[Woodmen of Arden]], an [[archery]] club established in 1785. His father and brothers were also members.

Eventually Brett developed precisely honed diction but was born with [[rhotacism (speech impediment)|rhotacism]], a speech impediment that prevented him from pronouncing the "R" sound correctly. He underwent corrective surgery as a teenager and followed it with years of practising.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wanderings.net/notebook/Main/JeremyBrett |title=Wanderings Jeremy Brett - Bio Notes |publisher=Wanderings An Online Notebook |access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref><ref name="Jeremy Brett biography">{{cite web |url=https://sherlockian-sherlock.com/jeremy-brett.php |title=Jeremy Brett biography |publisher=sherlockian-sherlock.com |access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brettish.com/tbev2-04.html |title=Berkswell Boy |publisher=The Brettish Empire |access-date=24 January 2022 |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124143256/http://www.brettish.com/tbev2-04.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

However, while at Eton, he excelled at singing and was a member of the college choir. He was trained by [[Elsie Fogerty]] at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]], then based at the [[Royal Albert Hall]]<ref>V&A, Theatre and Performance Special Collections, Elsie Fogerty Archive, THM/324</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Sergio |last=Angelini |chapter-url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/565276/index.html |chapter=Brett, Jeremy (1933–1995) |via=BFI Screenonline |title=Who's Who in the Theatre |edition=17th |publisher=Gale Research |year=1981}}</ref> in London, graduating in 1954, but his father had demanded that he change his name for the sake of family honour, so he took his stage name from the label of his first suit, "Brett & Co."<ref name="SM">{{cite news |first=Sheridan |last=Morley |author-link=Sheridan Morley |title=The curse of being Conan |newspaper=The Sunday Times |date=27 April 1997 |page=5}}</ref>

In 1959, while Brett was playing [[Hamlet]], his mother was killed in a [[car crash]] in the Welsh mountains. This had a tremendous effect on Brett. Later in life, he spoke about the accident, its impact on him and consequently his performance; "my mother had been killed savagely in a car accident in 1959, and I was very angry about that, because my son, when she was killed, was only three months old. There was anger—it was interesting ... there was anger in me. And I think that came through. I felt cheated—I felt my mother had been cheated—the rage of that came through." He could not believe the circumstances and channelled his anger into his performance.<ref name="Jeremy Brett biography"/>

==Career==

===Stage and screen===
[[File:Jeremy Brett Headshot.jpg|thumb|upright|Brett in 1953]]
Brett made his professional acting debut in rep at the [[Library Theatre]] in Manchester in 1954, and his London stage debut with the [[Old Vic]] company in ''[[Troilus and Cressida]]'' in 1956.<ref name=somejoe>{{cite book |last=Slide |first=Anthony |title=Some Joe You Don't Know: An American Biographical Guide to 100 British Television Personalities |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1996}}</ref> He made his first appearance in a major film with ''[[War and Peace (1956 film)|War and Peace]]'' (1956), which starred [[Audrey Hepburn]].<ref name="BFI Filmog">{{cite web |title=Filmography: Brett, Jeremy |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/6219?view=credit&page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206185449/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/6219?view=credit&page=2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 February 2009 |work=Film & TV Database |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=16 August 2012}}</ref>

Also in 1956, he appeared on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] as the Duke of Aumerle in ''Richard II''.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television |title=Richard II |volume=15 |publisher=GALE |year=1996}}</ref> In 1959, Brett had a singing role as the romantic lead of Archie Forsyth in the West End musical ''Marigold''. Also in 1959, he played the part of Hamlet; however, on reflection, in a [[BBC2]] television documentary ''Playing the Dane'', Brett later said that "I don't think I was very good as Hamlet. I think I was too young. I was too young intellectually. I was too young philosophically. I was [[Byronic]]. I was very handsome. I had qualities, but I'd much rather see other people's [version]. I wasn't convinced by me". The respected theatre critic [[Harold Hobson]] wrote of Brett's portrayal that "the incestuous bed was the centre of his performance". He played many classical roles on stage, including about a dozen [[Shakespearean]] parts at [[the Old Vic]], in New York and four while Brett was a member of the [[National Theatre Company]] from 1967 to 1970.<ref name="BAFTA4JB">{{cite web |url=http://www.bafta4jb.com/jeremy-brett-his-work/theatre-listing |title=Jeremy Brett his work: Theatre listing | work=bafta4jb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091328/http://www.bafta4jb.com/jeremy-brett-his-work/theatre-listing/ |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

From the early 1960s, Brett was often on British television. He starred in several serials, including as [[d'Artagnan]] in an adaptation of ''[[The Three Musketeers]]'' (1966). His highest profile film appearance was as Freddy Eynsford-Hill in ''My Fair Lady'' (1964), again with Audrey Hepburn. Although Brett sang well, as he later demonstrated when he played Danilo in a BBC Television broadcast of ''[[The Merry Widow]]'' (Christmas Day 1968), his singing in ''My Fair Lady'' was dubbed by [[Bill Shirley]]. Around this time, Brett was considered to replace [[Sean Connery]] as [[James Bond]] (007), but turned the part down, feeling that playing 007 would harm his career. [[George Lazenby]] was subsequently cast instead.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/james-bond-the-men-who-couldve-been-007 |title=James Bond: The Men Who Could've Been 007 |first=Roger |last=Domeneghetti |date=19 October 2015 |website=Sabotage Times |archive-date=23 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423170017/https://sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/james-bond-the-men-who-couldve-been-007 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

Some of his appearances were in classical comedic roles, such as Captain Absolute in a television version of ''[[The Rivals]]'' (1970) and Bassanio in [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' (1970) in a National Theatre Company production directed by [[Jonathan Miller]], which also featured [[Laurence Olivier]] (as [[Shylock]]) and [[Joan Plowright]] (as Portia). This was adapted for television in 1973 with the same three leads. Brett joked that, as an actor, he was rarely allowed into the 20th century and ''never'' into the present day. He did, though, appear in a few contemporary guest roles, in a couple of the [[ITC Entertainment|ITC]] series such as ''[[The Baron (TV series)|The Baron]]'' (1967) and ''[[The Champions]]'' (1969), wherein he was cast as swarthy, smooth [[villain]]s. Brett also appeared in ''[[The Incredible Hulk (1977 TV series)|The Incredible Hulk]]'' ("Of Guilt, Models and Murder", 1977) and starred as Maxim in the 1979 adaptation of [[Daphne du Maurier]]'s ''[[Rebecca (novel)|Rebecca]]'' opposite [[Joanna David]].

Jeremy Brett's final, posthumous film appearance was an uncredited bit part as the artist's father in ''[[Moll Flanders (1996 film)|Moll Flanders]]'', a 1996 Hollywood feature film starring [[Robin Wright Penn]] in the title role. The film (not to be confused with the 1996 ITV adaptation starring [[Alex Kingston]]) was released nearly a year after Brett's death.<ref name="BFI Filmog" />

===Sherlock Holmes===
[[File:Jeremy Brett.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Brett as [[Sherlock Holmes]]]]
Although Brett appeared in many different roles during his 40-year career, he is best remembered for his performance as [[Sherlock Holmes]] in ''[[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (TV series)|The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]'', a series of [[Granada Television]] films made between 1984 and 1994. These were adapted by [[John Hawkesworth (producer)|John Hawkesworth]] and other writers from the original stories by Sir [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]. Even though he reportedly feared being typecast, Brett appeared in all 41 episodes of the Granada series, plus two television films alongside [[David Burke (British actor)|David Burke]] and, latterly, [[Edward Hardwicke]] as [[Doctor Watson]]. Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke appeared on stage in 1988 and 1989 in ''The Secret of Sherlock Holmes'' directed by [[Patrick Garland]].

After taking on the demanding role ("Holmes is the hardest part I have ever played—harder than Hamlet or Macbeth"{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=212}}) Brett made few other acting appearances, and he is now widely considered to be the definitive Holmes of his era, just as [[Basil Rathbone]] was at the beginning of the 1940s and [[William Gillette]] during the first third of the 20th century. Brett had previously played Doctor Watson on stage opposite [[Charlton Heston]] as Holmes in the 1980 Los Angeles production of ''[[The Crucifer of Blood]]'', making him one of only a small number of actors to play both Holmes and Watson professionally.<ref name="eyles">{{cite book |last=Eyles |first=Allen |title=Sherlock Holmes: A Centenary Celebration |year=1986 |publisher=[[Harper (publisher)|Harper & Row]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/sherlockholmesce0000eyle/page/86 86] |isbn=0-06-015620-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/sherlockholmesce0000eyle/page/86 }}</ref>{{refn|group=fn|Eyles mentions three other actors who played both Holmes and Watson: [[Reginald Owen]] (who played Watson in a 1932 film and Holmes in a 1933 film),{{sfnp|Barnes|2002|p=39}} [[Howard Marion-Crawford]] (who played Holmes in a radio production and Watson in a television series), and [[Carleton Hobbs]] (who portrayed both roles on the radio).<ref name="eyles" /> Other actors who played both roles include [[Patrick Macnee]],{{sfnp|Barnes|2002|p=60}} [[Edward Woodward]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7b55f596 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228061138/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7b55f596 |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 December 2017 |title=Hands of a Murderer (1990) |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lib.umn.edu/scrbm/ush/volume-4-section-XK4 |title=USH Volume 4, Section X K -- Actors, Performances, and Recordings: Plays (continued) |website=University of Minnesota Libraries |access-date=31 December 2020 |archive-date=12 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912143601/https://www.lib.umn.edu/scrbm/ush/volume-4-section-XK4 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Kenneth Rivington,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KiSPDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 |title=Chaplin's Music Hall: The Chaplins and their Circle in the Limelight |page=175 |last=Anthony |first=Barry |publisher=I. B. Tauris & Co. |year=2012|isbn=9781786733856 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lib.umn.edu/scrbm/ush/volume-3-section-XK |title=USH Volume 3, Section X K -- Actors, Performances, and Recordings: Plays |website=University of Minnesota Libraries |access-date=2 January 2021 |archive-date=22 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722194701/https://www.lib.umn.edu/scrbm/ush/volume-3-section-XK |url-status=dead }}</ref> H. Lawrence Leyton,<ref>{{cite book |last=Pointer |first=Michael |year=1976 |pages=30–31 |title=The Sherlock Holmes File |url=https://archive.org/details/sherlockholmesfi00poin/page/30/ |publisher=Clarkson N. Potter, Inc. |isbn=0-517-52560-7}}</ref> and John Bell.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Sherlock-Holmes-The-Mystery-of-the-Mummy/ |website=Behind The Voice Actors |title=Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy |access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref>}}

Brett was approached in February 1982 by Granada Television to play Holmes. The idea was to make a totally authentic and faithful adaptation of the character's best cases. Eventually Brett accepted the role; he wanted to be the best Sherlock Holmes the world had ever seen.{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=?}} He conducted extensive research on the great detective and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, and was very attentive to discrepancies between the scripts he had been given and Conan Doyle's original stories.{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=122}} One of Brett's dearest possessions on the set was his 77-page "Baker Street File" on everything from Holmes' mannerisms to his eating and drinking habits. Brett once explained that "some actors are becomers—they try to become their characters. When it works, the actor is like a sponge, squeezing himself dry to remove his own personality, then absorbing the character's like a liquid".{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=217}} Brett was focused on bringing more passion to the role of Holmes. He introduced Holmes's rather eccentric hand gestures and short violent laughter. He would hurl himself on the ground just to look for a footprint, "he would leap over the furniture or jump onto the parapet of a bridge with no regard for his personal safety."{{sfnp|Cox|1999|p=22}}

Holmes's obsessive and depressive personality fascinated and frightened Brett. In many ways Holmes's personality resembled the actor's own, with outbursts of passionate energy followed by periods of lethargy. It became difficult for him to let go of Holmes after work. He had always been told that the only way for an actor to stay sane was for him to leave his part behind at the end of the day, but Brett started dreaming about Holmes, and the dreams turned into nightmares.{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=121}} Brett began to refer to Holmes as "You Know Who" or simply "HIM". Terry Manners' 2001 book{{sfnp|Manners|2001}} on Brett in the role provides some of Brett's thoughts: {{blockquote|"Watson describes You Know Who as a mind without a heart, which is hard to play. Hard to become. So what I have done is invent an inner life." Brett invented an imaginary life of Holmes to fill the hollowness of Holmes's "missing heart", his empty emotional life. He imagined: "... what You Know Who's nanny looked like. She was covered in starch. I don't think he saw his mother until he was about eight years old ..." etc.{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=134}}}} While the other actors disappeared to the canteen for lunch, Brett would sit alone on the set reading the script, looking at every nuance,{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=133}} reading Holmes in the weekends and on his holidays. Brett stated, "Some actors fear if they play Sherlock Holmes for a very long run the character will steal their soul, leave no corner for the original inhabitant,"{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=216}} but also that, "Holmes has become the dark side of the moon for me. He is moody and solitary and underneath I am really sociable and gregarious. It has all got too dangerous".{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=212}}

A theatrical adaptation, ''The Secret of Sherlock Holmes'', by Brett's friend, playwright Jeremy Paul, ran at [[Wyndham's Theatre]] in London's West End with Brett and Edward Hardwicke during 1988 and 1989; the production subsequently toured.<ref name="BAFTA4JB"/>

Brett's performance is regarded by many critics to have been their favourite rendition of Sherlock Holmes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Welton |first=Benjamin |date=6 February 2014 |title=Nevermind the Sherlock: Rediscovering the Great Gentleman |url=https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2014/02/nevermind-sherlock-rediscovering-great-gentleman.html |access-date=11 July 2024 |website=[[The Imaginative Conservative]] |language=en-US |quote=So, if you would like a more appropriate representation of the "Great Detective," then the best place to start would be the Conan Doyle short stories and novels themselves. For your viewing pleasure, you'd be best served to discover the Granada Television series, which ran from 1984 until 1994 and starred Jeremy Brett—the single best Sherlock Holmes ever to grace any screen, big or small.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Richards |first1=Andy |date=18 September 2016 |title=Did Sherlock Holmes kill Midland actor Jeremy Brett, the man who played him? |url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/sherlock-holmes-kill-midland-actor-11894976 |access-date=23 May 2017 |work=[[Birmingham Mail]] |publisher=Reach PLC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tillerson |first=Bethany |date=3 June 2022 |title='Sherlock Holmes': 8 Things That Make The 1984 TV Show The Best Adaptation |url=https://collider.com/sherlock-holmes-eighties-tv-show-best-adaptation/ |access-date=11 July 2024 |website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]] |language=en}}</ref>

==Awards==
Jeremy Brett received the [[Légion d'honneur]] in 1994 for his role of Sherlock Holmes at a celebration marking ten years since the series aired. He received it in Manchester where the series was filmed.<ref name="Légion d'honneur">{{cite web |last=Société Sherlock Holmes de France |title=La Légion d'honneur pour Jeremy Brett - avril 1994 à Manchester |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WR6Hw3BMnk |access-date=1 July 2023 |via=YouTube |date=3 February 2019 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
On 24 May 1958, Brett married the actress [[Anna Massey]] (daughter of actor [[Raymond Massey]]). Their son, David Huggins, born in 1959, is a British cartoonist, illustrator, and novelist.<ref>{{cite news |first=Emma |last=Hagestadt |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/david-huggins-public-faces-in-private-places-747515.html |title=David Huggins: Public faces in private places |newspaper=The Independent |date=3 November 2001 |access-date=12 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810160746/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/david-huggins-public-faces-in-private-places-747515.html |archive-date=10 August 2011}}</ref> Brett and Massey divorced on 22 November 1962 after she claimed that he had left her for a man.<ref>{{cite book |first=Anna |last=Massey |title=Telling Some Tales |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson |year=2006 |isbn=0-09-179645-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=David Stuart |last= Davies |author-link=David Stuart Davies |title=Dancing in the Moonlight: Jeremy Brett |location=London |publisher=MDF The BiPolar Organisation |year=2006}}</ref> In 1976, Brett married Joan Sullivan Wilson, who died of cancer in July 1985.{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=144}} Brett was in a romantic relationship with the actor [[Gary Bond]], who died exactly one month after Brett.{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=130}} In the late 1970s, Brett was involved with [[Paul Shenar]]. Brett never disclosed his [[sexuality]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Graham|first=David|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49408486|title=Casting about : a memoir|date=2001|publisher=iUniverse.com|isbn=0-595-17770-0|location=Lincoln, NE|pages=265|oclc=49408486}}</ref>

In the latter part of 1986, Brett exhibited wild mood swings that alarmed his family and friends, who persuaded him to seek diagnosis and treatment for manic depression, also known as [[bipolar disorder]].{{sfnp|Cox|1999|p=112}} Brett was prescribed [[Lithium (medication)|lithium tablets]] to fight this condition. He suspected that he would never be cured, and would have to live with his malady, look for the signs of his disorder, and then deal with it.{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=160}} He wanted to return to work, and to play Holmes again.

The first episode to be produced after his discharge was a two-hour adaptation of ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)|The Sign of Four]]'' in 1987. From then on, the changes in Brett's appearance and behaviour slowly became more noticeable as the series developed. One of the side effects of the lithium tablets was [[Water retention (medicine)|fluid retention]]; Brett was putting on weight and retaining water. The drugs were also slowing him down.{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=204}} According to [[Edward Hardwicke]], Brett smoked up to 60 cigarettes a day, which "didn't help his health."<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/d1FBZznsoXU Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20120905232556/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1FBZznsoXU Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1FBZznsoXU |title=Elementary My Dear Watson: An Interview with Edward Hardwicke (Part 2/2) |via=YouTube |date=21 January 2010 |access-date=9 June 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He also had heart troubles. [[Cardiomegaly|His heart was twice the normal size]];{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=26}} he had difficulties breathing and needed an oxygen mask on the set. "But, darlings, the show must go on", was his only comment.{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=207}}

During the final decade of his life, Brett was treated in hospital several times for his mental illness, and his health and appearance visibly deteriorated by the time he completed the later episodes of the ''Sherlock Holmes'' series. At one point, during the final series, Brett collapsed on set.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} During his last years, he discussed the illness candidly, encouraging people to recognise its symptoms and seek help.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

==Death==
[[File:Plaque for Jeremy Brett in Clapham Common.jpg|thumb|Plaque on a memorial bench for Brett on [[Clapham Common]]. ]]
Brett died from heart failure on 12 September 1995 at his home in [[Clapham]], at age 61. His [[heart valve]]s had been scarred by [[rheumatic fever]] contracted as a child, and on top of this he had been a heavy smoker throughout his life.{{sfnp|Manners|2001|p=26}} His body was cremated.

One of his elder brothers, John, who was a minister, spoke at his youngest brother's memorial service on 29 November 1995.

[[Mel Gussow]] wrote in an obituary for ''[[The New York Times]]'', "Mr. Brett was regarded as the quintessential Holmes: breathtakingly analytical, given to outrageous disguises and the blackest moods and relentless in his enthusiasm for solving the most intricate crimes."<ref>{{cite news |last=Gussow |first=Mel |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7D6163DF937A2575AC0A963958260 |title=Jeremy Brett, an Unnerving Holmes, Is Dead at 59 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=14 September 1995 |page=B15}}</ref>

A memorial tree to the actor was planted on [[Clapham Common]] – near where Brett had lived locally for many years prior to his death – on 30 March 2007.<ref>{{cite web |title='Quintessential' Sherlock Holmes Remembered {{!}} CCMAC |url=https://claphamcommon.info/quintessential-sherlock-holmes-remembered/ |publisher=The Clapham Common Management Advisory Committee (CCMAC) |date=27 October 2015}}</ref>

==Work==

===Stage===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Name
! Role
! Place
|-
| 1956 ||''[[Richard II (play)|King Richard II]]''||Duke of Aumerle {{pad|.5em}} ||Winter Garden Theatre
|-
| 1956 ||''[[Macbeth]]''||Malcolm {{pad|.5em}} ||Winter Garden Theatre
|-
| 1956 ||''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''||Paris {{pad|.5em}} ||Winter Garden Theatre
|-
| 1957 ||''[[Troilus and Cressida]]''||Troilus {{pad|.5em}} ||[[Winter Garden Theatre]]
|-
|1960
|''Johnny the Priest''
|Rev. Highfield
|[[Princes Theatre]]
|-
| 1961 ||''[[Hamlet]]'' ||Hamlet ||[[Oxford Playhouse]]/[[Royal Strand Theatre]]
|-
|1963
|''The Workhouse Donkey''
|Maurice Sweetman
|[[Chichester Festival Theatre]]
|-
| 1964 ||''[[The Deputy]]''||Father Riccardo Fontana, S.J. {{pad|.5em}} ||[[Brooks Atkinson Theatre]]
|-
|1965
|''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]''
|Claudio
|[[The Old Vic]]
|-
| 1967 ||''[[As You Like It]]''  ||Orlando {{pad|.5em}} ||[[Royal National Theatre]]
|-
|1968
|''[[Tartuffe]]''
|Valere
|[[The Old Vic]]
|-
|1968
|''Edward II''
|Kent
|[[The Old Vic]]
|-
|1968
|''[[Love's Labour's Lost]]''
|Berowne
|[[The Old Vic]]
|-
|1969
|''MacRune's Guevara''
|[[Che Guevara]]
|[[Cochrane Theatre|Jeanetta Cochrane Theatre]]
|-
|1970
|''[[Hedda Gabler]]''
|George Tesman
|[[Cambridge Theatre]]
|-
|1970
|''[[The Merchant of Venice]]''
|Bassanio
|[[The Old Vic]]
|-
|1971
|''[[A Voyage Round My Father|A Voyage Around My Father]]''
|Son
|[[Haymarket Theatre]]
|-
|1973
|''[[Design for Living]]''
|Otto
|[[Phoenix Theatre, London|Phoenix Theatre]]
|-
| 1978 ||''[[Dracula (1924 play)#1977 revival|Dracula]]''||[[Count Dracula]]|| various; Broadway production tour
|-
| 1980 ||''[[The Crucifer of Blood]]''  ||[[Dr. Watson]] {{pad|.5em}} ||[[Ahmanson Theatre]]
|-
| 1985 ||''[[Aren't We All?]]''  ||Hon. William Tatham {{pad|.5em}} ||[[Brooks Atkinson Theatre]]
|-
| 1988 ||''The Secret of Sherlock Holmes''|| [[Sherlock Holmes]] {{pad|.5em}} ||[[Wyndham's Theatre]]
|}

===Film===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1954 ||''[[Svengali (1954 film)|Svengali]]'' || Pierre || Uncredited
|-
| 1956 ||''[[War and Peace (1956 film)|War and Peace]]'' || Nikolai Rostov ||
|-
| 1962 ||''[[The Wild and the Willing]]'' || Andrew Gilby ||
|-
| 1963 ||''[[The Very Edge]]'' || Mullen - The Intruder ||
|-
| 1963 ||''[[Girl in the Headlines]]'' || Jordan Barker ||
|-
| 1964 ||''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' || Freddy Eynsford-Hill ||
|-
| 1964 ||''[[Act of Reprisal]]'' || Harvey Freeman ||
|-
| 1971 ||''[[Nicholas and Alexandra]]'' || || Uncredited
|-
| 1978 ||''[[The Medusa Touch (film)|The Medusa Touch]]'' || Edward Parrish ||
|-
| 1981 ||''The Secret of Seagull Island'' || David Malcolm ||
|-
| 1995 ||''[[Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1995 film)|Mad Dogs and Englishmen]]'' || Tony Vernon-Smith ||
|-
| 1996 ||''[[Moll Flanders (1996 film)|Moll Flanders]]'' || Artist's Father || Posthumous release
|}

===Television films===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Name
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1957 ||''Meet me by Moonlight'' ||Roderick||
|-
|1961
|''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray]]''
|Dorian Gray
|
|-
| 1962 ||''[[The Ghost Sonata]]'' ||The Student||
|-
| 1962 ||''Dinner with the Family''||Jacques||
|-
| 1966 ||''Chopin and George Sand - The Creative Years'' ||Chopin||
|-
| 1968 ||''[[The Merry Widow]]''||Count Danilo Danilovitch||
|-
| 1969 ||''[[An Ideal Husband]]''||Viscount Goring||
|-
|1970
|''The Rivals''
|Captain Jack Absolute
|
|-
| 1973 ||''[[The Merchant of Venice]]''||Bassanio||
|-
| 1974 ||''Affairs of the Heart''||Captain Yule||
|-
| 1974 ||''[[Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill]]''||Count Karel Kinsky||2 episodes
|-
| 1974 ||''Haunted: The Ferryman''||Sheridan Owen||
|-
| 1975 ||''The Prodigal Daughter''||Father Daley||
|-
| 1975 ||''Love's Labour's Lost''||Berowne||
|-
|1975
|''The School for Scandal''
|Joseph Surface
|
|-
| 1976 ||''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray (Play of the Month)|The Picture of Dorian Gray]]''||Basil Hallward||
|-1979 Lieutenant Nash|| "Battlestar Galactica||
| 1979 ||''[[Rebecca (1979 TV series)|Rebecca]]''||Maximillian "Maxim" de Winter||
|-1979 Commander Xavier ||Galactica 1980||
| 1981 ||''[[Madame X (1981 film)|Madame X]]''||Dr. Terrence Keith||
|-
| 1981 ||''Macbeth''||Macbeth||
|-
| 1981 ||''[[The Good Soldier (1981 film)|The Good Soldier]]''||Edward Ashburnham||
|-
| 1982 ||''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' ||Robert Browning||
|-
| 1984 ||''Morte d'Arthur''||King Arthur||
|-
| 1985 ||''Florence Nightingale''||William Nightingale||
|-
| 1985 ||''Deceptions''||Bryan Foxworth||
|-
| 1987 ||''The Sign of Four''||[[Sherlock Holmes]]||
|-
| 1988 ||''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' ||Sherlock Holmes||
|}

{{hidden
|headerstyle=background:#FFFF00
|Sherlock Holmes television series
|
{{Div col}}
* 1984: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
::  ''A Scandal in Bohemia''
::  ''The Dancing Men''
::  ''The Naval Treaty''
::  ''The Solitary Cyclist''
::  ''The Crooked Man''
::  ''The Speckled Band''
::  ''The Blue Carbuncle''
* 1985:  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
::  ''The Copper Beeches''
::  ''The Greek Interpreter''
::  ''The Norwood Builder''
::  ''The Resident  Patient''
::  ''The Red Headed League''
::  ''The Final Problem''
* 1986: ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes''
:: ''The Empty House''
:: ''The Priory School''
:: ''The Second Stain''
:: ''The Musgrave Ritual''
:: ''The Abbey Grange''
:: ''The Man with the Twisted Lip''
:: ''The Six Napoleons''
* 1988: ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes''
:: ''The Devil's Foot''
:: ''Silver Blaze''
:: ''Wisteria Lodge''
:: ''The Bruce Partington Plans''
* 1987—1988: ''Masterpiece Mystery''
:: ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles''
:: ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four''
* 1992: ''ITV Telethon'' [Sherlock Holmes]
* 1991—1993: ''The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes''
:: 1991: ''The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax''
:: 1991: ''The Problem of Thor Bridge''
:: 1991: ''The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place''
:: 1991: ''The Boscombe Valley Mystery''
:: 1991: ''The Illustrious Client''
:: 1991: ''The Adventure of the Creeping Man''
:: 1992: ''The Master Blackmailer''
:: 1993: ''The Last Vampyre''
:: 1993: ''The Eligible Bachelor''
* 1994: ''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes''
:: ''The Three Gables''
:: ''The Dying Detective''
:: ''The Golden Pince-Nez''
:: ''The Red Circle''
:: ''The Mazarin Stone''
:: ''The Cardboard Box''
{{Div col end}}
}}

{{hidden
|headerstyle=background:#DE5285
|Other television series
|
{{Div col}}
* 1957: ''[[Producers' Showcase]]'' [Paris]
:: ''Romeo and Juliet''
* 1960: ''Saturday Playhouse'' [Nigel Lorraine]
:: ''The Guinea Pig''
* 1961: ''Beauty and the Beast'' [The Prince]
:: 2 episodes
* 1961: ''[[BBC Sunday-Night Play]]'' [Julian Bennett]
:: ''A Kind of Strength''
* 1962: ''The Bacchae'' [Dionysus]
* 1960—1963: ''ITV Play of the Week''
:: 1960: ''Tess''  [Angel Clare]
:: 1962: ''The Typewriter'' [Pascal / Maxime]
:: 1963: ''Three Roads to Rome'' [Tonino]
* 1965: ''[[Knock on Any Door (TV series)|Knock on Any Door]]'' [David]
:: ''Close Season''
* 1966: ''[[Mystery and Imagination]]'' [Sir John Maltravers]
:: ''The Lost Stradivarius''
* 1966—1967: ''The Three Musketeers'' [D'Artagnan]
:: 1966: ''Branded''
:: 1966: ''At Night All Cats Are Grey''
:: 1967: ''The Cardina''
:: 1967: ''Assassin''
:: 1967: ''Walk to the Scaffold''
* 1967: ''[[The Baron (TV series)|The Baron]]''
:: ''The Seven Eyes of Night'' [Jeff Walker]
* 1961—1967: ''[[Armchair Theatre]]''
:: 1961: ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' [Dorian Gray]
:: 1964: ''Something to Declare'' [Plinio Ceccho]
:: 1967: ''Quite an Ordinary Knife'' [Gino]
* 1967: ''Kenilworth'' [Edmund Tressilian]
:: ''The Sparrow's Lure''
:: ''The Black Arts''
:: ''The Tide Turns''
:: ''The Wrath of Lions''
* 1966—1967: ''[[Theatre 625]]''
:: 1966: ''The Queen & the Welshman'' [Villiers]
:: 1967: ''The Magicians:  The Incantation of Casanova'' [Giacomo Casanova]
* 1968: ''For Amusement Only'' [Henry]
:: ''Time for the Funny Walk''
* 1969: ''[[The Champions]]'' [The Bey]
:: ''Desert Journey''
* 1970: ''Solo'' [Byron]
* 1973: ''[[The Protectors]]'' [Kahan]
:: ''With a Little Help from My Friends''
* 1973: ''Country Matters'' [Captain Blaine]
:: ''An Aspidistra in Babylon''
* 1973: ''[[A Picture of Katherine Mansfield]]'' [John Middleton Murry]
:: 4 episodes
* 1974: ''[[Lady Randolph Churchill#Legacy|Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill]]'' [Count Karel Kinsky]
:: ''Recovery''
:: ''Triumph and Tragedy''
* 1974: ''Affairs of the Heart'' [Captain Yule]
* 1974: ''The Wide World of Mystery'' [Peter Tower]
:: ''One Deadly Owner''
* 1975: ''A Legacy'' [Eduard Merz]
:: 4  episodes
* 1975: ''Ten from the Twenties'' [Willie Edwardes]
* 1975: ''Twiggy'' - 15 October episode
* 1976: ''Piccadilly Circus'' [Host]
* 1977: ''[[Supernatural (1977 TV series)|Supernatural]]'' [Mr. Nightingale]
* 1977: ''[[Young Dan'l Boone]]'' [Langford]
* 1978: ''[[The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series)|The Incredible Hulk]]'' [James Joslin]
* 1979: ''Rebecca'' [Maxim de Winter]
:: 4 episodes
* 1979: ''[[Hart to Hart]]'' [Mason Parks]
* 1980: ''[[Galactica 1980]]'' [Xaviar / Lieutenant Nash]
* 1981: ''Seagull Island'' [David Malcolm]
:: 4 episodes
* 1970—1982: ''[[BBC Play of the Month]]''
:: 1969: ''[[An Ideal Husband]]'' [Lord Goring]
:: 1970: ''[[The Rivals]]'' [Captain Jack Absolute]
:: 1975: ''[[The School for Scandal]]'' [Joseph Surface]
:: 1975: ''[[Love's Labour's Lost]]'' [Berowne]
:: 1976: ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray]]'' [Basil Hallward]
:: 1982: ''[[On Approval (play)|On Approval]]'' [George, Duke of Bristol]
* 1983: ''[[Number 10 (TV series)|Number 10]]'' [William Pitt the Younger]
* 1984: ''[[The Love Boat]]'' [Ernest Finley]
{{Div col end}}
}}

==See also==
* [[List of actors who have played Sherlock Holmes]]
* [[List of Sherlock Holmes episodes|List of ''Sherlock Holmes'' episodes starring Jeremy Brett]], including brief episode summaries

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|group=fn}}

==References==
'''Citations'''
{{Reflist|30em}}
'''Bibliography'''
* {{cite book |last=Barnes |first=Alan |year=2002 |title=Sherlock Holmes on Screen |publisher=Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. |isbn=1-903111-04-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Cox |first=Michael |year=1999 |title=A Study in Celluloid: A Producer's Account of Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes |publisher=Rupert Books |isbn=1-902791-04-5}}
* Davies, David Stuart (1996). ''Bending The Willow: Jeremy Brett As Sherlock Holmes.'' Chester, England: Calabash Press. [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN 1899562184]]
* {{cite book |first=Terry |last=Manners |title=The Man Who Became Sherlock Holmes – The Tortured Mind of Jeremy Brett |publisher=Virgin Publishing Ltd. |location=London |year=2001 |isbn=0-7535-0536-3|oclc=59510394}}
* Whittaker, Maureen (2019). ''Jeremy Brett: Playing a Part''. London: MX Publishing. [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN 978-1-78705-589-6]]
* Société Sherlock Holmes de France, 2019. La Légion d'honneur pour Jeremy Brett – avril 1994 à Manchester. available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WR6Hw3BMnk

==External links==
{{commons category|Jeremy Brett}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb name|107950}}
* [https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php/Jeremy_Brett Jeremy Brett biography]
* {{Screenonline name|id=565276}}
* [http://www.sherlockian-sherlock.com/jeremy-brett-sherlock-holmes.php Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes (Granada series)]

{{Authority control}}

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