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William Gillette

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Actor

The Resume

    (July 24, 1855-April 29, 1937)
    Plays include 'Sherlock Holmes,' 'Secret Service,' 'Too Much Johnson,' 'Held by the Enemy' and 'The Painful Predicament of Sherlock Holmes'

Why he might be annoying:

    His most famous play was a revision of a four act drama about Sherlock Holmes by Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle.
    When he asked for permission to alter the Holmes persona, Conan Doyle replied, 'You may marry him, murder him, or do anything you like to him.'
    He added a romantic interest to the play that was very out of keeping with the character in the stories.
    He created the image of Holmes smoking a curved meerschaum pipe because he discovered it was the only one he could hold in his mouth and speak his lines.
    He was painfully shy.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was the first actor to play Sherlock Holmes.
    He played Holmes over 1300 times.
    When Charlie Chaplin was a boy, he cast him in a small role in 'Sherlock Holmes.'
    He did a silent film of 'Sherlock Holmes' in 1916.
    'Sherlock Holmes' was revived on Broadway in 1974 and ran for 471 performances.
    Although chiefly associated with the Holmes character, he achieved major successes in other plays that he wrote.
    He played Holmes on stage for the last time at the age of 76, and on radio at 79.
    He delivered an influential lecture called 'The Illusion of the First Time in Acting,' that stressed a naturalistic style.

Credit: Jon Mullich


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 16 Votes: 68.75% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 17 Votes: 5.88% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 21 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 24 Votes: 45.83% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 27 Votes: 51.85% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 65 Votes: 69.23% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 104 Votes: 63.46% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 170 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
    In 2004, Out of 223 Votes: 49.78% Annoying
    In 2003, Out of 503 Votes: 50.10% Annoying
    In 2002, Out of 1202 Votes: 46.09% Annoying