ACTOR
Jeremy Brett
- Known for
- Sherlock Holmes (1984), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1988), The Sign of Four (1987), The Medusa Touch (1978)
38 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Jeremy Brett is an actor best known for Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Sign of Four.
All facts (38)
- #001
Brett was left-handed, while the character of Sherlock Holmes was right-handed. When a close-up showed Holmes writing something, a hand double was used.
- #002
His father forbade him from using the family surname on stage because he considered acting a "dubious" profession. Jeremy therefore took his stage name from the label of his first costume, "Brett & Co."
- #003
Brett belonged to the Woodmen of Arden, an archery club founded in 1758. His father and brothers were members as well.
- #004
His death at 61 was the result of cardiomyopathy (heart failure). Brett's heart valves had been permanently damaged by rheumatic fever he suffered in his youth. Medication later prescribed for bipolar disorder and a long-standing smoking habit also weakened his heart. His co-star Edward Hardwicke recalled that Brett would usually buy three packs of cigarettes in the morning and smoke them all during the day.
- #005
In the scene in War and Peace (1956) where the Rostovs invite Prince Andrei to hunt with them, Brett is the only actor who never rides a mechanical horse. He is clearly on a live horse in all of his shots. In close-ups, Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Barry Jones and May Britt are clearly seen on mechanical horses.
- #006
Although he is now regarded by many as the definitive Sherlock Holmes, when the cast was announced in 1984 there were complaints that he was too old for the role.
- #007
He was born with a speech impediment that was later corrected by surgery in his youth.
- #008
While playing Sherlock Holmes, he suffered a nervous breakdown at least once.
- #009
He was briefly considered for the role of James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and later auditioned for Live and Let Die (1973).
- #010
He owned a Jack Russell terrier mix named "Mr. Binks."
- #011
In War and Peace (1956) he played Audrey Hepburn's brother, and in My Fair Lady (1964) he played her suitor.
- #012
Because he loved horses, he wanted to be a jockey before becoming an actor, but claimed he grew too big for it.
- #013
After training in acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, Jeremy Brett made his professional stage debut in 1954 with the repertory company of the Library Theatre in Manchester, England. There he became a lifelong friend of the actor Robert Stephens. They would go on to share rooms and roles, serve as each other's best man, and die two months apart.
- #014
His hobbies included archery, horse riding and the piano.
- #015
He suffered from bipolar disorder.
- #016
He was educated at Eton College.
- #017
Alongside his former wife Anna Massey, he played Maxim de Winter and her maid Mrs. Danvers in the BBC television production of Rebecca (1979).
- #018
Before he agreed to play the Baker Street detective in 1984, his friend and fellow Holmes actor Robert Stephens had strongly advised Jeremy Brett to turn the role down.
- #019
He had a condition called Brachydactyly type-D, which made his thumbs very short.
- #020
He was cast as Nicholas Rostov in War and Peace (1956) partly because he was thought to resemble his on-screen sister, Audrey Hepburn.
- #021
As Brett himself acknowledged in 1994, all of the songs in My Fair Lady (1964) were sung by Bill Shirley.
- #022
His favorite pieces of music were Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem, "In Paradisum" from Fauré's Requiem, the "Habanera" from Georges Bizet's Carmen, Richard Strauss's Vier Letzte Lieder, and the "Tuba Mirum" from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem.
- #023
A memorial service for him was held on 29 November 1995 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London.
- #024
He was the former son-in-law of Raymond Massey and Adrianne Allen. He was the former brother-in-law of Daniel Massey.
- #025
His wife Joan died in July 1985 after a two-year battle with cancer.
- #026
His son with his wife Anna Massey, David Huggins, was born on 14 August 1959.
- #027
He was the son of Henry William Huggins (a military Colonel, DSO, MC, DL) and Elizabeth Edith Cadbury (Butler) Huggins.
- #028
He had three older brothers: John, Michael and Patrick.
- #029
His father, Lieutenant Colonel Henry William "Bill" Huggins, was born in 1890.
- #030
He was the father of the writer David Huggins (The Big Kiss, Luxury Amnesia); he was the stepfather of Caleb W. Sullivan and Rebekah Wilson Giarusso.
- #031
His mother died in a car accident in 1959.
- #032
His father died in 1965.
- #033
His parents married in 1923.
- #034
His grandson Dan Huggins was born in 2002 to David Huggins and his wife Madeleine Christie (who married in 2001).
- #035
In May 1986 he completed his third Sherlock Holmes series.
- #036
He was the youngest son of a colonel.
- #037
Jeremy Brett played a man named Nightingale on screen twice: in the fourth episode of Supernatural (1977), as Mr. Nightingale, and in Florence Nightingale (1985), as William Nightingale.
- #038
Jeremy Brett was born on exactly the same date as Aneta Corsaut, known for "The Blob." The two died two months apart.
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