American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal (Drama)
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (1931) Winner
William Hooker Gillette
ウィリアム・フッカー・ギレット
William Hooker Gillette
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1853-07-24 （Nook Farm, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.）
- Died
- 1937-04-29 （Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.） age 83
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Hartford (birthplace, later life) → Hadlyme (Gillette Castle / estate) → Greenport, Long Island → New York City → Tryon, North Carolina
Career
- Occupations
- actor, playwright, stage manager, director, inventor
- Active Years
- 1873-1936
- Affiliations
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected)
- Memberships
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences (member), The Baker Street Irregulars (associate/honorary connection)
- Influenced By
- Mark Twain (local literary circle / early professional recommendation), Late 19th-century American theatrical realism
- Influenced
- Subsequent actors portraying Sherlock Holmes (stage and screen), Realistic stage settings, sound and lighting techniques in theatre
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
—
Attended classes irregularly at several institutions but did not complete a degree
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences | — | — | American Academy of Arts and Sciences | 選出 |
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
1915
Organization:
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Result:
選出
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Held by the Enemy
1886 Civil War drama (realism)A Civil War drama that abandoned many melodramatic devices and introduced realism into sets, props and sound effects.
war and loyaltyhonorrealistic stagecraft
Secret Service
1895 Play / Civil War dramaOne of Gillette's best-known non-Holmes plays; a popular and critically successful Civil War drama with multiple stage revivals and film adaptations.
espionage/duplicationloyalty and dutyAmerican drama
Adaptations
- [film] Secret Service (1919 film) / Hugh Ford (1919)
- [film] Secret Service (1931 film) / J. Walter Ruben (1931)
Sherlock Holmes (play)
1899 Play / detective dramaA four-act play adapted by Gillette using elements from several Conan Doyle stories; Gillette's stage portrayal helped form the modern image of Sherlock Holmes.
deduction and theatricalityindividual vs public dutystage realism
Adaptations
- [film (silent)] Sherlock Holmes (1916 film) / Arthur Berthelet (1916)
- [film] Sherlock Holmes (1922 film) / Albert Parker (1922)
Translations
- Sherlock Holmes (play translations)
The Professor
1881 Comedy / playAn early original play by Gillette that debuted at the Madison Square Theatre and had a successful run.
comic elementstheatrical craft
Bibliography
- Held by the Enemy (1886)
- The Professor (1881)
- Secret Service (1895)
- Sherlock Holmes (play, 1899)
- The Astounding Crime on Torrington Road (novel, 1927)
Adaptations
- Sherlock Holmes (1916 silent film, starring Gillette)
- Secret Service (1919 film)
- Too Much Johnson (various adaptations, including film fragments by Orson Welles)
Translations of Works
- Sherlock Holmes (play translations into multiple languages)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- realistic stagecraftnaturalistic acting stylemeticulous use of stage effects, sound and lighting
- Recurring Motifs
- Sherlock Holmes iconography (deerstalker, curved pipe)the 'Illusion of the First Time' in actingtechnical stage tricks (props, sound effects)
Health
-
pulmonary hemorrhage (cause of death)1937Died of pulmonary hemorrhage in 1937. He remained active on stage into his later years but health declined toward the end of his life.
Legacy
Gillette established the stage image of Sherlock Holmes and popularized realistic stage settings, sound and lighting effects. Gillette Castle is preserved as a tourist site and museum, and he is considered a key figure in the history of Holmes portrayals and American theatre.
Museums
- Gillette Castle / Gillette Castle State Park Museum East Haddam, Connecticut — 67 River Road Opened in 1943
Academic Societies
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Archives
- Harriet Beecher Stowe Center (collections related to Gillette)
- Library of Congress (theatrical materials)
In Popular Culture
- Modern Sherlock Holmes iconography (deerstalker, curved pipe)
- Gillette Castle is a tourist attraction and commemorative site in theatre history
Quotes
-
Oh, this is elementary, my dear fellow.
Source: Gillette's stage formulation from Sherlock Holmes (popularized line) (1899)
Trivia
- Gillette performed Sherlock Holmes on stage roughly 1,300 times.
- Gillette Castle (Seventh Sister) was built 1914–1919 and purchased by the state in 1943.
- He was fond of cats and at one time kept up to 17 cats in his home.
- He held patents for stage effects (including a method to reproduce horse galloping sounds).
- A 1916 silent film of Gillette as Holmes was rediscovered in 2014 and restored.