Actor Edward Hardwicke died 16 May 2011, apparently of cancer, while in hospice care. Born 7 August 1932 in London, England, he was the son of theatrical royalty, actors Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Helena Pickard (who divorced when he was 16). He made his acting debut in the 1950s, both on stage and television, with movies soon following. He shared a flat with Peter O’Toole during his first major employment, at the Bristol Old Vic, between 1954 and 1957.
From 1986 to 1994, he was Dr. Watson to Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes in The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1986-88), The Sign of Four (1987), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1988), The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1991-93), and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1994).
His genre appearances include: Photographing Fairies (1997), Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985), Venom (1981), The Haunting of Julia (1977), Supernatural (1977), Journey Into Darkness (1968), and Invisible Man (1959).
He is survived by his second wife, Prim Cotton, whom he married in 1995; and by two daughters (Kate and Emma) from his first marriage, to the actor Anne Iddon, which ended in divorce.