Carleton Hobbs

Carleton Percy Hobbs (18 june 1898 - 31 july 1978) was a British actor most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on radio.

Hobbs is the only one who have performed Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in radio shows :

In 1943, he played Dr. Watson in The Boscombe Valley Mystery with Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes.

From 1952 to 1969, he played Sherlock Holmes in 75 episodes (56 stories and reruns) in the radio show Sherlock Holmes (BBC) with Norman Shelley as Dr. Watson. This is the longest show in the history of sherlockian radio plays. The stories recorded were created in two main batches. The first 18 stories was from 1952 to 1958, when the recordings were made for BBC Children's Hour. The second batch spans from 1959 to 1969 and were produced for the adult listener.

In 1972, he played Arthur Conan Doyle in Conan Doyle Investigates (the Edalji case) on BBC with Graham Armitage as Alfred H. Wood.

On 3 january 1953, Carleton Hobbs (disguised as Sherlock Holmes and taken by hansom cab) and ex-Chief Superintendent Robert Fabian of Scotland Yard unveiled a bronze plaque at The Criterion restaurant (Piccadilly Circus, London). The plaque recorded the scene of the meeting between Dr. Watson and Stamford in A Study in Scarlet. The plaque was an idea of Mr. Richard Hughes, an Australian sherlockian (resident in Tokyo), and offered by the Tokyo branch of The Baker Street Irregulars. The unveiling in Movietone News below:

Carleton Hobbs taken by hansom cab to The Criterion (3 january 1953).
Carleton Hobbs and Robert Fabian unveiling plaque at The Criterion (3 january 1953).
Carleton Hobbs and Robert Fabian unveiling plaque at The Criterion (3 january 1953).