Notable Passings

...Sad news today for fans of the classic SHERLOCK HOLMES TV series of the '80s and '90s: Edward Hardwicke, who played Dr. Watson opposite Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, has passed away at the age of 78.

Hardwicke successfully replaced actor David Burke, who played Dr. Watson in the earliest episodes. Hardwicke and Brett also played in the roles in a West End stage production. The last Hardwicke-Brett SHERLOCK HOLMES film was in 1994; Brett passed away in 1995.

Hardwicke, the son of the great British actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke, first appeared on screen as a child in MGM's A GUY NAMED JOE (1943).

London's Daily Telegraph has an excellent obituary.

...There's a nice obituary of documentary filmmaker Bruce Ricker by "woodjb" at the TCM Movie Morlocks blog.

Ricker produced and directed a number of documentaries including BUDD BOETTICHER: A MAN CAN DO THAT (2007), JOHNNY MERCER: THE DREAM'S ON ME (2009), and DAVE BRUBECK: IN HIS OWN SWEET WAY (2010).

Ricker passed on at the age of 68. An additional obituary was published by the New York Times.