British Actor Douglas Wilmer (1920-2016)

By: Anders Frejdh

Published:
2016-03-31

FSWL is saddened to report the passing of another member of the 'James Bond family', British actor Douglas Wilmer who just celebrated his 96th birthday (born in London on 8th January, 1920). Wilmer portrayed art expert Jim Fanning in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy (1983) starring Roger Moore. We send our deep condolences to his family and thank him for his contribution to the 007 phenomenon.

"I fondly remember Douglas. A genuine British gentleman. Rest in peace."
– Kristina Wayborn (Magda in Octopussy who features in the auction scenes with Wilmer as Fanning)

"The day gets worse. I hear dear Douglas Wilmer has left us too. A fine actor and joyous to be in The Saint and Octopussy with." – Roger Moore

Douglas Wilmer obituary:
LONDON (AP): Douglas Wilmer, who played detective Sherlock Holmes in a 1960s television series, has died at 96.

The Sherlock Holmes Society of London says Wilmer died Thursday in a hospital in Ipswich, eastern England.

Wilmer played the pipe-smoking sleuth a series of TV dramas in 1964 and 1965. The Sherlock Holmes Society said that "for many, he was the seminal television Sherlock Holmes."

In a tribute, the society called his characterization "incisive, drily witty, utterly in command of events ... exactly as Sherlock Holmes should look and sound."

Wilmer returned to the role in the 1975 TV movie The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother and in a series of audio books.

Wilmer also appeared alongside Christopher Lee in the "Fu Manchu" movies and with Roger Moore in 1960s TV adventure series "The Saint" and in the James Bond film "Octopussy."

Moore tweeted that Wilmer was "a fine actor and joyous to be in 'The Saint' and 'Octopussy' with."

In his later life, Wilmer opened a wine bar, Sherlock's in Woodbridge, the eastern England town where he lived.

One of his final screen appearances was a 2012 cameo as a grumpy member of the Diogenes Club in the BBC's Sherlock, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the great detective.

Editor's Note:
In 2009, Douglas Wilmer's memoirs Stage Whispers was published by Porter Press in the UK.

Photo above:
Douglas Wilmer at his home in Woodbridge in 2014. © Ipswich Star. All rights reserved.

For more information about Douglas Wilmer's career, check out his IMDB profile:

www.imdb.com/name/nm0932811/

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#in_memoriam

#news

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British Actor Douglas Wilmer (1920-2016)

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