Carleton Hobbs
Encyclopedia
Carleton Percy Hobbs was an English
actor with many film, radio and television appearances. He portrayed Sherlock Holmes
in 80 radio adaptations between 1952 and 1969, and also starred in the radio adaptation of Evelyn Waugh
's Sword of Honour
.
Hobbs was born in Farnborough, Hampshire
, into a military family and himself served in the First World War. He trained at RADA
and worked in London theatre through the 'twenties, but by the next decade had become a specialist radio actor. His first broadcast was in 1925 as Hastings in She Stoops to Conquer
. The Marlow, Henry Oscar
, then a more experienced broadcaster, pointed him back towards the microphone when necessary during transmission. In 1934 he married Gwladys M Mathews.
For most of his broadcasting career he was a freelance, with the exception of the wartime period when the BBC
formed its original Drama Repertory Company that could be moved out of London and away from the bombing. Hobbs was predictably on its strength, as was his regular future Dr Watson, Norman Shelley
. In fact, Hobbo - as everyone called him - had played Dr. Watson before he played Holmes, in a wartime production of The Boscombe Valley Mystery
with Arthur Wontner
as the sleuth.
His own Holmes became a familiar performance after the War, at first in children's programming, later in the general services. Despite Hobbs's acidulated voice and his often trenchant/sardonic delivery, his rendering of the great detective now sounds somewhat avuncular - perhaps because of its original youthful audience, perhaps by comparison with later performances in the role, which became freer and more eccentric. Norman Shelley said after his long-time colleague's death: "There was only one thing for Hobbo... the best and nothing less than the best."
Apart from Holmes, he seldom played the top lead - exceptions being the title role in King John and Hieronimo in The Spanish Tragedy
.
As a regular in Children's Hour
- usually in the 'For Older Listeners' scheduling - he played, among much else, many of the parts in the "Alice" stories, some many times over. One of his most distinctive characterisations was Kipling
's Cat That Walked By Himself.
Another 'non-human' voice, in adult drama, was his Lizard in Henry Reed's The Streets of Pompeii.
He loved being in Reed's "Hilda Tablet
" plays. He could do plain men like Major Liconda in Maugham's The Sacred Flame
, and could convey great vulnerability which he did as simple old Adam in As You Like It
, played both on radio and on record.
Hobbs did a good deal of television, and often played judges as he memorably did in Pennies From Heaven. Other TV appearances included "Wimsey
", A Life Of Bliss and I, Claudius
.
A liitle surprisingly, but indicating his versatility, he was in the original London stage production of John Osborne
's Luther. He was a great verse reader, and his impeccable French was a great asset, especially in his many bookings on the Third Programme, later Radio Three. A younger colleague, Frank Duncan, spoke of his "wonderful attention to detail, and beautiful delicate craftsmanship."
One of the last parts in his fifty-year broadcasting career was Shakespeare
's Justice Robert Shallow from Henry IV, Part 2
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor with many film, radio and television appearances. He portrayed Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
in 80 radio adaptations between 1952 and 1969, and also starred in the radio adaptation of Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
's Sword of Honour
Sword of Honour
The Sword of Honour trilogy by Evelyn Waugh is his look at the Second World War. It consists of three novels, Men at Arms , Officers and Gentlemen and Unconditional Surrender , which loosely parallel his wartime experiences...
.
Hobbs was born in Farnborough, Hampshire
Farnborough, Hampshire
-History:Name changes: Ferneberga ; Farnburghe, Farenberg ; Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough .Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence...
, into a military family and himself served in the First World War. He trained at RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
and worked in London theatre through the 'twenties, but by the next decade had become a specialist radio actor. His first broadcast was in 1925 as Hastings in She Stoops to Conquer
She Stoops to Conquer
She Stoops to Conquer is a comedy by the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, son of an Anglo-Irish vicar, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a great favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in Britain and the United States. It is one of the few plays from the 18th...
. The Marlow, Henry Oscar
Henry Oscar
Henry Oscar was an English stage and film actor.Born as Henry Wale, he changed his name and began acting in 1911 and appeared in a wide range of films, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much , Fire Over England , The Four Feathers , Hatter's Castle ,...
, then a more experienced broadcaster, pointed him back towards the microphone when necessary during transmission. In 1934 he married Gwladys M Mathews.
For most of his broadcasting career he was a freelance, with the exception of the wartime period when the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
formed its original Drama Repertory Company that could be moved out of London and away from the bombing. Hobbs was predictably on its strength, as was his regular future Dr Watson, Norman Shelley
Norman Shelley
Norman Shelley was an English actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's Children's Hour. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera The Archers....
. In fact, Hobbo - as everyone called him - had played Dr. Watson before he played Holmes, in a wartime production of The Boscombe Valley Mystery
The Boscombe Valley Mystery
"The Boscombe Valley Mystery", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the fourth of the twelve stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in the Strand Magazine in 1891.-Plot summary:Lestrade summons Holmes to a...
with Arthur Wontner
Arthur Wontner
Arthur Wontner was a British actor best known for playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master detective Sherlock Holmes in five films from 1931 to 1937...
as the sleuth.
His own Holmes became a familiar performance after the War, at first in children's programming, later in the general services. Despite Hobbs's acidulated voice and his often trenchant/sardonic delivery, his rendering of the great detective now sounds somewhat avuncular - perhaps because of its original youthful audience, perhaps by comparison with later performances in the role, which became freer and more eccentric. Norman Shelley said after his long-time colleague's death: "There was only one thing for Hobbo... the best and nothing less than the best."
Apart from Holmes, he seldom played the top lead - exceptions being the title role in King John and Hieronimo in The Spanish Tragedy
The Spanish Tragedy
The Spanish Tragedy, or Hieronimo is Mad Again is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1582 and 1592. Highly popular and influential in its time, The Spanish Tragedy established a new genre in English theatre, the revenge play or revenge tragedy. Its plot contains several violent...
.
As a regular in Children's Hour
Children's Hour
Children's Hour—at first: "The Children's Hour", from a verse by Longfellow—was the name of the BBC's principal recreational service for children during the period when radio dominated broadcasting....
- usually in the 'For Older Listeners' scheduling - he played, among much else, many of the parts in the "Alice" stories, some many times over. One of his most distinctive characterisations was Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
's Cat That Walked By Himself.
Another 'non-human' voice, in adult drama, was his Lizard in Henry Reed's The Streets of Pompeii.
He loved being in Reed's "Hilda Tablet
Hilda Tablet
Dame Hilda Tablet is a fictitious "twelve-tone composeress" created by Henry Reed in a series of radio comedy plays for the British Broadcasting Corporation's Third Programme...
" plays. He could do plain men like Major Liconda in Maugham's The Sacred Flame
The Sacred Flame (play)
The Sacred Flame was William Somerset Maugham's 21st play, written at the age of 54. Maugham dedicated the publication to his friend Messmore Kendall....
, and could convey great vulnerability which he did as simple old Adam in As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
, played both on radio and on record.
Hobbs did a good deal of television, and often played judges as he memorably did in Pennies From Heaven. Other TV appearances included "Wimsey
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...
", A Life Of Bliss and I, Claudius
I, Claudius
I, Claudius is a novel by English writer Robert Graves, written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius. As such, it includes history of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and Roman Empire, from Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC to Caligula's assassination in AD 41...
.
A liitle surprisingly, but indicating his versatility, he was in the original London stage production of John Osborne
John Osborne
John James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
's Luther. He was a great verse reader, and his impeccable French was a great asset, especially in his many bookings on the Third Programme, later Radio Three. A younger colleague, Frank Duncan, spoke of his "wonderful attention to detail, and beautiful delicate craftsmanship."
One of the last parts in his fifty-year broadcasting career was Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Justice Robert Shallow from Henry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
.