'Sherlock Holmes' actor Douglas Wilmer dies at 96

Sherlock Holmes actor Douglas Wilmer, who donned the famous deerstalker in the mid-1960s to play Arthur Conan Doyle's character in a BBC series, has died at the age of 96. 

Wilmer died in hospital in Ipswich on Thursday after suffering from pneumonia, Roger Johnson, spokesman for the Sherlock Holmes Society Of London, confirmed, reported BBC. "He was a great actor, he was a gentleman, he had a long and distinguished career," Johnson said.

Wilmer first appeared as Sherlock Holmes in 1964, with Nigel Stock as his Watson. After he left the show he was replaced by Peter Cushing - but he retained his affection for the character throughout his career.

In 1973, he played Professor Van Dusen in The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, and in 1975 he returned to play the TV detective - this time in a supporting role - in The Adventure Of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother.

In 2012, at the very end of his acting career, he made a special cameo appearance in an episode of Sherlock as an irate old man at The Diogenes Club alongside current Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch. The writer, producer and actor Mark Gatiss, who plays Sherlock's older brother Mycroft, shared a photograph of himself with Wilmer. 

An honour to have known dear Douglas Wilmer. A Sherlock for all seasons.The work was something, the man was all. RIP pic.twitter.com/823ufhF7ZK

— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) March 31, 2016

Besides his starring role as the beloved fictional detective, Wilmer had a number of film and TV roles.