Early life
Merrison trained at Rose Bruford College.Television
Merrison has made numerous television appearances. He appeared as Boris Savinkov the White Russian commander in the series '' Reilly: Ace of Spies'' (1983) starring Sam Neill as Reilly. He has twice appeared in supporting roles in ''Stage
Merrison was a member of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre Company in the 1970s and the Royal Shakespeare Company, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon. Merrison portrayed Antonin Artaud in the Rome and London premieres of Charles Marowitz's play, ''Artaud at Rodez''. He also portrayed the headmaster in the original National Theatre and Broadway productions of Alan Bennett's hit play, '' The History Boys'' which went on to win 6 Tony Awards and an Oliver for ''Best New Play''. He reprised the role for the film version.Film
Merrison played the onscreen father of Kate Winslet in the 1994 film '' Heavenly Creatures'', directed by Peter Jackson, and the traditionalist headmaster in Alan Bennett's '' The History Boys'', filmed in 2006. He was the forger in the 1981 film '' Escape to Victory'' and also played Bartholomew Sholto in '' The Sign of Four'' (1983), Desmond Fairchild in '' An Awfully Big Adventure'' (1995) and the lawyer in '' Saving Grace'' (2000). His other film credits included roles in '' Henry VIII and His Six Wives'' (1972), '' Riddles of the Sphinx'' (1977), '' Coming Out of the Ice'' (1982), theSherlock Holmes on radio
From 5 November 1989 to 5 July 1998, Merrison played the lead role of Sherlock Holmes on radio in a series of BBC Radio 4 dramatisations, with Michael Williams as Dr. Watson. Later, with Andrew Sachs as Watson, Merrison continued to play Holmes in the Bert Coules-scripted pastiche series '' The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'', the first series of which was broadcast in 2002, the second in 2004, the third in 2008-9 and the fourth in 2010. He is the first actor to have played Holmes in adaptations of every short story and novel byOther radio appearances
Merrison has also appeared in other BBC radio series and plays, including ''Jim Nicholson - Return to the Islands'' by Robert Barr (1971), ''Groosham Grange''; ''Burn the Aeneid!'' by Martyn Wade; ''One Winter's Afternoon''; ''Sunday at Sant' Agata'' (in which he playedPersonal life
In 1967 Merrison lived at 45 Arlington Road in West Ealing. Around 1967 he married Stephanie Tremethick. In the 1990s Merrison lived in Suffolk.''The Stage'' Thursday 5 February 1998, page 25 He married Gillian Barge in 2003, who died in the same year.Selected filmography
* 1972 '' Henry VIII and His Six Wives'' as Weston * 1977 '' Riddles of the Sphinx'' as Chris * 1981 '' Escape to Victory'' as The Forger – The English * 1981 ''Mark Gertler: Fragments of a Biography'' as Futurist * 1982 '' Coming Out of the Ice'' as Bikov * 1982 '' Firefox'' as Major Lanyev * 1983 '' The Sign of Four'' as Bartholomew Sholto * 1983 '' Reilly, Ace of Spies'' as Boris Savinkov * 1992 '' Rebecca's Daughters'' as Sir Henry * 1994 '' Heavenly Creatures'' as Dr. Henry Hulme * 1995 '' An Awfully Big Adventure'' as Desmond Fairchild * 1996 '' The English Patient'' as Fenelon-Barnes * 1996 '' True Blue'' as Jack Garnet * 1997 '' Photographing Fairies'' as Gardner * 1999 '' Janice Beard'' as Tobo * 2000 '' Saving Grace'' as Quentin * 2000 '' Up at the Villa'' as Archibald Grey * 2000 '' Pandaemonium'' as Dr. Gillman * 2001 ''The Discovery of Heaven'' as Theo Kern * 2006 '' The History Boys'' as The Headmaster * 2012 '' Bert and Dickie'' as Clement Attlee * 2015 '' The Lady in the Van'' as Man In Confessional * 2018 '' The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society'' as Mr. GilbertReferences
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrison, Clive 1945 births Living people Actors from Suffolk Coastal Alumni of Rose Bruford College Male actors from Pembrokeshire Male actors from Suffolk People from Tenby Royal Shakespeare Company members Welsh male radio actors Welsh male Shakespearean actors Welsh male television actors