Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes faithful adherence to the original characterization. One famous radio appearance starred Orson Welles as Sherlock Holmes in an adaptation of one of William Gillette's plays. This was broadcast in September 1938 as part of "The Mercury Theater on the Air" series on CBS Radio. Throughout the early 1940s on American Radio, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce performed as Holmes and Watson, respectively, in several series of canonical and original Sherlock Holmes stories on "The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" radio show. These broadcasts were loosely based on Doyle's cases. When Rathbone finally departed the role before the 1947 season, Tom
Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes most well known stage actor to portray Holmes, the first was John Webb. Webb assayed Holmes in a play written by Charles Rodgers in 1894. Holmes is tangentially referred to in an unfinished play by L. Frank Baum and Emerson Hough called "The King of Gee-Whiz" (1905). In Langdon McCormick's 1905 play, "The Burglar and the Lady", Holmes is pitted against the fictional criminal A. J. Raffles, created by E. W. Hornung. McCormick did not secure permission from either Doyle or Hornung to use their characters. The calabash pipe is associated with Sherlock Holmes because early portrayers, particularly William Gillette