     ronald howard (7 april 1918 &ndash; 19 december 1996) was an english actor and writer best known in the u.s. for starring in a weekly sherlock holmes television series in 1954. he was the son of actor leslie howard. == life and work == howard was born in south norwood, london, the son of ruth evelyn (martin) and film actor leslie howard. he attended tonbridge school. after graduating from jesus college, cambridge, ronald howard became a newspaper reporter for a while but decided to become an actor. his first film role was an uncredited bit part in pimpernel smith (1941), a film directed by and starring his father in the title role, though young howard's part ended up on the cutting room floor. in the early 1940s, howard gained acting experience in regional theatre, the london stage and eventually films, his official debut in while the sun shines in 1947. howard received varying degrees of exposure in some well-known films, such as the queen of spades (1949) and the browning version (1951). howard played will scarlet in the episode of the same name of the 1950s british television classic the adventures of robin hood starring richard greene. the character of scarlet was later portrayed by paul eddington. the 1954 sherlock holmes television series, based on the arthur conan doyle characters and produced by [[shel
1918_births 1996_deaths 20th-century_English_male_actors Alumni_of_Jesus_College,_Cambridge English_male_film_actors English_male_stage_actors English_male_television_actors Male_actors_from_London People_from_South_Norwood