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Patrick George Troughton (25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969, reappearing in 1973, 1983 and 1985. He was also the first actor to play Robin Hood on television.

Early life[link]

Troughton was born on 25 March 1920 in Mill Hill, Middlesex, England to Alec George Troughton, a solicitor, and Dorothy Evelyn Offord, who married in 1914 in Edmonton, and had an elder brother, Alec Robert (1915–1994), and a younger sister, Mary Edith (1923–2005). Troughton attended Mill Hill School and continued to live in Mill Hill for most of his life. While at Mill Hill School, he acted in a production of J.B. Priestley's "Bees on the Boat Deck" in March 1937. His brother A.R. ('Robin') Troughton shared the 1933 Walter Knox Prize for Chemistry with the future Nobel Prize winner Francis Crick, who also attended Mill Hill School.

He would later attend the Embassy School of Acting at Swiss Cottage, under Eileen Thorndike. After his time at the Embassy School of Acting, Troughton won a scholarship to the Leighton Rallius Studios at the John Drew Memorial Theatre on Long Island in New York, U.S..

When the Second World War broke out, he returned to Britain on a Belgian ship. The ship hit a mine and sank off the coast of Britain; Troughton escaped in a lifeboat. Troughton had joined the Tonbridge Repertory Company in 1939 and in 1940 joined the Royal Navy. He was a Lieutenant, R.N.V.R. on East Coast Convoy duty from February to August 1941, and Coastal Forces (M.G.B.'s) based at Great Yarmouth from November 1942 to 1945, and was "Mentioned in Dispatches". He was concerned in an "E" boat action, when one was successfully destroyed by ramming, and his ship and another destroyed two others by gunfire. His decorations included the 1939-45 Star, and Atlantic Star. He would wear a tea cosy on his head in cold weather in the North Sea.^[1]

Acting career[link]

[edit] Before Doctor Who

After the war, Troughton returned to the theatre in 1945. He worked with the Amersham Repertory Company, the Bristol Old Vic Company and the Pilgrim Players at the Mercury Theatre, Notting Hill Gate. He made his television debut in 1947. In 1948, Troughton made his cinema debut with small roles in Olivier's Hamlet, the TCF production "Escape" (one of the stars of which was William Hartnell), and a minor role as a pirate in Treasure Island appearing only during the attack on the heroes' hut. However, television was his favourite medium. In 1953 he became the first actor to play the famous folk hero Robin Hood on television, starring in six half-hour episodes broadcast from 17 March to 21 April on the BBC, and titled simply Robin Hood (Vahimagi, 42). (His grandson Sam Troughton played one of Robin's colleagues in the 2006 BBC TV Series of the same name, and Patrick himself would make an appearance on the Adventures of Robin Hood starring Richard Greene.) Troughton's other notable film and television roles included Kettle in Chance of a Lifetime (1950), Sir Andrew Ffoulkes in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1955), Vickers in the episode entittled Strange Partners in the Invisible Man (the ITP Series also starred one of Pat's future Doctor Who co-stars, Deborah Watling, as Sally) (1958), Phineus in Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Quilp in The Old Curiosity Shop (1962), Paul of Tarsus (BBC 1960, title role), Dr. Finlay's Casebook (BBC 1962, semiregular). He voiced Winston Smith in a 1965 BBC Home Service radio adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Prior to Doctor Who he appeared in numerous TV shows including, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Ivanhoe, Dial 999, Danger Man, Maigret, Compact, The Third Man, Crane, Detective, Sherlock Holmes, No Hiding Place, The Saint, Armchair Theatre, The Wednesday Play, Z-Cars, Adam Adamant Lives! and Softly, Softly.

[edit] Doctor Who (1966–1969)

In 1966, Doctor Who producer Innes Lloyd decided to replace William Hartnell in the series' lead role. The continued survival of the show depended on audiences accepting another actor in the role, despite the bold decision that the replacement would not be a Hartnell lookalike or soundalike. Lloyd later stated that Hartnell had approved of the choice, saying, "There's only one man in England who can take over, and that's Patrick Troughton" (Howe, Stammers and Walker, p68). Lloyd chose Troughton because of his extensive and versatile experience as a character actor. After he was cast, Troughton considered various ways to approach the role, to differentiate his portrayal from Hartnell's amiable-yet-tetchy patriarch. Troughton's early thoughts about how he might play the Doctor included a "tough sea captain", and a piratical figure in blackface and turban. Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman suggested that the Doctor could be a "cosmic hobo" in the mould of Charlie Chaplin, and this was the interpretation eventually chosen (Howe, Stammers and Walker, p68–69). Troughton was the first Doctor to have his face appear in the opening titles of the show, and one of six Doctor Who actors to play two roles in the same story when he appeared as Salamander in "The Enemy Of The World" (the others being William Hartnell in The Chase and The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve, Tom Baker in Meglos, Peter Davison in Arc of Infinity, David Tennant in Journey's End, and Matt Smith in "The Rebel Flesh" and "The Almost People").

During his time on the series, Troughton tended to shun publicity and rarely gave interviews. He told one interviewer, "I think acting is magic. If I tell you all about myself it will spoil it" (Howe, Stammers and Walker p72). Years later, he told another interviewer that his greatest concern was that too much publicity would limit his opportunities as a character actor after he left the role (KTEH interview).

A rare interview with Ernest Thompson from Radio Times reveals that Patrick "always liked dressing up, and would have been happy as a school teacher as children keeps one young" (Haining p. 54). Patrick gave away the secret of what Jamie (Frazer Hines) wore underneath his kilt - "khaki shorts" (Haining p. 56).

Troughton was popular with both the production team and his co-stars. Producer Lloyd credited Troughton with a "leading actor's temperament. He was a father figure to the whole company and hence could embrace it and sweep it along with him". Troughton also gained a reputation on set as a practical joker (Howe, Stammers and Walker p68, 74).

Many of the early episodes in which Troughton appeared were wiped by the BBC (a full list of Doctor Who episodes missing from the BBC Archives is available here). Troughton found Doctor Who's schedule (at the time, 40 to 44 episodes per year) gruelling, and decided to leave the series in 1969, after three years in the role. This decision was also motivated in part by fear of typecasting (Howe, Stammers and Walker p75; KTEH interview). Troughton's decision would eventually become something of an unwritten law (the "Troughton Rule") among actors, in order to prevent one from becoming typecast in a particular role in a potentially long-running television programme. Patrick Troughton was succeeded in the role by Jon Pertwee.

Troughton returned to Doctor Who three times after he originally left the programme, becoming the only former "Doctor" to reprise the role that many times on television after his original run. The first time was in The Three Doctors, a 1973 serial celebrating the programme's 10th anniversary. Ten years later, Troughton overcame some reluctance to reprise his role and agreed to appear in the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors at the request of series producer John Nathan-Turner. He also agreed to attend Doctor Who conventions including the show's 20th anniversary celebrations at Longleat in 1983. He also appeared around the world with Nathan-Turner. Troughton enjoyed the return to the programme so much that he readily agreed to appear one more time as the Second Doctor, with Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor in The Two Doctors (1985). Reportedly, he also advised the Fifth Doctor, actor Peter Davison, to limit his time in the role to three seasons in order to avoid being typecast and the young actor followed that advice.

[edit] After Doctor Who

After Troughton left Doctor Who in 1969, he appeared in various films and television roles. Film roles included Klove in Scars of Dracula (1970), Father Brennan in The Omen (1976) and Melanthius in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). Television roles included the recurring role of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk in five of the six episodes of The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), the villainous Nasca in Thames Television's Aztec-themed drama The Feathered Serpent (1976–78), a guest starring spot in the comedy series The Goodies in the episode "The Baddies", as well as episodes of Paul Temple, Dr. Finlay's Casebook, Doomwatch, The Persuaders!, A Family at War, Coronation Street, Softly, Softly: Taskforce, Colditz, Play for Today, Z-Cars, Special Branch, Sutherland's Law, The Sweeney, Jason King, Survivors, Crown Court, Angels, Warship, Van der Valk, Space: 1999, The Onedin Line, All Creatures Great and Small, Only When I Laugh (Series 2, Total Episode #9), Nanny, Minder, and the first episode of Inspector Morse in January 1987. He also portrayed Cole Hawlings in a BBC Television dramatisation of the John Masefield children's book The Box of Delights (1984). In the same year he also appeared in a "Two Ronnies" Christmas Special playing a judge.

Troughton's health was never entirely robust and later in his life he refused to accept his doctor's advice that he had developed a serious heart condition through overwork and stress. He suffered two major heart attacks, one in 1978 and the other in 1984, which prevented him from working for several months. Following each of these attacks, his doctor's warnings were again ignored as Troughton committed himself to a heavy TV and film schedule.

He featured in the 1974 11-part radio adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour. In 1986, he was a regular in the LWT sitcom The Two of Us, and guested in an episode of Super Gran in May 1987, which was the last role he filmed. His final television appearance was in the autumn of the same year in Knights of God, which had actually been filmed two years before it was transmitted.

Death[link]

On Friday, 27 March 1987, two days after his 67th birthday, Troughton was a guest at the Magnum Opus Con II science fiction convention in Columbus, Georgia, USA.

Although he had been warned by his doctors before leaving the UK not to exert himself because of his heart condition, Troughton appeared to be in good spirits and participated vigorously in the day's panels, and was looking forward to a belated birthday celebration, which was planned for the coming Saturday evening, as well as a screening of the Doctor Who story The Dominators, which Troughton had requested personally, on the Saturday afternoon.

Troughton suffered a third and final heart attack at 7:25 a.m. the next day (28 March 1987) just after he had ordered his breakfast from the hotel staff. According to the paramedics who were called, Troughton died instantly.^[2]

Family life[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Troughton was married three times and he is survived by his second partner Ethel Margaret 'Bunny' Troughton. He had two daughters, four sons, one stepdaughter and stepson.

• Joanna Troughton, author and illustrator of children's books
• Jane Troughton
• David Troughton, actor
• Michael Troughton, actor
• Peter Patrick Troughton
• Mark Troughton, pastor of York Evangelical Church

Troughton's grandchildren include:

• Sam Troughton (son of David Troughton) is an actor, known for Robin Hood.
• Jim Troughton (son of David Troughton) plays professional cricket for Warwickshire
• Harry Melling (son of Joanna Melling, née Troughton) plays Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films.

Selected filmography[link]

• Badger's Green (1949)
• The Franchise Affair (1951)
• The Moonraker (1958)
• The Black Torment (1964)
• The Omen (1976)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Roderick Braithwaite. "'Strikingly Alive', The History of the Mill Hill School Foundation 1807-2007"; published Phillimore & Co. ISBN 978-1-86077-330-3

• Haining, Peter & British Broadcasting Corporation 1984, Doctor Who : the key to time : a year-by-year record, W.H. Allen, London. ISBN 0-491-03283-8

• Howe, David J., Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker. Doctor Who: The Sixties. London: Virgin Publishing, 1993. ISBN 0-86369-707-0.

• Troughton, Patrick. Interview with Terry Phillips. KTEH, San Jose, California. 1985.

• Troughton, Michael "Patrick Troughton, by his son Michael Troughton"; to be published by Hirst Publishing November 2011.

• Vahimagi, Tise. British Television: An Illustrated Guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press / British Film Institute. 1994. ISBN 0-19-818336-4.

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Patrick Troughton at the Internet Movie Database
• Into The Unknown - Patrick Troughton article at Kasterborous.com
• Patrick Troughton Biography - British Film Institute

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2010)

John Devon Roland Pertwee (7 July 1919^[1] â€“ 20 May 1996) was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge. He is also well known for his 18-year stint on BBC Radio as Chief Petty Officer Pertwee in The Navy Lark.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Born in Chelsea, London, to a family descended from Huguenots (the name was an Anglicisation of "Perthuis"; his full surname being "de Perthuis de Laillevault"^[2]), he was the son of noted screenwriter and actor Roland Pertwee and distant cousin of actor Bill Pertwee, who played Chief Warden Hodges in the comedy Dad's Army (coincidentally, Jon Pertwee was the writers' first choice for the role of Captain George Mainwaring in Dad's Army). The actor Henry Ainley, a close friend of his father, was his godfather and Ainley's son Anthony appeared alongside Pertwee in the 1983 Doctor Who anniversary story The Five Doctors.

Education[link]

Pertwee was educated at Frensham Heights School, an independent school in Rowledge, near Farnham in Surrey, at Sherborne School in Sherborne in Dorset, and at some other schools from which he was expelled. After school, he went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), from which he was also expelled after he refused to play a Greek "wind" during one of the lessons, feeling it was a waste of both his time and his father's money. He was also accused of writing graffiti about the tutors on the toilet walls.^[3]

Early career[link]

Pertwee was an officer in the Royal Navy, spending some time working in naval intelligence during the Second World War. He was a crew member of HMS Hood and was transferred off the ship shortly before she was sunk, losing all but three men. During his time in the Navy Pertwee woke up one morning after a drunken night out while in port to find a tattoo on his right arm, which was occasionally seen during his time in Doctor Who.

After the war he made a name for himself as a comedy actor, notably on radio in Waterlogged Spa, alongside Eric Barker and Puffney Post Office in which he played a hapless old postman with the catch-phrase "It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you tears them up". From 1959 to 1977, he had a long-running role as the conniving Chief Petty Officer Pertwee in The Navy Lark on BBC Radio. He was known as a Danny Kaye look-alike, and his impersonation of Kaye can be seen in the 1949 film Murder at the Windmill.^[4]

On stage, he played the part of Lycus in the 1963 London production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Frankie Howerd and appeared in the smaller role of Crassus in the 1966 film version. He appeared as Sidney Tait in the 1963 comedy Ladies Who Do and later in four Carry On films: Carry On Cleo (1964, as the soothsayer), Carry On Screaming (1966, as Dr. Fettle), Carry On Cowboy (1965, as Sheriff Earp) and Carry On Columbus (1992, as the Duke of Costa Brava). On television, he started off with small parts in children's shows like Mr Pastry. Later he made an appearance in The Avengers episode "From Venus with Love" as Brigadier Whitehead, and in the 1970s, he guest-starred as a vicar in The Goodies' episode "Wacky Wales".

He had one of his most memorable film roles in the 1971 Amicus horror compendium The House That Dripped Blood. Filmed in the summer of 1970, between his first and second Doctor Who seasons, Pertwee played the lead in the last segment of the film as Paul Henderson, a deliciously arrogant horror film star who meets his quasi-comedic doom thanks to a genuine vampire cloak.

He was married twice, first in 1955^[5] to Jean Marsh (1955–1960), whom he divorced, and then, on 13 August 1960,^[6] to Ingeborg Rhoesa, by whom he had two children, Sean and Dariel.

[edit] Doctor Who (1970–1974)

In 1969, Pertwee was selected by producer Peter Bryant to take over as the Doctor from Patrick Troughton in the television series Doctor Who. Pertwee had asked his agent to apply for the role for him and was surprised to find he was already on the shortlist for the role. He was the second choice of the producer; Ron Moody was the first but was unavailable.^[7] In a departure from the Doctor's first two incarnations, Pertwee played the character as an active crusader with a penchant for action and fancy clothes, even while the character was exiled on Earth and serving with UNIT. He played the Doctor for five seasons from early 1970 to mid-1974, at the time the longest stint of any of the actors who played the part, surpassing predecessors William Hartnell's and Patrick Troughton's three years each in the role, although due to shortened broadcast seasons, he appeared in fewer episodes than Hartnell. Of the eleven actors to portray the role, only three would play the Doctor for longer chronological time: Pertwee's immediate successor, Tom Baker (seven years from 1974 to 1981), Sylvester McCoy (eight years from 1987–1996) and David Tennant (four years and six and a half months from June 2005 to January 2010, thus longer by a month). In early 1974, Pertwee announced he would step down as the Doctor in order to resume his stage career in The Bedwinner, also citing typecasting in the role as the reason for leaving, though later he would say that the catalyst for his departure was the death of his good friend and co-star Roger Delgado and the departures of co-star Katy Manning and producer Barry Letts. His last fulltime appearance in the series was in the story "Planet of the Spiders"' in June 1974. Pertwee later reprised the role in the 20th anniversary story The Five Doctors, in two radio adventures and on stage in The Ultimate Adventure. On 14 April 1971, Pertwee was the subject of Thames Television's This Is Your Life which featured the first television appearance of his son Sean Pertwee, who went on to become an actor.

[edit] Worzel Gummidge

After a stint between 1974 and 1978 as the host of the Thames Television murder-mystery game show Whodunnit!, Pertwee took the starring role in Worzel Gummidge, based on the books written by Barbara Euphan Todd. First aired in 1979 on ITV, the series saw Pertwee as a scarecrow, as well as utilising several comedic voices. The show was an immediate hit and ran on the channel until 1981. Keen to continue beyond this, Pertwee campaigned for the series and it was picked up by a New Zealand network in 1987. Worzel Gummidge Down Under aired for the next two years and was screened in the UK on Channel 4. In 1995, Pertwee played the role one last time in a one-off special for ITV, which celebrated 40 years of the channel. Pertwee also played the character on stage and recorded an album, Worzel Gummidge Sings, as well as a Christmas single.

Other roles[link]

Pertwee also voiced the character of "Spotty" in the 1980s cartoon series SuperTed and in 1985 he starred in Do You Know The Milkyway?, a television adaptation of Karl Wittlinger's stage play in which he played Dr. Neuross and another nine characters. In 1995 Pertwee also had the key voice of Death and other voice characterisations in the PC and PlayStation renditions of "Discworld". Also in 1995, Jon Pertwee played General Von Kramer in the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles episode "Attack of the Hawkmen". Pertwee voiced and appeared in the television advertisement which promoted the Green Cross Code by use of the mnemonic "SPLINK".

Later life[link]

He returned to the role of the Doctor in the 1983 20th anniversary television special The Five Doctors and in the 1993 charity special Dimensions in Time for Children in Need. He also portrayed the Doctor in the stage play Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure which toured theatres in the United Kingdom from March to June 1989. During the 1990s, he made a guest appearance in the "Lords and Ladies" episode of the BBC Radio 4 comedy series Harry Hill's Fruit Corner, playing a Time Lord and also spoofed the role in the Radio 4 comedy The Skivers. He also presented the Doctor Who video releases The Troughton Years (showcasing selected surviving episodes of missing stories) and The Pertwee Years (a lookback at his time on the show, with his three selected episodes) in the early 1990s.

In 1993, Pertwee was featured in the unofficial 30th anniversary VHS release of Doctor Who entitled '30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond'. When asked in an interview for this documentary if the show should be brought back he simply replied with 'No...no'. Pertwee would continue to act in films and television as well as make appearances worldwide in support of Doctor Who. Ultimately, Pertwee was successful in seeing the Third Doctor return to the airwaves with two audio productions for BBC Radio, The Paradise of Death and The Ghosts of N-Space.

In late 1995, he appeared in Devious, an amateur video drama set between the second Doctor's trial at the end of The War Games and before the start of Spearhead From Space, which shows an interim (between second and third) Doctor played by Tony Garner being told he was "never meant to be the Doctor" and that the third, played by Jon, will complete him. Pertwee's scenes are the only pieces of the video that have been released (on the DVD of The War Games).

Pertwee's final film role was in a short film, "Cloud Cuckoo" for Scottish Screen, released on 18 June 1994. His last formal television appearance was on Cilla's Surprise, Surprise, broadcast on 21 April 1996. At the date of his death, Pertwee was regularly being seen at the tail end of an enigmatic UK TV commercial for mobile phone operator Vodafone: dressed somewhat in his flamboyant 'Doctor' manner, his character walked wordlessly across an alleyway in sight of a Liverpool landmark, and entered a garage evidently containing some kind of 'time machine'.

Death and legacy[link]

Pertwee continued on the convention circuit and with his voice and television acting until his death from a heart attack in Connecticut on 20 May 1996, two months before his 77th birthday. (Some reports place the location of his death in New York.) He was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium with a toy Worzel Gummidge affixed to the coffin, following the instructions in his will.^[8][9]

He died only days after the American broadcast of the Doctor Who television film, which used in its opening credits a logo based on the one from his era of the television series. The BBC broadcast of the television film featured a dedication to Pertwee at its end.

His last association with the series was posthumous. With the approval of his widow, Ingeborg, his voice was utilised as part of the plot of the Big Finish Productions' 40th Anniversary Doctor Who audio drama, Zagreus, appearing as messages from the Doctor's TARDIS as it attempted to help the currently corrupted Eighth Doctor (voiced by Paul McGann). Pertwee's voice was culled from a fan-produced Doctor Who film Devious, portions of which were recorded just prior to his death.

Pertwee wrote two autobiographies: Moon Boots and Dinner Suits (published in 1984), which primarily covers his life and career prior to Doctor Who, and the posthumously published Doctor Who: I Am the Doctor – Jon Pertwee’s Final Memoir (published in 1996 by Virgin Publishing Ltd and co-written with David J. Howe), which covered his life during and after the series. In 2000, Jon Pertwee: The Biography by Bernard Bale (ISBN 0-233-99831-4) was published by André Deutsch, and included a few chapters by Pertwee's widow Ingeborg.

Discography[link]

• In 1966 Pertwee contributed to the children's album Children's Favourites by EMI and Paul Hamilin. Songs sung by him include "The Runaway Train", "Froggy Went A-Courtin'", "My Grandfather's Clock", "Three Little Fishes" and "I Know An Old Lady". Published by Music for Pleasure in mono (catalogue MDP 1175), the recordings were produced by Norman Newell, with a synopsis written on the back by Roger St. Pierre. On the front cover is the picture of a glove puppet by Carol Patmore & Rima Reed. At least one of the songs, "The Runaway Train" (b/w "The Ugly Duckling"), was released as a single on Music for Pleasure (catalogue FP 10).
• In 1972 he released, with June Whitfield, "Wonderful Children's Songs" on the Contour label (catalogue 2870191)
• In 1972, while still in the role of the Doctor, he released a vocal version of the Doctor Who theme music entitled "Who is the Doctor".
• In 1976 he recorded a promotional flexi-disc for Heinz called "The Noodle Doodle Man".^[10]
• In 1980 he released "Worzel's Song", from the album Worzel Gummidge Sings.^[11] The single reached No.33 on the UK charts in March.^[12] A second single was released in 1987 when the series was revived, but this met with less success. Also released was a single of "Yesterday", semi-spoken word and "When I'm 64", in the guise of Worzel to aid a hospital charity.
• Other chart action came in 1993 when an audio release of the radio play The Paradise of Death reached No.48 in the album charts.^[13]
• In 1984 He featured in the computer game audio tape of "DEUS EX MACHINA" by Automata(UK)Ltd, released for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum in 1984.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography[link]

• A Yank at Oxford (1938)
• The Four Just Men (1939)
• Trouble in the Air (1946)
• A Piece of Cake (1948)
• William Comes to Town (1948)
• Murder at the Windmill (1949)
• Helter Skelter (1949)
• Dear Mr. Prohack (1949)
• Miss Pilgrim's Progress (1950)
• The Body Said No! (1950)
• Mister Drake's Duck (1951)
• Will Any Gentleman...? (1953)
• The Gay Dog (1954)
• A Yank in Ermine (1955)
• It's a Wonderful World (1956)
• The Ugly Duckling (1959)
• Just Joe (1960)
• Not a Hope in Hell (1960)
• Nearly a Nasty Accident (1961)
• Carry on Cleo (1964)
• Runaway Railway (1965)
• You Must Be Joking! (1965)
• I've Gotta Horse (1965)
• Carry on Cowboy (1965)
• Carry on Screaming! (1966)
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
• Up in the Air (1969)
• The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
• One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975)
• Wombling Free (1977) (voice)
• Adventures of a Private Eye (1977)
• No. 1 of the Secret Service (1977)
• The Water Babies (1978)
• The Boys in Blue (1982)
• Carry on Columbus (1992)
• Cloud Cuckoo (1994)
• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1995)

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Jon Pertwee at the Internet Movie Database
• Jon Pertwee Biography – British Film Institute
• Interview with Jon Pertwee conducted in March 1996^{[dead link]}
• Action Who – Jon Pertwee article at Kasterborous.com^{[dead link]}
• Jon Pertwee's career including The Navy Lark at http://www.kastria.net
• An Hour with Jon Pertwee Jon Pertwee reminisces, including time serving on the Hood – streaming audio (No longer available)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2010)

Peter Davison
Born	Peter M. G. Moffett (1951-04-13) 13 April 1951 (age 61) Streatham, London, England
Spouse	Diane J. Russell (1973) (divorced)[1] Sandra Dickinson (1978-1994) (divorced) Elizabeth Morton (2003-present)
Children	Georgia Moffett

Peter Davison (born Peter M. G. Moffett on 13 April 1951)^[2] is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.^[3]

Early life[link]

Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham, London, son of an electrical engineer who was originally from Guyana. The family then moved to Knaphill in Surrey.^[4] Before becoming an actor, he gained three O-levels at Winston Churchill School, St John's, Woking, Surrey, and then had several odd jobs, including a stint as a mortuary attendant.^[4]

Davison studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His first job was as an actor and assistant stage manager at the Nottingham Playhouse.^[4] He chose the stage name Peter Davison to avoid confusion with the actor and director Peter Moffatt, with whom Davison later worked.

His first television work was in a 1975 episode of the children's science fiction television programme The Tomorrow People, alongside American actress Sandra Dickinson, whom he married on 26 December 1978. Davison portrayed an alien named "Elmer", often tortured with "tickling boots" under the control of his sister (played by Dickinson) and his mother (played by Margaret Burton) known as "the Mama".

The couple composed and performed the theme tune to Button Moon, a children's programme broadcast in the 1980s. Davison subsequently appeared alongside Dickinson as the Dish of the Day in the television version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981), whose producers considered it humorous for an actor known for playing a veterinary surgeon to appear as a cow. The couple had a daughter, Georgia Moffett, in 1984, and later divorced in 1994.

In 1977, Davison had a prominent role in the 13-segment TV miniseries Love for Lydia opposite a young Jeremy Irons. In 1978, Davison's performance as the youthfully mischievous Tristan Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small made him a household name. Davison has said that he was mainly cast in the role because he looked as if he could be Robert Hardy's younger brother.^[4] Davison also appeared in some British sitcoms, including Holding the Fort and Sink or Swim, as well as appearing in dramatic roles.

[edit] Doctor Who (1982–1984 and later revivals)

In 1981, Davison signed a contract to play the Doctor for three years, succeeding Tom Baker (the Fourth Doctor) and, at age 29, was at the time the youngest actor to have played the lead role, a record he retained for nearly thirty years until Matt Smith (the Eleventh Doctor) took the role in 2010 at age 26. Attracting such a high-profile actor as Davison was as much of a coup for the programme's producers as getting the role was for him, but he did not renew his contract because he feared being typecast.^[5] Patrick Troughton (who had played the Second Doctor and whom Davison had watched on the programme as a teenager) had recommended to Davison that he leave the role after three years, and Davison followed his advice.^[6][7] The Fifth Doctor encountered many of the Doctor's best-known adversaries, including the Daleks (in Resurrection of the Daleks) and the Cybermen (in both Earthshock and The Five Doctors). However, Peter Davison has since stated that he also felt too young for the role, and if given the chance at the role now he would have made a better Doctor. In 1982, Davison had lent his name to two series of short stories published by Arrow. The two were Peter Davison's Book of Alien Monsters and Peter Davison's Book of Aliens which both featured a photograph of him on the cover.^[8]

Davison did, in fact, return to play the Fifth Doctor in the 1993 multi-doctor charity special Dimensions in Time and in the 1997 video game Destiny of the Doctors (audio only). He continues to reprise the role in a series of audio plays by Big Finish Productions. He returned once again in "Time Crash", a special episode written by Steven Moffat for Children in Need; in the episode, which aired on 16 November 2007, the Fifth Doctor met the Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant.^[9]

[edit] After Doctor Who

After Davison left Doctor Who in 1984, he did not work on another popular series until 1986, when he played Dr Stephen Daker, the ingenuous hero of A Very Peculiar Practice, written by Andrew Davies. The surreal comedy-drama was revived several years later as A Very Polish Practice. Davison also played the lead in Campion, a series based on the period whodunnits of Margery Allingham. This, and the opportunity to play Tristan Farnon again in 1985 and 1990, kept Davison busy until the early 1990s, when he gradually faded from the public eye. He continued to appear occasionally on television, including playing the leads in Fiddlers Three (1991) and Harnessing Peacocks (1992) and an appearance on the American show Magnum, P.I. (in the feature-length 1985 episode "Deja Vu", set in the UK). In 1994-1995 he co-starred in the British sitcom Ain't Misbehavin', then in 1995 he presented "Heavenly Bodies" a six-part series about astronomy, broadcast on BBC1. This led to him being featured on the cover of "Practical Astronomy" magazine (Volume 1, number 5, dated March 1995). It was not until 2000 that he returned in another major role, that of David Braithwaite in At Home with the Braithwaites.

Davison has appeared in several radio series including Change at Oglethorpe in 1995 and Minor Adjustment in 1996. In 1985 he appeared in the BBC Radio 4 comedy drama series King Street Junior, as teacher Eric Brown, but he left after only two series and was replaced by Karl Howman (as Philip Sims). In the 2000s, he starred in the comedy series Rigor Mortis.

In 1993 he presented the video documentary release Doctor Who: Daleks - The Early Years, showcasing surviving episodes of missing stories featuring the Daleks.

In 1994, he provided the voice of Mole in the The Wind in the Willows animated special Mole's Christmas. He also played a doctor in Heartbeat episode A Bird In The Hand.

In 1997, Peter Davison acted the part Buttons in the pantomime Cinderella in the Arts Theatre in Cambridge.

In 1998, he guest starred in the sixth episode of the crime drama Jonathan Creek as the son-in-law of a horror writer who was shot dead on Halloween.

In 1999, he appeared as the outgoing head teacher in the television series Hope and Glory, and had the recurring role of Inspector Christmas in several episodes of the 1999 series of Diana Rigg's Mrs Bradley Mysteries.

He has also starred in the television series as Dangerous Davies in The Last Detective (2003–2007) and Distant Shores (2005), both for ITV, in the latter of which he also played a doctor. In 2006 he appeared as Professor George Huntley in The Complete Guide to Parenting. He has also appeared on the TV series Hardware as himself.

Davison made a guest appearance in the first episode of the second series of the BBC Radio 4 science fiction comedy series Nebulous, broadcast in April 2006.

Davison also worked on the stage. In 1984, he appeared in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park at the Apollo Theatre alongside his then wife, Sandra Dickinson. In 1991, he appeared in Arsenic and Old Lace at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Further theatre appearances include: The Last Yankee, by Arthur Miller at the Young Vic Theatre and later the Duke of York's Theatre, London in 1993, and Vatelin in An Absolute Turkey, by Georges Feydeau, at the Gielgud Theatre in 1994. In 1996 he played the role of Tony Wendice in the theatrical production of Dial M for Murder, the play on which the movie by Alfred Hitchcock was based. He also appeared as Amos Hart in Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre in 1999, and as Dr Jean-Pierre Moulineaux, in Under the Doctor at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley and later at the Comedy Theatre, London in 2001.

In early 2007, Davison appeared in a BBC comedy Fear, Stress and Anger, which also starred his daughter Georgia Moffett. Davison plays one-half of an overworked couple with two irresponsible daughters and his senile mother at home.

Davison performed as King Arthur in the London production of Spamalot. He first appeared in the role on 23 July 2007 and his final performance was 1 March 2008.

He appeared in the popular television show Al Murray's Happy Hour in March 2008, and in January 2009 appeared in Unforgiven, an ITV1 drama starring Suranne Jones. Davison played John Ingrams, a lawyer who helps Jones' character, Ruth Slater, find her sister after her release from prison.^[10]

Recently, Davison made television appearances in an episode of Midsomer Murders, in July 2009,^[11] and a guest appearance in Miranda Hart's sitcom, Miranda, on BBC 2 in Autumn 2009.

In October 2009, Davison was seen in a small but memorable role as a bank manager in Micro Men, a drama about the rise of the British home computer market in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In December 2009, he played Denis Thatcher in The Queen, a docu-drama on Channel 4.

Throughout 2010, he appeared as Professor Callahan in the West End production of Legally Blonde, which opened at the Savoy Theatre.^[12]

In November 2010 it was announced that Davison would be joining the regular cast of the UK version of Law and Order as Henry Sharpe, the Director of the London Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Davison's debut in the role will be from the beginning of the series' fifth season, alongside fellow Doctor Who actress Freema Agyeman.

In July 2011 he appeared in an episode of the police comedy/drama New Tricks.

Views and advocacy[link]

In 2010, Davison was one of 48 celebrities who signed a letter warning voters against Conservative Party policy towards the BBC.^[13]

On 21 April 2010 Davison appeared in a party election broadcast on behalf of the UK Labour Party, following in the footsteps of fellow Doctor Who actor David Tennant, and Jon Pertwee's son Sean Pertwee. Quoted in The Guardian, Davison said: "I'll be voting Labour without a doubt. I tremble at the idea we might put a Tory government back into power. I think back to the last time a Conservative government was running the country and can't believe we might do it. I'm also a big Brown fan; he might not have that slick charm that we seem to buy into these days, as we did with Blair, which turned into a big mistake, and as we seem to be doing with Cameron. With Brown, it's substance over style; he's a career politician, who has spent his life working to help people. I like that he isn't slick, unlike Cameron, who's only been in politics for a few years."^[14]

Davison supported BBC presenter Jonathan Ross following the Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row and criticised BBC director general Mark Thompson's decision to punish Ross, stating: "I thought Ross’s suspension, in particular, was utterly ludicrous. Why punish all the people who enjoy tuning into his programmes?"^[15]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Peter Davison at the Internet Movie Database
• Peter Davison Biography – British Film Institute
• Violence & Vulnerability – Peter Davison article at Kasterborous.com
• Chicago TARDIS 2011 – Peter Davison Interview on The Omega Podcast
• Works by or about Peter Davison in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. During 1963-66, he was the first actor to play the Doctor in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.

Early life[link]

Hartnell was born in St Pancras, London, England, the only child of Lucy Hartnell, an unmarried mother. He was raised partly by a foster mother, though he did spend many a happy childhood holiday in Devon with his mother's family of farmers, where he learned to ride a horse.^[2]

Hartnell never discovered the identity of his father (whose particulars are left blank on the existing birth certificate) despite efforts made by Hartnell to trace him. Often known as Billy, he left school without any prospects and dabbled in the commission of petty crimes.^[1] Through a boys' boxing club, Hartnell met the art collector Hugh Blaker, who would become his unofficial guardian and arrange for him initially to train as a jockey (horses were his first love) and help him enter the Italia Conti Academy.^[3] Theatre being a passion of Hugh Blaker, he paid for Hartnell to receive some 'polish' at the Imperial Service College, though Hartnell found the strictures too much and ran away.^[2]

Hartnell entered the theatre in 1925^[2] working under Frank Benson as a general stagehand.^[1][4] In 1928 he appeared in the play Miss Elizabeth's Prisoner, by R. N. Stephens and E. Lyall Swete, along with the actress Heather McIntyre. The following year they married.^[3] His first of more than sixty film appearances was Say It With Music in 1932.^[5] He was cast as 'Albert Fosdike' in Noël Coward's 1942 film In Which We Serve but turned up late for his first day of shooting. Coward berated Hartnell in front of cast and crew for his unprofessionalism, made him personally apologise to everyone and then fired him. Michael Anderson, who was the First Assistant Director, took over the part and was credited as "Mickey Anderson".^{[citation needed]}

At the outbreak of the Second World War Hartnell served in the Tank Corps, but was invalided out after eighteen months as the result of suffering a nervous breakdown and he returned to acting.^[3] Hartnell usually played comic characters, until 1944 when he was cast in the robust role of Sergeant Ned Fletcher in The Way Ahead.^[4] From then on his career was defined by playing mainly policemen, soldiers, and thugs. The fact that he had become typecast in such roles bothered him, for even when cast in comedies he found he was invariably playing the 'heavy'. In 1958 he played the sergeant in the first Carry On film comedy, Carry On Sergeant, and in 1963 he appeared as a town councillor in the Boulting brothers' film Heavens Above! with Peter Sellers. He also appeared as Will Buckley in the film The Mouse That Roared in 1959 (again with Sellers).

His first regular role on television was as Sergeant Major Percy Bullimore in The Army Game from 1957–1961. Again, although it was a comedy series he found himself cast as a "tough-guy" role. In 1963 he appeared in a supporting role in the film version of This Sporting Life, giving a sensitive performance as an aging rugby league talent scout known as 'Dad'.^[4]

After living at 51 Church Street, Isleworth, next door to Hugh Blaker, the Hartnells lived on The Island, Thames Ditton. Then in the 1960s they moved to a cottage in Mayfield, Sussex. He lived in later life at Sheephurst Lane in Marden, Kent.

[edit] Doctor Who (1963–1966)

Hartnell's performance in This Sporting Life was noted by Verity Lambert, the producer who was setting up a new science-fiction television series for the BBC, Doctor Who. Lambert offered him the title role. Although Hartnell was initially uncertain about accepting a part in what was pitched to him as a children's series, Lambert and director Waris Hussein convinced him to take the part, and it became the character for which he gained the highest profile and is now most remembered. Hartnell later revealed that he took the role because it led him away from the gruff, military parts in which he had become typecast, and, having two grandchildren of his own, he came to relish particularly the attention and affection that playing the character brought him from children.

Doctor Who earned Hartnell a regular salary of £315 per episode by 1966 (basically, £315 a week in that era of 48-weeks per year production on the series), equivalent to £4,050 a week in modern terms.^[6] By comparison, in 1966 his co-stars Anneke Wills and Michael Craze were earning £68 and £52 per episode at the same time.^[7] Throughout his tenure as the Doctor, William Hartnell wore a wig when playing the part, as the character had long hair, whereas in private life he himself favoured the traditional short-back-and-sides. Very few photographs exist of him dressed as the Doctor without the wig.

Hartnell suffered a bereavement in 1965 whilst working on the serial The Myth Makers. His aunt, Bessie Hartnell, who had looked after him during his troubled childhood, died. But the production schedule on the series was so tight, with a typical 48 episodes a year being transmitted, that it prevented his even taking time off to attend her funeral.

According to some of his colleagues on Doctor Who, he could be a difficult person to work with. Others, however, notably actors Peter Purves and William Russell, and producer Verity Lambert, spoke glowingly of him after more than forty years. Among the more caustic accounts, Nicholas Courtney, in his audio memoirs, recalled that during the filming of The Daleks' Master Plan Hartnell mentioned that an extra on the set was Jewish, Courtney's inference being that Hartnell was antisemitic.^[8] In an interview in 2008, Courtney claimed that Hartnell "was quite nationalist-minded, a bit intolerant of other races, I think."^[9] However, he always got on extremely well with his first companion, played by Carole Ann Ford, who is Jewish.^{[citation needed]}

Hartnell's deteriorating health (he suffered from arteriosclerosis, which began to affect his ability to say his lines), as well as poor relations with the new production team on the series after the departure of Verity Lambert, ultimately led him to leave Doctor Who in 1966.

When he left Doctor Who, the producer of the show came up with a unique idea: since the Doctor is an alien, he can transform into another man when he dies, thereby renewing himself. William Hartnell himself suggested that Patrick Troughton should be cast as the new Doctor. In Episode 4 of the serial The Tenth Planet, the First Doctor regenerated into Troughton's Second Doctor.

Later life[link]

Hartnell reprised the role of the Doctor in the 10th Anniversary story The Three Doctors (made in 1972, and broadcast 1972–73) with the help of cue cards, due to his failing memory, but appeared only in pre-filmed inserts seen on video screens. His appearance in this story was his last work as an actor. His health had grown progressively worse in the early 1970s, and in December 1974 he was admitted to the hospital permanently. He lived in later life at Sheephurst Lane in Marden, Kent. In early 1975 he suffered a series of strokes brought on by cerebrovascular disease, and died peacefully in his sleep of heart failure on 23 April 1975, at the age of 67. His death was reported on the BBC News and a clip of the Doctor in the TARDIS from the end of "The OK Corral", the final episode of The Gunfighters, was shown.

A clip of his scene from the end of the serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964) was used as a pre-credits sequence for the 20th anniversary story The Five Doctors (1983), although another actor, Richard Hurndall, played the role of the first Doctor for the rest of that story.

Hartnell was married to Heather McIntyre from 9 May 1929 until his death. They had one child, a daughter named Heather Anne,^[1] and two grandchildren.^[7] His widow, Heather, died in 1984. The only published biography of him is by his granddaughter, Jessica Carney (real name Judith), entitled Who's There, and subtitled The life and career of William Hartnell, which draws on primary sources as well as the Hartnell family's own extensive archive.

Filmography[link]

Hartnell acted in over seventy British films,^[5] plus numerous stage and television appearances, though he is best remembered for his Doctor Who role.^[1]

Television[link]

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• Wood, Tat; & Lawrence Miles (2006). About Time 1: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who 1963–1966. Illinois: Mad Norwegian Press. ISBN 0-9759446-0-6. 

• "Who's There? The life and career of William Hartnell" by his real life grand-daughter Jessica Carney (London, 1996). Library of Congress cat. no. PN2598.H338 C37 1996

External links[link]

• William Hartnell at the Internet Movie Database
• William Hartnell at TV.com
• William Hartnell at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Citizen Of The Universe â€“ William Hartnell article at kasterborous.com
• William Hartnell biography @ Carry On Line

Charles Korvin
Corvin in 1948.
Born	Géza Korvin Kárpáthy (1907-11-21)November 21, 1907 Piešťany, Hungary
Died	June 18, 1998(1998-06-18) (aged 90) Manhattan, New York, U.S.

Charles Korvin (November 21, 1907 – June 18, 1998) was a film and television actor. The Piešťany, Hungary-born actor (born Géza Korvin Kárpáthy) moved to the United States in 1940 after studying at the Sorbonne. Korvin made his stage debut on Broadway in 1943 using the name Geza Korvin. After signing a movie contract with Universal Pictures, he changed his stage name to Charles Korvin. He worked steadily through the 1940s, including appearing in three films with actress Merle Oberon. In the 1950s, after leaving Universal, he played a number of "villain" roles in films and television including a Russian agent named Rokov in Tarzan's Savage Fury starring Lex Barker as the title character. In 1957, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. On television, he played The Eagle on Disney's Zorro and, famously, played Latin dance instructor Carlos on The Honeymooners episode "Mama Loves Mambo." In 1959 he starred in the US/UK television series Interpol Calling. Korvin died at the age of 90 in Manhattan.

Filmography[link]

• Enter Arsène Lupin (1944)
• Temptation (1946)
• Berlin Express (1948)
• The Killer That Stalked New York (1950)
• Tarzan's Savage Fury (1952)
• Ship of Fools (1965)
• Inside Out (1975)

External links[link]

• Charles Korvin at the Internet Movie Database