William Hartnell
William Henry Hartnell ( Billy Hartnell, born January 8, 1908 at St Pancras, London, † April 23, 1975, Marden, Kent ) was an English theater and film actor who was the first performer of the sci-fi heroes Doctor Who was known.
Life
The only son of his unmarried mother, Lucy Hartnell grew predominantly on with his aunt Bessie. His father, he should never meet. At age 16, he was adopted by Hugh Blaker, who gave him a job at the Shakespearean Company by Sir Frank Benson, with which he appeared to the 1930s in tour performances. In 1928 he played on in the play Miss Elizabeth 's Prisoner Next to the actress Heather McIntyre, whom he married the following year.
In the 1930s, he appeared in films as an actor on, mostly in comedy films, first in 1932 Say It With Music. At the outbreak of World War II Hartnell was drafted into a tank company, but retired after only 18 months after a nervous breakdown. He turned on movies and for a role in the war film The Way Ahead (1944 ), in which he played a sergeant, he was laid down in other films on soldiers and police, but also to gangsters. In 1957, he starred alongside Stanley Baker and Patrick McGoohan in the British drama duel at the wheel ( Hell Drivers). As a policeman, he also appeared in the first film of the popular Carry On series, Carry On Sergeant (1958), in which he played Sergeant Grimshaw. Also in the Peter Sellers movie " The Mouse That Roared " ( The Mouse That Roared, 1959) Hartnell was seen.
Doctor Who
1963 planned by the British BBC television a science fiction series called Doctor Who. The main role should Geoffrey Bayldon play. The leant from this, however, and it was awarded to William Hartnell. Bayldon later became known as a wizard Catweazle in the eponymous children's series and appeared occasionally as a guest star in Doctor Who on.
Hartnell played the Doctor Who role from 1963 to 1966 in 136 episodes and became so immensely popular that he then barely got other roles. He stepped into the role costume on and at openings and events. The role was designed so that the main character could be occupied by " regeneration " with a new actor. Hartnell was replaced for health reasons in 1966 by Patrick Troughton. After his health deteriorated increasingly, he only appeared once in the special program for the 10th anniversary of the series on, The Three Doctors (1972). In The Five Doctors Special (1983 ) An archive record Hartnells can be seen. Since he no longer lived at that time, he was replaced by Richard Hurndall.