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[[Image:JohnLevene.JPG|right|200px|thumb|John Levene in the 1996 documentary, "Return to Devil's End"]]
{{Infobox Person
'''John Levene''' (born [[24th December]] [[1941]]) played Sergeant [[John Benton]] of [[United Nations Intelligence Taskforce|UNIT]] on ''[[Doctor Who]]'', beginning with "[[The Invasion]]" and concluding with "[[The Android Invasion]]."
|image          = John Levene.jpg
|aka            = John Woods
|birth date    = [[24 December (people)|24 December]] [[1941 (people)|1941]]
|role          = [[John Benton]], [[Robot Yeti|Yeti]], [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cyberman]]
|job title      = [[Actor]]
|story          = [[#Credits|See Credits Section]]
|time          = 1967-75, 1984, 1987, 2013, 2017, 2019-20
|non dwu        = ''Adam Adamant Lives!'', ''[[Z-Cars]]'', ''UFO'', ''The Jensen Code''
|imdb          = 0505244
|official site  = www.john-levene.com/
|twitter        = John_Levene
}}
'''John Anthony Woods''' (born [[24 December (people)|24 December]] [[1941 (people)|1941]]<ref>[[REF]]: ''[[Who-ology: The Official Miscellany]]''</ref> in [[Salisbury]], [[Wiltshire]], [[England]]), better known by his stage name '''John Levene''', played Sergeant [[John Benton]] of [[UNIT]] on ''[[Doctor Who]]'', beginning with ''[[The Invasion (TV story)|The Invasion]]'' and concluding with ''[[The Android Invasion (TV story)|The Android Invasion]]'', as well as [[John Benton (Inferno Earth)|an alternative version]] in ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]''.


He was born '''John Anthony Woods''' in [[Salisbury]], [[Wiltshire]], [[England]].
He previously portrayed a [[Cyberman]] in ''[[The Moonbase (TV story)|The Moonbase]]'', although uncredited, and a [[Robot Yeti|Yeti]] in ''[[The Web of Fear (TV story)|The Web of Fear]]''.


Levene was working in a men's clothing store on [[Wikipedia:Regents Street|Regents Street]] in [[London]] when [[Wikipedia:Telly Savalas|Telly Savalas]] encouraged him to sign up as an actor for ''[[Wikipedia:The Dirty Dozen|The Dirty Dozen]]''. He failed to get a part, as he was not a union member, but this got him interested in acting. On joining [[Wikipedia:British Actors' Equity Association|Equity]], he adopted the [[Wikipedia:stage name|professional name]] John Levene to avoid confusion with another John Woods who was already registered with the union.
== Career ==
Levene was working in a men's clothing store on [[Regent Street]] in [[London]] when he met {{w|Telly Savalas}}, who was appearing in the American war film {{wi|The Dirty Dozen}} (1967) being filmed at {{w|MGM British Studios}}; and encouraged him to sign up as an extra. However, Levene found himself unable to take part in the film as he was not a member of the British actors' union [[Equity]], but despite this setback he became interested in acting. On joining Equity, he discovered there was already a John Woods registered and so adopted the {{w|stage name|professional name}} John Levene.


His first acting role was in the television series ''[[Adam Adamant Lives!]]''. Other television roles included episodes of ''[[Wikipedia:Callan (TV series)|Callan]]'' ([[1970]]), ''UFO'' (1970), ''The Adventurer'' ([[1972]]), and the film ''Go For A Take'' (1972). He also played a police constable in the horror film, ''Psychomania'' ([[1971]]).
His first acting role was in the television series {{wi|Adam Adamant Lives!}} (1966-67), playing an uncredited S.S. Guard in the last ever episode "A Sinister Sort of Service". Other television roles included episodes of {{wi|Callan (TV series)|Callan}} (1970), ''UFO'' (1970), ''The Adventurer'' (1972) and the film ''Go For A Take'' (1972). He also played a police constable in the horror film ''Psychomania'' (1971), and a military policeman in two episodes of the ITV thirteen-part children's science-fiction thriller serial {{wi|The Jensen Code}} (1973).


He made an uncredited appearance as a [[Cyberman]] in the [[1967]] ''Doctor Who'' serial ''[[The Moonbase]]'' and as a [[Robot Yeti|Yeti]] in ''[[The Web of Fear]]'' before making his first appearance as then-Corporal Benton in the ''Doctor Who'' serial ''[[The Invasion]]'' in [[1968]]. ''[[The Web of Fear]]'' was, incidentally, the serial that introduced Benton's commanding officer [[Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]]. Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT were featured heavily in early [[1970s]] ''Doctor Who'', and the promoted Sergeant Benton also became a regular. The character of Benton was later promoted to Warrant Officer, in "[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]," though is usually referred to as "Sergeant" by fans.
He made an uncredited appearance as a [[Cyberman]] in the 1967 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''[[The Moonbase (TV story)|The Moonbase]]'' ([[DWM 322]]) and as a [[Robot Yeti|Yeti]] in ''[[The Web of Fear (TV story)|The Web of Fear]]'' before making his debut as then-Corporal Benton in the ''Doctor Who'' serial ''[[The Invasion (TV story)|The Invasion]]'' in 1968. Levene had initially signed up to play a Cyberman in ''The Invasion'', but landed the role of Benton after the actor originally chosen for the part was fired by director [[Douglas Camfield]] for continually turning up late for filming, causing the carefully planned shooting schedules to be changed.


In [[1977]], following his final appearance on ''Doctor Who'', he gave up acting as a career to set up his own audio visual company, Genesis Communications, and has directed well over 45 audio visuals and live events for various clients including the [[Wikipedia:Ford Motor Company|Ford Motor Company]], [[Wikipedia:British Airways|British Airways]], [[Wikipedia:Kentucky Fried Chicken|Kentucky Fried Chicken]], [[Wikipedia:Amway|Amway]] and [[Wikipedia:Revlon|Revlon]].
''[[The Web of Fear (TV story)|The Web of Fear]]'' was, incidentally, the serial that introduced Benton's commanding officer, [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]]. Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT were featured heavily in early 1970s ''Doctor Who'' and the promoted Sergeant Benton also became a regular. Levene also played a [[John Benton (Inferno Earth)|parallel universe version of Benton]] in ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]''.


He briefly returned to the role of Benton in the [[1987]] [[Reeltime Pictures]] video production "[[Wartime]]." He also appeared as himself in the ''Doctor Who'' documentaries "[[Chronotrip]]" ([[2001]]) and "[[Myth Runner]]," and also appeared along with former co-stars [[Jon Pertwee]], [[Nicholas Courtney]], and [[Richard Franklin]] for the Reeltime documentary, "[[Return to Devil's End]]," about the making of the classic story, "[[The Dæmons]]."
The character of Benton was later promoted to Warrant Officer in ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'', therefore entitling him to be addressed as "Mister", but he is usually referred to as "Sergeant" by fans.


He has also worked as an entertainer on cruise liners and has now emigrated to the [[USA]] where he has returned to acting under the name '''John Anthony Blake'''.
Benton's last regular ''Doctor Who'' appearance was in ''[[The Android Invasion (TV story)|The Android Invasion]]'', in which Levene played both the real Benton and his android duplicate. Levene did not enjoy this story, as he missed the presence of [[Nicholas Courtney]], who was committed to a theatre tour and unable to return, and also knew UNIT was being phased out of the series. ''The Android Invasion'' also appeared to show the death of Benton, although this was never the intention at the time, when the android Benton ordered the removal of his body. Thankfully, fans learned Benton was alive and well when it was mentioned by the retired Brigadier in ''[[Mawdryn Undead (TV story)|Mawdryn Undead]]'' that Benton had left the Army in 1979 and was working as a second-hand car salesman.


He is married and is the father of two adult children from his previous marriage. His latest acting work was on an independent movie called ''Cannibalistic''. He has also acted on an episode of ''Big Bad Beetleborgs'', industrial videos, and has done some voice-over work for [[Wikipedia:The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] and The Queen Mary Hotel, among others.
[[File:JohnLevene.JPG|left|thumb|John Levene in the 1996 documentary, ''[[Return to Devil's End]]''.]]
In 1977, following his final appearance on ''Doctor Who'', he gave up acting as a career to set up his own audiovisual company, Genesis Communications. He has directed well over forty-five audio visuals and live events for clients including the {{w|Ford Motor Company}}, [[British Airways]], {{w|Kentucky Fried Chicken}}, {{w|Amway}} and {{w|Revlon}}.


==External links==
He briefly returned to the role of Benton in the 1987 [[Reeltime Pictures]] video production ''[[Wartime (home video)|Wartime]]''. He also appeared as himself in the ''Doctor Who'' documentaries ''[[Chronotrip]]'' (2001) and ''[[Myth Runner (home video)|Myth Runner]]'', and also along with former co-stars [[Jon Pertwee]], [[Nicholas Courtney]], and [[Richard Franklin]] for the Reeltime documentary ''[[Return to Devil's End]]'', about the making of the classic story,'' [[The Dæmons (TV story)|The Dæmons]]''.
*{{imdb|name/nm0505244|John Levene}}
 
{{Wikipedia|John_Levene}}
Levene has also worked as an entertainer on cruise liners and has emigrated to the [[USA]], where he has returned to acting under the name John Anthony Blake ("Blake" being his mother's maiden name), having successfully managed to obtain the vital Green Card enabling him to work there. He came back to the UK to care for his mother. ([[DCOM]]: ''[[Living with Levene (documentary)|Living with Levene]]'')
 
He is married and is the father of two adult children from his previous marriage. His latest acting work was on an independent movie called ''Cannibalistic''. He has also acted on an episode of ''Big Bad Beetleborgs'', industrial videos, and has done some voice-over work for [[Disney (in-universe)|Disney]] and The Queen Mary Hotel, among others.
 
== Credits ==
As [[John Benton|Corporal/Sergeant/RSM Benton]]
=== Television ===
==== Doctor Who ====
* ''[[The Invasion (TV story)|The Invasion]]''
* ''[[The Ambassadors of Death (TV story)|The Ambassadors of Death]]''
* ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]''
* ''[[Terror of the Autons (TV story)|Terror of the Autons]]''
* ''[[The Mind of Evil (TV story)|The Mind of Evil]]''
* ''[[The Claws of Axos (TV story)|The Claws of Axos]]''
* ''[[The Dæmons (TV story)|The Dæmons]]''
* ''[[Day of the Daleks (TV story)|Day of the Daleks]]''
* ''[[The Time Monster (TV story)|The Time Monster]]''
* ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]''
* ''[[The Green Death (TV story)|The Green Death]]''
* ''[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs (TV story)|Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]''
* ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]''
* ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]''
* ''[[Terror of the Zygons (TV story)|Terror of the Zygons]]''
* ''[[The Android Invasion (TV story)|The Android Invasion]]''
 
=== Direct-to-video ===
* ''[[Wartime (home video)|Wartime]]''
 
=== Stage ===
* ''[[Recall UNIT: The Great Tea-Bag Mystery]]''
 
=== Audio ===
==== The Third Doctor Adventures ====
* ''[[The Scream of Ghosts (audio story)|The Scream of Ghosts]]''
* ''[[Poison of the Daleks (audio story)|Poison of the Daleks]]''
 
==== The Companion Chronicles ====
* ''[[Council of War (audio story)|Council of War]]''
 
==== UNIT: The New Series ====
* ''[[Assembled (audio anthology)|Assembled]]''
** ''[[Call to Arms (audio story)|Call to Arms]]''
** ''[[United (audio story)|United]]''
 
Other Roles
=== Television ===
==== Doctor Who ====
* ''[[The Moonbase (TV story)|The Moonbase]]'' - [[Cyberman]]
* ''[[The Web of Fear (TV story)|The Web of Fear]]'' - [[Robot Yeti|Yeti]]
* ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'' - [[John Benton (Inferno Earth)|Platoon Under-Leader Benton]]
* ''[[The Android Invasion (TV story)|The Android Invasion]]'' - [[Kraal android|Android Benton]] (uncredited)
 
=== Audiobook Readings ===
==== The Benton Files ====
* ''[[Into the Fire (short story)|Into the Fire]]''
* ''[[Car Wars (short story)|Car Wars]]''
 
=== Documentary ===
* ''Myth Makers: Tom Baker''
* ''[[Return to Devil's End]]''
* ''Chronotrip''
* ''[[Can You Hear the Earth Scream? (documentary)|Can You Hear the Earth Scream?]]''
* ''[[The UNIT Family (documentary)|The UNIT Family]]''
* ''[[Remembering Douglas Camfield (documentary)|Remembering Douglas Camfield]]''
* ''[[Living with Levene (documentary)|Living with Levene]]''
* ''[[Behind the Sofa (documentary series)|Behind the Sofa]]: [[Season 10 (Doctor Who 1963)|Season 10]]''
* ''[[Going Underground: The Making of The Web of Fear (documentary)|Going Underground]]''
* ''[[Time and Atlantis (documentary)|Time and Atlantis]]''
 
=== Other ===
* ''[[Children in Need 1985 (TV story)|Children in Need 1985]]''
* ''[[Myth Runner (home video)|Myth Runner]]''
* ''Tale of a Timelord''
 
== External links ==
{{imdb name|id=0505244}}
{{official website|www.john-levene.com/}}
{{twitter|john_levene}}
 
== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}
{{NameSort}}
 
[[Category:Articles that were originally Wikipedia forks]]
[[Category:Doctor Who semi-regular cast]]
[[Category:Doctor Who semi-regular cast]]
[[Category:Doctor Who cast reprising their roles at Reeltime Pictures]]
[[Category:Stage play actors]]
[[Category:UNIT: The New Series voice actors]]
[[Category:Pre-2005 Doctor Who cast reprising their roles at Big Finish]]
[[Category:Performers of songs about the Doctor Who universe]]
[[Category:Doctor Who Pinball archive voice actors]]
[[Category:The Companion Chronicles voice actors]]
[[Category:Actors who portrayed companions of the Doctor]]
[[Category:The Third Doctor Adventures voice actors]]

Latest revision as of 20:23, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

John Anthony Woods (born 24 December 1941[1] in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England), better known by his stage name John Levene, played Sergeant John Benton of UNIT on Doctor Who, beginning with The Invasion and concluding with The Android Invasion, as well as an alternative version in Inferno.

He previously portrayed a Cyberman in The Moonbase, although uncredited, and a Yeti in The Web of Fear.

Career[[edit] | [edit source]]

Levene was working in a men's clothing store on Regent Street in London when he met Telly Savalas, who was appearing in the American war film The Dirty Dozen (1967) being filmed at MGM British Studios; and encouraged him to sign up as an extra. However, Levene found himself unable to take part in the film as he was not a member of the British actors' union Equity, but despite this setback he became interested in acting. On joining Equity, he discovered there was already a John Woods registered and so adopted the professional name John Levene.

His first acting role was in the television series Adam Adamant Lives! (1966-67), playing an uncredited S.S. Guard in the last ever episode "A Sinister Sort of Service". Other television roles included episodes of Callan (1970), UFO (1970), The Adventurer (1972) and the film Go For A Take (1972). He also played a police constable in the horror film Psychomania (1971), and a military policeman in two episodes of the ITV thirteen-part children's science-fiction thriller serial The Jensen Code (1973).

He made an uncredited appearance as a Cyberman in the 1967 Doctor Who serial The Moonbase (DWM 322) and as a Yeti in The Web of Fear before making his debut as then-Corporal Benton in the Doctor Who serial The Invasion in 1968. Levene had initially signed up to play a Cyberman in The Invasion, but landed the role of Benton after the actor originally chosen for the part was fired by director Douglas Camfield for continually turning up late for filming, causing the carefully planned shooting schedules to be changed.

The Web of Fear was, incidentally, the serial that introduced Benton's commanding officer, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT were featured heavily in early 1970s Doctor Who and the promoted Sergeant Benton also became a regular. Levene also played a parallel universe version of Benton in Inferno.

The character of Benton was later promoted to Warrant Officer in Robot, therefore entitling him to be addressed as "Mister", but he is usually referred to as "Sergeant" by fans.

Benton's last regular Doctor Who appearance was in The Android Invasion, in which Levene played both the real Benton and his android duplicate. Levene did not enjoy this story, as he missed the presence of Nicholas Courtney, who was committed to a theatre tour and unable to return, and also knew UNIT was being phased out of the series. The Android Invasion also appeared to show the death of Benton, although this was never the intention at the time, when the android Benton ordered the removal of his body. Thankfully, fans learned Benton was alive and well when it was mentioned by the retired Brigadier in Mawdryn Undead that Benton had left the Army in 1979 and was working as a second-hand car salesman.

John Levene in the 1996 documentary, Return to Devil's End.

In 1977, following his final appearance on Doctor Who, he gave up acting as a career to set up his own audiovisual company, Genesis Communications. He has directed well over forty-five audio visuals and live events for clients including the Ford Motor Company, British Airways, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Amway and Revlon.

He briefly returned to the role of Benton in the 1987 Reeltime Pictures video production Wartime. He also appeared as himself in the Doctor Who documentaries Chronotrip (2001) and Myth Runner, and also along with former co-stars Jon Pertwee, Nicholas Courtney, and Richard Franklin for the Reeltime documentary Return to Devil's End, about the making of the classic story, The Dæmons.

Levene has also worked as an entertainer on cruise liners and has emigrated to the USA, where he has returned to acting under the name John Anthony Blake ("Blake" being his mother's maiden name), having successfully managed to obtain the vital Green Card enabling him to work there. He came back to the UK to care for his mother. (DCOM: Living with Levene)

He is married and is the father of two adult children from his previous marriage. His latest acting work was on an independent movie called Cannibalistic. He has also acted on an episode of Big Bad Beetleborgs, industrial videos, and has done some voice-over work for Disney and The Queen Mary Hotel, among others.

Credits[[edit] | [edit source]]

As Corporal/Sergeant/RSM Benton

Television[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who[[edit] | [edit source]]

Direct-to-video[[edit] | [edit source]]

Stage[[edit] | [edit source]]

Audio[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Third Doctor Adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Companion Chronicles[[edit] | [edit source]]

UNIT: The New Series[[edit] | [edit source]]

Other Roles

Television[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who[[edit] | [edit source]]

Audiobook Readings[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Benton Files[[edit] | [edit source]]

Documentary[[edit] | [edit source]]

Other[[edit] | [edit source]]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ REF: Who-ology: The Official Miscellany
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