William Hartnell: Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
(Reformatted in a way that frankly is easier to read and easier on the eyes than the previous version.)
Line 1: Line 1:
== '''Date of Birth''' ==
{| class="wiki-sidebar" align="right" border=1
|-
| style="text-align: center;" colspan="2" | [[Image:Hartnw13.jpg|thumb|center]]


|-
| '''Date of birth:''' || 8th January, 1908


[[8th January]] [[1908]]
|-
| '''Place of birth:''' || St. Pancras, London, England
|-
| '''Date of death''' || 24th April, 1975


|-
| '''Place of death''' || Marden, Kent, England


== '''Place of Birth''' ==
|-
| '''Character''' || [[The First Doctor]]
|-
|}




[[St. Pancras]], [[London]], [[England]], [[UK]]
'''William Hartnell''' was the first actor to portray [[the Doctor]] on ''[[Doctor Who]]''.  For many, his remains the definitive portrayal of the character, and elements of said portrayal are evident in the performances of all his successors on the television series.




== '''Date of Death''' ==
== '''Biography''' ==


'''William Henry Hartnell''' was born out of wedlock on 8 January, [[1908]], near St. Pancras Station in [[London]]. He was adopted at 16 by Hugh Blaker and got a position performing various backstage jobs with Sir Frank Benson's Shakespearean Company. Moving up into small walk-in parts on the stage, he soon left to pursue an acting career, mostly in comedies. Eventually moving into film, he played memorable roles in ''The Agitator'', ''Murder in Reverse'', ''Heavens Above'', and ''The Mouse That Roared'', co-starring in the last two with Peter Sellers.  He was sometimes credited as '''Billy Hartnell'''.


[[24th April]] [[1975]]
Hartnell was selected to portray the Doctor based on his performances in the television series ''The Army Game'' and the film ''This Sporting Life''.  He played the character of the Doctor from [[The Pilot Episode |the pilot episode]] in [[1963]] to "[[The Tenth Planet (TV story) |The Tenth Planet]]" in [[1966]]. Officially his departure was due to poor health, though some sources cite poor relations with the new production team as another possible factor.


William Hartnell reprised the role of the Doctor in "[[The Three Doctors]]" in [[1973]]. Two years later, he died on 24 April at Marden, Kent. For the twentieth anniversary story, "[[The Five Doctors]]," archive footage of Hartnell delivering his farewell speech from "[[The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]" was used for the opening.


== '''Place of Death''' ==


== '''External Links''' ==


[[Marden]], [[Kent]], [[England]], [[UK]]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hartnell Wikipedia article]
 
 
== '''Doctor Who Episodes''' ==
 
 
'''[[Doctor Who]]''' - [[An Unearthly Child]], [[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]], [[The Edge of Destruction]], [[Marco Polo (TV story)|Marco Polo]], [[The Keys of Marinus]], [[The Aztecs (TV story)|The Aztecs]], [[The Sensorites (TV story)|The Sensorites]], [[The Reign of Terror (TV story)|The Reign of Terror]], [[Planet of Giants]], [[The Dalek Invasion of Earth]], [[The Rescue]], [[The Romans (TV story)|The Romans]], [[The Web Planet]], [[The Crusade (TV story)|The Crusade]], [[The Space Museum (TV story)|The Space Museum]], [[The Chase]], [[The Time Meddler (TV story)|The Time Meddler]], [[Galaxy 4 (TV story)|Galaxy 4]], [[Mission to the Unknown]] ''(didn't actually appear but credited due to contract reasons)'', [[The Myth Makers]], [[The Daleks' Master Plan]], [[The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve]], [[The Ark (TV story)|The Ark]], [[The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)|The Celestial Toymaker]], [[The Gunfighters]], [[The Savages]], [[The War Machines (TV story)|The War Machines]], [[The Smugglers]], [[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]] ''(end of regular appearances)'', [[The Three Doctors]], [[The Five Doctors]] ''(seen in archive footage as was deceased at time of filming)''
 
== '''Biography''' ==
 
 
* Sometimes credited as [[Billy Hartnell]]
* A more detailed biography can be found [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0367156/bio here]
 
 
== '''External Links''' ==


* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0367156/ IMDB]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0367156/ IMDB]

Revision as of 22:26, 27 June 2005

Date of birth: 8th January, 1908
Place of birth: St. Pancras, London, England
Date of death 24th April, 1975
Place of death Marden, Kent, England
Character The First Doctor


William Hartnell was the first actor to portray the Doctor on Doctor Who. For many, his remains the definitive portrayal of the character, and elements of said portrayal are evident in the performances of all his successors on the television series.


Biography

William Henry Hartnell was born out of wedlock on 8 January, 1908, near St. Pancras Station in London. He was adopted at 16 by Hugh Blaker and got a position performing various backstage jobs with Sir Frank Benson's Shakespearean Company. Moving up into small walk-in parts on the stage, he soon left to pursue an acting career, mostly in comedies. Eventually moving into film, he played memorable roles in The Agitator, Murder in Reverse, Heavens Above, and The Mouse That Roared, co-starring in the last two with Peter Sellers. He was sometimes credited as Billy Hartnell.

Hartnell was selected to portray the Doctor based on his performances in the television series The Army Game and the film This Sporting Life. He played the character of the Doctor from the pilot episode in 1963 to "The Tenth Planet" in 1966. Officially his departure was due to poor health, though some sources cite poor relations with the new production team as another possible factor.

William Hartnell reprised the role of the Doctor in "The Three Doctors" in 1973. Two years later, he died on 24 April at Marden, Kent. For the twentieth anniversary story, "The Five Doctors," archive footage of Hartnell delivering his farewell speech from "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" was used for the opening.


External Links