- Born
- Died
- Birth nameWilliam Henry Hartnell
- Nicknames
- Billy
- Bill
- Height1.73 m
- William Hartnell was born on 8 January 1908, just south of St. Pancras railway station in London. In press materials in the 1940s he claimed that his father was a farmer and later a stockbroker; it turns out that he had actually been born out of wedlock, as his biography "Who's There?" states.
At age 16 he was adopted by Hugh Blaker, a well-known art connoisseur, who helped him to get a job with Sir Frank Benson's Shakespearean Company. He started as a general dogsbody--call-boy, assistant stage manager, property master and assistant lighting director--but was occasionally allowed to play small walk-on parts. Two years later he left Benson's group and went off on tour, working for a number of different theatre companies about Britain. He became known as an actor of farce and understudied renowned performers such as Lawrence Grossmith, Ernest Truex, Bud Flanagan and Charles Heslop. He played repertory in Richmond, Harrogate, Leeds and Sheffield and had a successful run as the lead in a touring production of "Charley's Aunt." He also toured Canada in 1928-29, acquiring much valuable experience.
On his return to England, Hartnell married actress Heather McIntyre. He starred in such films as I'm an Explosive (1933), L'héroïque parade (1944), Strawberry Roan (1944), The Agitator (1945), Meurtre à crédit (1945) and Rendez-vous avec le crime (1946).
His memorable performance on the television series The Army Game (1957) and the movie Le prix d'un homme (1963) led to him being cast as the Doctor on Docteur Who (1963), for which he is best remembered. His son-in-law is agent Terry Carney. His granddaughter is Jessica Carney (real name Judith Carney), who authored a biography of her grandfather, "Who's There?", in 1996.- IMDb mini biography by: A. Nonymous
- SpouseHeather McIntyre(May 9, 1929 - April 23, 1975) (his death, 1 child)
- RelativesNorman Hartnell(Cousin)Jessica Carney(Grandchild)
- During his time on Docteur Who (1963) he began to increasingly suffer from arteriosclerosis, which caused him to often make mistakes while delivering his lines. Due to lack of time and money, scenes were usually filmed using one take, so these mistakes ended up in the finished episodes and are considered among fans to be something of a trademark of Hartnell's performance as the Doctor.
- In 1966, due to the actor's health problems, the decision was made to replace Hartnell as the Doctor but continue the series. The story editor of Docteur Who (1963), Gerry Davis, came up with a unique idea: since the Doctor is an alien, he can transform into another man when he dies, thereby renewing himself. Hartnell reportedly approved of the casting of the versatile character actor Patrick Troughton to succeed him, a decision by Innes Lloyd, the then producer of the series. However, his former co-star Peter Purves stated in an interview that Hartnell would almost certainly have felt very hurt that anybody felt he could be replaced in the series because he had become so attached to the part that he had originated.
- His was the only version of The Doctor who smoked (In his case, a pipe).
- He first took the role of the Doctor to get away from being typecast as gruff military types and to appear in something his grandchildren could watch.
- He appeared in 134 episodes during his three years on Docteur Who (1963). This was eventually overtaken by the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, who appeared in 172 episodes over seven years. This heavy workload became tough for Hartnell as time went on and his health began to decline.
- I don't like anything blue or salacious or suggestive because I'm not that type of actor.
- [on children] They find me a cross between the Wizard of Oz and Father Christmas.
- I'm a legitimate character actor of the theatre and film.
- [on the Daleks] They were difficult to play to. Because you're not looking into human eyes, you know what I mean. You're looking at a metal object moving about, with a voice-over.
- Space travel? Quite honestly, it scares me to death. I haven't the slightest wish to get in a rocket and zoom through the stratosphere. Somebody else can be the first man on the moon. It doesn't interest me at all. I do, however, believe that there is life on other planets - and that they know we're here but haven't got the technology to get through.
- Docteur Who (1989) - £315 per episode (1966)
- Allez-y sergent! (1960) - £2,000
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content