Richard Hurndall
Encyclopedia
Richard Gibbon Hurndall (3 November 1910 – 13 April 1984) was an English
actor
.
and he attended Claremont Preparatory School, Darlington and Scarborough College
, before training as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He then appeared in several plays at Stratford-upon-Avon
. Hurndall acted with the BBC
radio drama repertory company from 1949 to 1952.
program called This I Believe
. (This show had originally been hosted by Edward R. Murrow
on the U.S. CBS
Radio Network from 1951 to 1955 and it was then edited in London
for rebroadcast on 208 with a British style of presentation at 9:30 PM on Sunday evenings.)
, The Persuaders!
, Blake's 7
, Whodunnit!
and Bergerac
. He played the suave London gangster Mackelson in the 1968 drama series Spindoe
, had a recurring role as a senior civil servant in the final series of The Power Game
and did a camp
turn as a gay antique dealer who takes a shine to Harold Steptoe in the comedy Steptoe and Son
. He appeared twice in the series Public Eye, playing a distinguished entomologist who is unwilling to trace his missing son in "The Golden Boy" (10 January 1973) and a priest in "How About a Cup of Tea?" (13 January 1975).
, producer John Nathan-Turner
planned a special event, The Five Doctors
, a 90-minute episode to feature the four of the five actors who had at that point played the role of the Doctor
.
William Hartnell
, the actor who originated the role
, had died in 1975. The show's unofficial fan consultant, Ian Levine
, had seen Hurndall in Blake's 7
, another BBC science fiction series, and suggested him to the producers as a possible replacement. Hurndall eventually won the role of the First Doctor, playing him as acerbic and temperamental but in some ways wiser than his successors. When Tom Baker
, who played the Fourth Doctor
, decided not to appear in the programme, Hurndall's role was beefed up slightly to have the First Doctor take a greater part in the action.
at the age of 73 in London
, less than five months after the first broadcast of The Five Doctors.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
BBC radio
Hurndall was born in DarlingtonDarlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
and he attended Claremont Preparatory School, Darlington and Scarborough College
Scarborough College
Scarborough College is an independent day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 3-18 years. It is located in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England and was founded in 1898. The school has been an International Baccalaureate World School since June 2006...
, before training as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He then appeared in several plays at Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
. Hurndall acted with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio drama repertory company from 1949 to 1952.
Radio Luxembourg
In 1958 he became the third host of the Radio LuxembourgRadio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
program called This I Believe
This I Believe
This I Believe was a five-minute CBS Radio Network program hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow from 1951 to 1955. A half-hour European version of This I Believe ran from 1956 to 1958 over Radio Luxembourg....
. (This show had originally been hosted by Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
on the U.S. CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Radio Network from 1951 to 1955 and it was then edited in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for rebroadcast on 208 with a British style of presentation at 9:30 PM on Sunday evenings.)
Television work
Hurndall appeared in numerous radio and stage plays, films and television series over the course of his lengthy career, including The AvengersThe Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
, The Persuaders!
The Persuaders!
The Persuaders! is a 1971 action/adventure series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most...
, Blake's 7
Blake's 7
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
, Whodunnit!
Whodunnit!
Whodunnit? is a British television game show, broadcast between 1972 and 1978 for ITV by Thames Television.It was written by Lance Percival and Jeremy Lloyd, and hosted first by Edward Woodward, then by Jon Pertwee...
and Bergerac
Bergerac (TV series)
Bergerac was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in "Le Bureau des Étrangers" Bergerac was a British television show...
. He played the suave London gangster Mackelson in the 1968 drama series Spindoe
Spindoe
Spindoe is a British television series which was shown on ITV in the spring of 1968. It was named after the lead character, Alec Spindoe, a South London gangster; the plot of the series showed how Spindoe re-established his gangland empire after he had been supplanted during a term of imprisonment,...
, had a recurring role as a senior civil servant in the final series of The Power Game
The Plane Makers/The Power Game
The Plane Makers is a British television series made by ATV for ITV between 1963 and 1965.The series focused on the power struggles between the trades union and the management on the shop floor of an aircraft factory, Scott Furlong Ltd, as well as the political in-fighting between the management...
and did a camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
turn as a gay antique dealer who takes a shine to Harold Steptoe in the comedy Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old...
. He appeared twice in the series Public Eye, playing a distinguished entomologist who is unwilling to trace his missing son in "The Golden Boy" (10 January 1973) and a priest in "How About a Cup of Tea?" (13 January 1975).
Doctor Who
In 1983, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor WhoDoctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, producer John Nathan-Turner
John Nathan-Turner
John Nathan-Turner was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, from 1980 until it was effectively cancelled in 1989...
planned a special event, The Five Doctors
The Five Doctors
The Five Doctors is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's twentieth anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations...
, a 90-minute episode to feature the four of the five actors who had at that point played the role of the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
.
William Hartnell
William Hartnell
William Henry Hartnell 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:...
, the actor who originated the role
First Doctor
The First Doctor is the initial incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966. Hartnell reprised the role in the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors in 1973 - albeit in a...
, had died in 1975. The show's unofficial fan consultant, Ian Levine
Ian Levine
Ian Levine is an English songwriter, producer, and DJ. He is also a well-known fan of the long-running television show Doctor Who.Levine attended Arnold School in Blackpool from 1963 to 1970...
, had seen Hurndall in Blake's 7
Blake's 7
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
, another BBC science fiction series, and suggested him to the producers as a possible replacement. Hurndall eventually won the role of the First Doctor, playing him as acerbic and temperamental but in some ways wiser than his successors. When Tom Baker
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
, who played the Fourth Doctor
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
, decided not to appear in the programme, Hurndall's role was beefed up slightly to have the First Doctor take a greater part in the action.
Death
Richard Hurndall died of a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at the age of 73 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, less than five months after the first broadcast of The Five Doctors.