William Hartnell
Encyclopedia
William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) 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
.
, England
, the only child of Lucy Hartnell, an unmarried mother. He was raised partly by a foster mother, though he did spend many a happy childhood holiday in Devon with his mother's family of farmers, where he learned to ride a horse.
Hartnell never discovered the identity of his father (whose particulars are left blank on the existing birth certificate) despite efforts made by Hartnell to trace him. Often known as Billy, he left school without any prospects and dabbled in the commission of petty crimes. Through a boys' boxing club, Hartnell met the art collector Hugh Blaker
, who would become his unofficial guardian and arrange for him initially to train as a jockey (horses were his first love) and help him enter the Italia Conti Academy. Theatre being a passion of Hugh Blaker, he paid for Hartnell to receive some 'polish' at the Imperial Service College
, though Hartnell found the strictures too much and ran away.
Hartnell entered the theatre
in 1925 working under Frank Benson as a general stagehand. In 1928 he appeared in the play Miss Elizabeth's Prisoner, by R. N. Stephens and E. Lyall Swete, along with the actress Heather McIntyre. The following year they married. His first of more than sixty film appearances was Say It With Music in 1932. He was cast as 'Albert Fosdike' in Noël Coward
's 1942 film In Which We Serve
but turned up late for his first day of shooting. Coward berated Hartnell in front of cast and crew for his unprofessionalism, made him personally apologise to everyone and then fired him. Michael Anderson
, who was the First Assistant Director, took over the part and was credited as "Mickey Anderson".
At the outbreak of the Second World War
Hartnell served in the Tank Corps
, but was invalided out after eighteen months as the result of suffering a nervous breakdown, and he returned to acting. Hartnell usually played comic characters, until 1944 when he was cast in the robust role of Sergeant
Ned Fletcher in The Way Ahead
. From then on his career was defined by playing mainly policemen, soldier
s, and thugs. The fact that he had become typecast in such roles bothered him, for even when cast in comedies he found he was invariably playing the heavy. In 1958 he played the sergeant in the first Carry On film comedy, Carry On Sergeant
, and in 1963 he appeared as a town councillor
in the Boulting brothers' film Heavens Above!
with Peter Sellers
. He also appeared as Will Buckley in the film The Mouse That Roared
in 1959 (again with Sellers).
His first regular role on television
was as Sergeant Major
Percy Bullimore in The Army Game
from 1957–1961. Again, although it was a comedy series he found himself cast as a "tough-guy" role. In 1963 he appeared in a supporting role in the film version of This Sporting Life
, giving a sensitive performance as an aging rugby league
talent scout known as 'Dad'.
After living at 51 Church Street, Isleworth
, next door to Hugh Blaker, the Hartnells lived on The Island, Thames Ditton. Then in the 1960s they moved to a cottage in Mayfield, Sussex. He lived in later life at Sheephurst Lane in Marden, Kent.
, the producer who was setting up a new science-fiction television series for the BBC
, Doctor Who. Lambert offered him the title role
. Although Hartnell was initially uncertain about accepting a part in what was pitched to him as a children's series, Lambert and director Waris Hussein
convinced him to take the part, and it became the character for which he gained the highest profile and is now most remembered. Hartnell later revealed that he took the role because it led him away from the gruff, military parts in which he had become typecast
, and, having two grandchildren of his own, he came to relish particularly the attention and affection that playing the character brought him from children.
Doctor Who earned Hartnell a regular salary of £315 per episode by 1966 (basically, £315 a week in that era of 48-weeks per year production on the series), equivalent to £4,050 a week in modern terms. By comparison, in 1966 his co-stars Anneke Wills
and Michael Craze
were earning £68 and £52 per episode at the same time. Throughout his tenure as the Doctor, William Hartnell wore a wig when playing the part, as the character had long hair, whereas in private life he himself favoured the traditional short-back-and-sides. Very few photographs exist of him dressed as the Doctor without the wig.
Hartnell suffered a bereavement in 1965 whilst working on the serial The Myth Makers
. His aunt, Bessie Hartnell, who had looked after him during his troubled childhood, died. But the production schedule on the series was so tight, with a typical 48 episodes a year being transmitted, that it prevented his even taking time off to attend her funeral.
According to some of his colleagues on Doctor Who, he could be a difficult person to work with. Others, however, notably actors Peter Purves
and William Russell
, and producer Verity Lambert
, spoke glowingly of him after more than forty years. Among the more caustic accounts, Nicholas Courtney
, in his audio memoirs, recalled that during the filming of The Daleks' Master Plan
Hartnell mentioned that an extra on the set was Jewish, Courtney's inference being that Hartnell was antisemitic. In an interview in 2008, Courtney claimed that Hartnell "was quite nationalist-minded, a bit intolerant of other races, I think." However, he always got on extremely well with his first companion, played by Carole Ann Ford
, who is Jewish .
Hartnell's deteriorating health (he suffered from arteriosclerosis
, which began to affect his memory and hence his ability to learn lines), as well as poor relations with the new production team
on the series after the departure of Verity Lambert, ultimately led him to leave Doctor Who in 1966.
When he left Doctor Who, the producer of the show came up with a unique idea: since the Doctor is an alien, he can transform into another man when he dies, thereby renewing himself. William Hartnell himself suggested that Patrick Troughton
should be cast as the new Doctor. In Episode 4 of the serial The Tenth Planet
, the First Doctor regenerated
into Troughton's Second Doctor
.
. In early 1975 he suffered a series of stroke
s brought on by cerebrovascular disease
, and died peacefully in his sleep of heart failure
on 23 April 1975, at the age of 67. His death was reported on the BBC News
and a clip of the Doctor in the TARDIS
from the end of "The OK Corral", the final episode of The Gunfighters
, was shown.
A clip of his scene from the end of the serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth
(1964) was used as a pre-credits sequence for the 20th anniversary story The Five Doctors
(1983), although another actor, Richard Hurndall
, played the role of the first Doctor for the rest of that story.
Hartnell was married to Heather McIntyre from 9 May 1929 until his death. They had one child, a daughter named Heather Anne, and two grandchildren. His widow, Heather, died in 1984. The only published biography of him is by his granddaughter, Jessica Carney (real name Judith), entitled Who's There, and subtitled The life and career of William Hartnell, which draws on primary sources as well as the Hartnell family's own extensive archive.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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...
. During 1963-66, he was the first actor to play 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....
in the long-running 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...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Doctor Who
Doctor 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...
.
Early life
Hartnell was born in St Pancras, LondonSt Pancras, London
St Pancras is an area of London. For many centuries the name has been used for various officially-designated areas, but now is used informally and rarely having been largely superseded by several other names for overlapping districts.-Ancient parish:...
, England
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...
, the only child of Lucy Hartnell, an unmarried mother. He was raised partly by a foster mother, though he did spend many a happy childhood holiday in Devon with his mother's family of farmers, where he learned to ride a horse.
Hartnell never discovered the identity of his father (whose particulars are left blank on the existing birth certificate) despite efforts made by Hartnell to trace him. Often known as Billy, he left school without any prospects and dabbled in the commission of petty crimes. Through a boys' boxing club, Hartnell met the art collector Hugh Blaker
Hugh Blaker
Hugh Blaker was an English art collector.He advised the Davies sisters in amassing their art collection, which they bequethead to the National Museum of Wales.He was associated with the actor William Hartnell....
, who would become his unofficial guardian and arrange for him initially to train as a jockey (horses were his first love) and help him enter the Italia Conti Academy. Theatre being a passion of Hugh Blaker, he paid for Hartnell to receive some 'polish' at the Imperial Service College
Imperial Service College
The Imperial Service College ' was a leading English public school based in Windsor.In 1942, it merged with Haileybury to form Haileybury and Imperial Service College...
, though Hartnell found the strictures too much and ran away.
Hartnell entered the theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in 1925 working under Frank Benson as a general stagehand. In 1928 he appeared in the play Miss Elizabeth's Prisoner, by R. N. Stephens and E. Lyall Swete, along with the actress Heather McIntyre. The following year they married. His first of more than sixty film appearances was Say It With Music in 1932. He was cast as 'Albert Fosdike' in Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's 1942 film In Which We Serve
In Which We Serve
In Which We Serve is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by David Lean and Noël Coward. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information ....
but turned up late for his first day of shooting. Coward berated Hartnell in front of cast and crew for his unprofessionalism, made him personally apologise to everyone and then fired him. Michael Anderson
Michael Anderson (director)
Michael Joseph Anderson, Sr. is an English film director, best known for directing The Dam Busters , Around the World in 80 Days and Logan's Run .-Early life:...
, who was the First Assistant Director, took over the part and was credited as "Mickey Anderson".
At the outbreak of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Hartnell served in the Tank Corps
Royal Tank Regiment
The Royal Tank Regiment is an armoured regiment of the British Army. It was formerly known as the Tank Corps and the Royal Tank Corps. It is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and is made up of two operational regiments, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment...
, but was invalided out after eighteen months as the result of suffering a nervous breakdown, and he returned to acting. Hartnell usually played comic characters, until 1944 when he was cast in the robust role of Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Ned Fletcher in The Way Ahead
The Way Ahead
The Way Ahead is a British Second World War drama released in 1944. It stars David Niven and Stanley Holloway and follows a group of civilians who are conscripted into the British Army to fight in North Africa. In the U.S., an edited version was released as The Immortal Battalion.The film was...
. From then on his career was defined by playing mainly policemen, soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s, and thugs. The fact that he had become typecast in such roles bothered him, for even when cast in comedies he found he was invariably playing the heavy. In 1958 he played the sergeant in the first Carry On film comedy, Carry On Sergeant
Carry On Sergeant
Carry On Sergeant is the first Carry On film. Its first public screening was on 1 August 1958 at Screen One, London. Actors in this film who went on to be part of the regular team in the series were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Terry Scott...
, and in 1963 he appeared as a town councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
in the Boulting brothers' film Heavens Above!
Heavens Above!
Heavens Above! is a 1963 British satirical comedy film starring Peter Sellers, directed by John and Roy Boulting, who also co-wrote along with Frank Harvey, from an idea by Malcolm Muggeridge...
with Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
. He also appeared as Will Buckley in the film The Mouse That Roared
The Mouse That Roared
The Mouse That Roared is a 1955 Cold War satirical novel by Irish-American writer Leonard Wibberley, which launched a series of satirical books about an imaginary country in Europe called the Duchy of Grand Fenwick...
in 1959 (again with Sellers).
His first regular role on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
was as Sergeant Major
Sergeant Major
Sergeants major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. In Commonwealth countries, Sergeants Major are usually appointments held by senior non-commissioned officers or warrant officers...
Percy Bullimore in The Army Game
The Army Game
The Army Game is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1957 to 1961. Made in black-and-white, it is about National Service conscription to the post-war British Army. It was created by Sid Colin...
from 1957–1961. Again, although it was a comedy series he found himself cast as a "tough-guy" role. In 1963 he appeared in a supporting role in the film version of This Sporting Life
This Sporting Life
This Sporting Life is a 1963 British film based on a novel of the same name by David Storey which won the 1960 Macmillan Fiction Award. It tells the story of a rugby league footballer, Frank Machin, in Wakefield, a mining area of Yorkshire, whose romantic life is not as successful as his sporting...
, giving a sensitive performance as an aging rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
talent scout known as 'Dad'.
After living at 51 Church Street, Isleworth
Isleworth
Isleworth is a small town of Saxon origin sited within the London Borough of Hounslow in west London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane. Isleworth's original area of settlement, alongside the Thames, is known as...
, next door to Hugh Blaker, the Hartnells lived on The Island, Thames Ditton. Then in the 1960s they moved to a cottage in Mayfield, Sussex. He lived in later life at Sheephurst Lane in Marden, Kent.
Doctor Who (1963–1966)
Hartnell's performance in This Sporting Life was noted by Verity LambertVerity Lambert
Verity Ann Lambert, OBE was an English television and film producer. She is best known as the founding producer of the science-fiction series Doctor Who, a programme which has become a part of British popular culture, and for her association with Thames Television...
, the producer who was setting up a new science-fiction television series for 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...
, Doctor Who. Lambert offered him the title 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...
. Although Hartnell was initially uncertain about accepting a part in what was pitched to him as a children's series, Lambert and director Waris Hussein
Waris Hussein
Waris Hussein is a British-Indian television director and film director best known for his many productions for British television....
convinced him to take the part, and it became the character for which he gained the highest profile and is now most remembered. Hartnell later revealed that he took the role because it led him away from the gruff, military parts in which he had become typecast
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
, and, having two grandchildren of his own, he came to relish particularly the attention and affection that playing the character brought him from children.
Doctor Who earned Hartnell a regular salary of £315 per episode by 1966 (basically, £315 a week in that era of 48-weeks per year production on the series), equivalent to £4,050 a week in modern terms. By comparison, in 1966 his co-stars Anneke Wills
Anneke Wills
Anneke Wills is an English actress, best-known for her role as the Doctor Who's companion Polly in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Biography:...
and Michael Craze
Michael Craze
Michael Craze was a British actor noted for his role of Ben Jackson, a companion of the Doctor, in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. He played the part from 1966 to 1967 alongside both William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton.Craze was born in Cornwall...
were earning £68 and £52 per episode at the same time. Throughout his tenure as the Doctor, William Hartnell wore a wig when playing the part, as the character had long hair, whereas in private life he himself favoured the traditional short-back-and-sides. Very few photographs exist of him dressed as the Doctor without the wig.
Hartnell suffered a bereavement in 1965 whilst working on the serial The Myth Makers
The Myth Makers
The Myth Makers is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 16 October to 6 November 1965. The story is set in Homeric Troy, based on Iliad by Homer...
. His aunt, Bessie Hartnell, who had looked after him during his troubled childhood, died. But the production schedule on the series was so tight, with a typical 48 episodes a year being transmitted, that it prevented his even taking time off to attend her funeral.
According to some of his colleagues on Doctor Who, he could be a difficult person to work with. Others, however, notably actors Peter Purves
Peter Purves
Peter Purves is an English television presenter and actor.Purves was born in New Longton, near Preston, Lancashire, and was educated at the independent Arnold School in Blackpool, he had originally planned to go into teaching, training at Alsager College of Education, but began to act with the...
and William Russell
William Russell (actor)
William Russell is an English actor, mainly known for his television work. He was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.-Doctor Who:...
, and producer Verity Lambert
Verity Lambert
Verity Ann Lambert, OBE was an English television and film producer. She is best known as the founding producer of the science-fiction series Doctor Who, a programme which has become a part of British popular culture, and for her association with Thames Television...
, spoke glowingly of him after more than forty years. Among the more caustic accounts, Nicholas Courtney
Nicholas Courtney
William Nicholas Stone Courtney was an English television actor, most famous for playing Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
, in his audio memoirs, recalled that during the filming of The Daleks' Master Plan
The Daleks' Master Plan
The Daleks' Master Plan is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The twelve episodes were aired from 13 November 1965 to 29 January 1966...
Hartnell mentioned that an extra on the set was Jewish, Courtney's inference being that Hartnell was antisemitic. In an interview in 2008, Courtney claimed that Hartnell "was quite nationalist-minded, a bit intolerant of other races, I think." However, he always got on extremely well with his first companion, played by Carole Ann Ford
Carole Ann Ford
Carole Ann Ford is a British actress best known for her role as Susan Foreman in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She also appeared in the 1962 film version of The Day of the Triffids....
, who is Jewish .
Hartnell's deteriorating health (he suffered from arteriosclerosis
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol...
, which began to affect his memory and hence his ability to learn lines), as well as poor relations with the new production team
Production team
A production team is the group of technical staff who produce a play, television show, recording, or film. Generally the term refers to all individuals responsible for the technical aspects of creating of a particular product, regardless of where in the process their expertize is required, or how...
on the series after the departure of Verity Lambert, ultimately led him to leave Doctor Who in 1966.
When he left Doctor Who, the producer of the show came up with a unique idea: since the Doctor is an alien, he can transform into another man when he dies, thereby renewing himself. William Hartnell himself suggested that Patrick Troughton
Patrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
should be cast as the new Doctor. In Episode 4 of the serial The Tenth Planet
The Tenth Planet
The Tenth Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 8 October to 29 October 1966. It was William Hartnell's last regular appearance as the First Doctor, and the first story to feature the Cybermen...
, the First Doctor regenerated
Regeneration (Doctor Who)
Regeneration, in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, is a biological ability exhibited by Time Lords, a race of fictional humanoids originating on the planet Gallifrey. This process allows a Time Lord who is old or mortally wounded to undergo a transformation into a new...
into Troughton's Second Doctor
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....
.
Later life
Hartnell reprised the role of the Doctor in the 10th Anniversary story The Three Doctors (made in 1972, and broadcast 1972–73) with the help of cue cards, due to his failing memory, but appeared only in pre-filmed inserts seen on video screens. His appearance in this story was his last work as an actor. His health had grown progressively worse in the early 1970s, and in December 1974 he was admitted to the hospital permanently. He lived in later life at Sheephurst Lane in Marden, KentMarden, Kent
Marden is a village about 13 km south of Maidstone and civil parish in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the flood plain of the River Beult near Maidstone. It is on the B2079 road linking the A229 Maidstone with the A21 at Flimwell. It has its own railway...
. In early 1975 he suffered a series of stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
s brought on by cerebrovascular disease
Cerebrovascular disease
Cerebrovascular disease is a group of brain dysfunctions related to disease of the blood vessels supplying the brain. Hypertension is the most important cause; it damages the blood vessel lining, endothelium, exposing the underlying collagen where platelets aggregate to initiate a repairing process...
, and died peacefully in his sleep of heart failure
Congestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
on 23 April 1975, at the age of 67. His death was reported on the BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
and a clip of the Doctor in the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
from the end of "The OK Corral", the final episode of The Gunfighters
The Gunfighters
The Gunfighters is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, set in 19th Century America on the days leading up to the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral...
, was shown.
A clip of his scene from the end of the serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Dalek Invasion of Earth is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from November 21 to December 26, 1964....
(1964) was used as a pre-credits sequence for the 20th anniversary story 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...
(1983), although another actor, Richard Hurndall
Richard Hurndall
Richard Gibbon Hurndall was an English actor.-BBC radio:Hurndall was born in Darlington 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...
, played the role of the first Doctor for the rest of that story.
Hartnell was married to Heather McIntyre from 9 May 1929 until his death. They had one child, a daughter named Heather Anne, and two grandchildren. His widow, Heather, died in 1984. The only published biography of him is by his granddaughter, Jessica Carney (real name Judith), entitled Who's There, and subtitled The life and career of William Hartnell, which draws on primary sources as well as the Hartnell family's own extensive archive.
Filmography
Hartnell acted in over seventy British films, plus numerous stage and television appearances, though he is best remembered for his Doctor Who role.- Say It with Music (1932)
- I'm an Explosive (1933)
- Follow the Lady (1933)
- The Lure (1933)
- Swinging the LeadSwinging the LeadSwinging the Lead is a 1934 British comedy film directed by David MacKane and starring William Hartnell, Moira Lynd and Gibb McLaughlin. Some criminals sell a drug that changes people's personalities.-Cast:* William Hartnell ... Freddy Fordum...
(1934) - The Perfect FlawThe Perfect FlawThe Perfect Flaw is a 1934 British crime film directed by H. Manning Haynes and starring Naomi Waters, Ralph Truman and William Hartnell. A clerk is planning to murder a stockbroker but is foiled in the attempt.-Cast:* Naomi Waters ... Phyllis Kearns...
(1934) - Seeing is Believing (1934)
- Old FaithfulOld Faithful (film)Old Faithful is a 1935 British drama film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Horace Hodges, Glennis Lorimer and Bruce Lester. An elderly taxi driver refuses to give up his old horse even though his business is being taken by younger drivers using modern cars...
(1935) - While Parents SleepWhile Parents SleepWhile Parents Sleep is a 1935 British, black-and-white, comedy or farce, directed by Adrian Brunel. The film is a screen adaptation of a 1933 play by Anthony Kimmins, which had been a popular success on the West End stage in the West End of London....
(1935) - The Guv'norThe Guv'nor (film)The Guv'nor is a 1935 British comedy film starring George Arliss as a tramp who rides a series of misunderstandings and becomes the president of a bank.-Plot:...
(1935) - Nothing Like Publicity (1936)
- Parisian LifeParisian LifeParisian Life is a 1936 French English-language musical film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Max Dearly, Tyrell Davis, Austin Trevor and William Hartnell. It is based on the operetta La vie parisienne by Ludovic Halévy and Jacques Offenbach....
(1936) - The Crimson CircleThe Crimson CircleThe Crimson Circle is a British crime film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Hugh Wakefield, Alfred Drayton, and Niall MacGinnis...
(1936) - The Shadow of Mike Emerald (1936)
- Midnight at Madame Tussaud'sMidnight at Madame Tussaud'sMidnight at Madame Tussaud's is a 1936 British thriller film directed by George Pearson and starring Lucille Lisle, James Carew and Charles Oliver. A daring explorer bets his friends he can spend a night in Madame Tussaud's chamber of horrors. Meanwhile, on the outside, his young female ward is in...
(1936) - Farewell AgainFarewell AgainFarewell Again is a 1937 British drama film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Leslie Banks, Flora Robson, Sebastian Shaw and Robert Newton. The film is a portmanteau illustrating the calls of duty on various soldiers and their families...
(1937) - They Drive by NightThey Drive by Night (1938 film)They Drive by Night is a 1938 British black-and-white, crime thriller, directed by Arthur B. Woods starring Emlyn Williams as 'Shorty', an ex-con and Ronald Shiner as Charlie, the café proprietor. It was produced by Warner Brothers - First National Productions. The film is based on the novel of the...
(1938) - Too Dangerous to LiveToo Dangerous to LiveToo Dangerous to Live is a 1939 British crime film directed by Anthony Hankey and Leslie Norman and starring Sebastian Shaw, Anna Konstam and Reginald Tate. It was based on the novel Crime Unlimited by David Hume. A private detective goes undercover by joining a gang of burglars.-Cast:* Sebastian...
(1939) - Murder Will Out (1939)
- They Came by NightThey Came by NightThey Came by Night is a 1940 British crime film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Will Fyffe, Phyllis Calvert and Anthony Hulme. A man is blackmailed into taking his brother's place in a gang for a jewellry heist.-Cast:...
(1940) - Freedom RadioFreedom RadioFreedom Radio is a 1941 British propaganda film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Clive Brook, Diana Wynyard, Raymond Huntley and Derek Farr. It is set in Nazi Germany during the Second World War about an underground German resistance group who run a radio station broadcasting against the...
(1941) - The Peterville DiamondThe Peterville DiamondThe Peterville Diamond is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Anne Crawford, Donald Stewart, Renee Houston, William Hartnell and Felix Aylmer. A thief tries to steal a diamond from the wife of a wealthy businessman, at her suggestion in an effort to get her husband to...
(1942) - Flying Fortress (1942)
- They Flew AloneThey Flew AloneThey Flew Alone is a 1942 British, black-and-white, biopic, drama, propaganda, war film, directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Robert Newton and Edward Chapman...
(1942)
- Suspected Person (1942)
- The Goose Steps OutThe Goose Steps OutThe Goose Steps Out is a British comedy film released in 1942. This film starred, and was co-directed by, the British comedian Will Hay.The film's title refers to the Nazis' vigorous ceremonial marching, called "goose-stepping".-Plot summary:...
(1942) - Sabotage at SeaSabotage at SeaSabotage at Sea is a 1942 British, black-and-white, drama, mystery, war film, directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Ronald Shiner as Ernie, the Cook and Ian Fleming. It was produced by British National Films and Shaftesbury Films.-Synopsis:...
(1942) - The Bells Go DownThe Bells Go DownThe Bells Go down is a black-and-white wartime film made by Ealing Studios in 1943. The reference in the title is to the alarm bells in the fire station that "go down" when a call to respond is made...
(1943) - The Dark TowerThe Dark Tower (1943 film)The Dark Tower is a 1943 film starring Herbert Lom, Anne Crawford, David Farrar and Ben Lyon.-Plot:Stephen Torg seeks work at a struggling traveling circus. While there, a lion escapes; Torg is able to control it with his skill at hypnotism. Phil Danton , the head of the circus, is so impressed,...
(1943) - Strawberry RoanStrawberry Roan (film)Strawberry Roan is a 1945 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring William Hartnell and Carol Raye. The screenplay was developed from the 1932 novel of the same name by Wiltshire author A. G. Street, at the time a very popular, well-known and widely-admired work...
(1944) - HeadlineHeadline (film)Headline is a 1944 British thriller film directed by John Harlow and starring David Farrar, Anne Crawford, William Hartnell and John Stuart. It was based on the novel The Reporter by Ken Attiwall. A crime reporter searches for a mystery woman who has witnessed a murder.-Cast:* David Farrar ... ...
(1944) - The Way AheadThe Way AheadThe Way Ahead is a British Second World War drama released in 1944. It stars David Niven and Stanley Holloway and follows a group of civilians who are conscripted into the British Army to fight in North Africa. In the U.S., an edited version was released as The Immortal Battalion.The film was...
(1944) - The AgitatorThe Agitator (1945 film)The Agitator is a 1945 British drama film directed by John Harlow and starring William Hartnell, Mary Morris and John Laurie. A young socialist is forced to question his beliefs when he unexpectedly inherits a large firm. It was based on the novel Peter Pettenger by William Riley.-Cast:* William...
(1945) - Murder in ReverseMurder in ReverseMurder in Reverse? is a 1945 British thriller film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring William Hartnell, Jimmy Hanley, Petula Clark, Dinah Sheridan, and Chili Bouchier. After many years serving a prison sentence for a murder he didn't commit, a man tries to seek the truth behind the crime and...
(1945) - Appointment with CrimeAppointment with CrimeAppointment with Crime is a 1946 British crime film directed by John Harlow.-Plot:Leo Martin works for a criminal gang run by Gus Loman that primarily uses a smash and grab tactic. During one particular risky robbery heist, Leo breaks the window at a jewelry store only to have his wrists broken...
(1946) - Odd Man OutOdd Man OutOdd Man Out is a 1947 Anglo-Irish film noir directed by Carol Reed, starring James Mason, and is based on a novel of the same name by F. L. Green.-Plot:The film's opening intertitle reads:...
(1947) - Brighton Rock (1947)
- Temptation HarbourTemptation HarbourTemptation Harbour is a British black and white crime/drama film directed by Lance Comfort, released in 1947 based on the novel Newhaven-Dieppe by Georges Simenon. The film was made at Welwyn Film Studios.-Synopsis:...
(1947) - EscapeEscape (1948 film)Escape is a 1948 British-American thriller film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It follows a RAF Second World War veteran who goes to prison and then escapes and meets a woman who persuades him to surrender...
(1948) - Now BarabbasNow BarabbasNow Barabbas is a 1949 British drama film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Richard Greene, Cedric Hardwicke and Kathleen Harrison. It is sometimes known as Now Barabbas Was a Robber. It was based on a play by William Douglas-Home.-Cast:...
(1949) - The Lost PeopleThe Lost PeopleThe Lost People is a 1949 British drama film directed by Muriel Box and Bernard Knowles and starring Dennis Price, Mai Zetterling and Richard Attenborough. After the Second World War, some British soldiers are guarding a theatre in Germany containing various refugees and prisoners trying to work...
(1949) - Double ConfessionDouble ConfessionDouble Confession is a 1950 British crime film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, Peter Lorre and William Hartnell....
(1950) - The Dark Man (1951)
- The Magic BoxThe Magic BoxThe Magic Box is a fictional magic shop in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon. It is located in Sunnydale and was last owned and operated by Rupert Giles, and served as the primary headquarters of the Scooby Gang for seasons five and six.-Ownership history:The shop went...
(1952) - The RingerThe Ringer (1952 film)The Ringer is a 1952 British mystery film directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Herbert Lom, Denholm Elliot, William Hartnell and Mai Zetterling.-Synopsis:An underhand solicitor receives threatening notes, and the police are called in to protect him....
(1952) - The Pickwick PapersThe Pickwick Papers (film)The Pickwick Papers is a 1952 British film from George Minter of the Charles Dickens classic. Both screenplay and direction were by Noel Langley. It was awarded a Golden Bear in Russia where the rights were sold for £10,000.-Cast:...
(1952) - The Holly and the IvyThe Holly and the Ivy (film)The Holly and the Ivy is a 1952 drama film about an English clergyman whose neglect of his grown offspring, in his zeal to tend to his parishioners, comes to the surface at a Christmas family gathering. It stars Ralph Richardson, Celia Johnson, and Margaret Leighton...
(1952) - Will Any Gentleman...?Will Any Gentleman...?Will Any Gentleman...? is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Michael Anderson and starring George Cole, Veronica Hurst, Jon Pertwee and William Hartnell. A young man is hypnotised into leading a more fulfilling life. It was based on a play by Vernon Sylvaine.-Cast:* George Cole as Henry...
(1953)
- Footsteps in the FogFootsteps in the FogFootsteps in the Fog is a 1955 British crime film starring Jean Simmons and Stewart Granger, with a screenplay co-written by Lenore Coffee and Dorothy Davenport, and released by Columbia Pictures. It is based on the short story "The Interruption" by W.W...
(1955) - Josephine and MenJosephine and MenJosephine and Men is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, Donald Sinden and Peter Finch...
(1955) - Tons of TroubleTons of TroubleTons of Trouble is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Richard Hearne, William Hartnell and Austin Trevor.-Cast:* Richard Hearne as Mr...
(1956) - Private's ProgressPrivate's ProgressPrivate's Progress is a 1956 British comedy film based on the novel by Alan Hackney. It was directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting, from a script by John Boulting and Frank Harvey.-Plot:...
(1956) - Doublecross (1956)
- Hell DriversHell Drivers (film)Hell Drivers is a 1957 British film directed by Cy Endfield starring Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, Patrick McGoohan and Sean Connery, produced by the Rank Organisation and Aqua Film Productions.-Plot:...
(1957) - Yangtse IncidentYangtse Incident (1957 film)Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst is a 1957 British war film that tells the story of the British frigate HMS Amethyst caught up in the Chinese Civil War....
(1957) - The HypnotistThe Hypnotist (1957 film)The Hypnotist is a 1957 British thriller film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Paul Carpenter, Patricia Roc and Roland Culver. A hypnotist attempts to convince one of his patients to murder his own wife who he has grown sick of. It was based on a play by Falkland L. Cary.-Cast:* Paul...
(1957) - Date with DisasterDate with DisasterDate with Disaster is a 1957 British crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Tom Drake, William Hartnell and Shirley Eaton. It was made at Southall Studios.-Cast:* Tom Drake as Miles* William Hartnell as Tracy* Shirley Eaton as Sue...
(1957) - Carry On SergeantCarry On SergeantCarry On Sergeant is the first Carry On film. Its first public screening was on 1 August 1958 at Screen One, London. Actors in this film who went on to be part of the regular team in the series were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Terry Scott...
(1958) - On the RunOn the Run (1958 film)On the Run is a 1958 British drama film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Neil McCallum, Susan Beaumont and William Hartnell. A boxer becomes romantically involved with a woman.-Cast:* Neil McCallum ... Wesley* Susan Beaumont ... Kitty Casey...
(1958) - Strictly ConfidentialStrictly Confidential (film)Strictly Confidential is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Richard Murdoch, William Kendall, Maya Koumani and Neil Hallett. Two con-men, recently released from prison, are enlisted by a widow to help her recover control of her late husband's business which has...
(1959) - The Desperate ManThe Desperate ManThe Desperate Man is a 1959 British crime film directed by Peter Maxwell and starring Conrad Phillips, Jill Ireland, William Hartnell, Charles Gray and Peter Swanwick...
(1959) - The Night We Dropped a ClangerThe Night We Dropped a ClangerThe Night We Dropped a Clanger is a 1959 British comedy thriller film directed by Darcy Conyers and starring Brian Rix, Cecil Parker, William Hartnell and Leslie Phillips. A British secret agent takes part in a secret operation in occupied France during the Second World War...
(1959) - Shake Hands with the DevilShake Hands with the Devil (1959 film)Shake Hands with the Devil is a 1959 film directed by the English director Michael Anderson.It is set in 1921 Dublin, where the Irish Republican Army battles the "Black and Tans," the ex-British soldiers sent to suppress the IRA with excessively harsh measures.The film stars James Cagney as Sean...
(1959) - The Mouse That RoaredThe Mouse That RoaredThe Mouse That Roared is a 1955 Cold War satirical novel by Irish-American writer Leonard Wibberley, which launched a series of satirical books about an imaginary country in Europe called the Duchy of Grand Fenwick...
(1959) - JackpotJackpot (1960 film)Japckot is a 1960 British crime film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring William Hartnell, Betty McDowall and Eddie Byrne.-Cast:* William Hartnell as Superintendent Frawley* Betty McDowall as Kay Stock* Eddie Byrne as Sam Hare...
(1960) - And the Same to YouAnd the Same to YouAnd the Same to You is a 1960 film directed by George Pollock. It stars Brian Rix and William Hartnell.-Cast:*Brian Rix as Dickie 'Dreadnought' Marchant*William Hartnell as Walter 'Wally' Burton*Leo Franklyn as Rev...
(1960) - Piccadilly Third StopPiccadilly Third StopPiccadilly Third Stop is a 1960 British thriller film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Terence Morgan, Yoko Tani, William Hartnell and Dennis Price...
(1960) - The World Ten Times OverThe World Ten Times OverThe World Ten Times Over is a 1963 British drama film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Sylvia Syms, Edward Judd and William Hartnell. The film depicts the lives of two prostitutes working in the Soho area of London.-Cast:* Sylvia Syms ... Billa...
(1963) - Heavens Above!Heavens Above!Heavens Above! is a 1963 British satirical comedy film starring Peter Sellers, directed by John and Roy Boulting, who also co-wrote along with Frank Harvey, from an idea by Malcolm Muggeridge...
(1963) - This Sporting LifeThis Sporting LifeThis Sporting Life is a 1963 British film based on a novel of the same name by David Storey which won the 1960 Macmillan Fiction Award. It tells the story of a rugby league footballer, Frank Machin, in Wakefield, a mining area of Yorkshire, whose romantic life is not as successful as his sporting...
(1963) - To Have and to HoldTo Have & to Hold (film)To Have & to Hold is a 1996 film directed by John Hillcoat. It stars Tchéky Karyo and Rachel Griffiths. It won an award at the 1997 ARIA Music Awards -Cast:*Tchéky Karyo as Jack*Rachel Griffiths as Kate*Steve Jacobs as Sal*Anni Finsterer as Rose...
(1963) - Tomorrow at TenTomorrow at TenTomorrow at Ten is a 1964 British thriller film directed by Lance Comfort and starring John Gregson, Robert Shaw, Kenneth Cope and William Hartnell in his final film appearance.-Plot:...
(1964)
Television
- Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., PresentsDouglas Fairbanks, Jr., PresentsDouglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, is a 1950s syndicated anthology series hosted and occasionally starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.. The series offered Buster Keaton in his first dramatic role in the episode entitled "The Awakening". British actor Christopher Lee appeared in varied role in thirteen...
(1955) - London Playhouse The Inward Eye (1955)
- The Errol Flynn Theatre The Red Geranium (1956)
- A Santa For Christmas (1957)
- The Army GameThe Army GameThe Army Game is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1957 to 1961. Made in black-and-white, it is about National Service conscription to the post-war British Army. It was created by Sid Colin...
(1957–1958) - Probation OfficerProbation officerParole officers and probation officers play a role in criminal justice systems by supervising offenders released from incarceration or sentenced to non-custodial sanctions such as community service...
Episode #1.28 (1959) - The Flying DoctorThe Flying DoctorThe Flying Doctor is a 1936 Australian-British drama film directed by Miles Mander and starring Charles Farrell, Mary Maguire and James Raglan. The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia operate in the Australian Outback...
The Changing Plain (1959) - Dial 999 (1958–1959)
- ITV Television Playhouse (1960)
- Kraft Mystery Theater The Desperate Men (1961)
- Ghost SquadGhost Squad (TV series)Ghost Squad, known as G.S.5 for its third season, was a crime drama series about an elite division of Scotland Yard that ran between 1961 and 1964. Each episode the Ghost Squad would investigate cases that fell outside the scope of normal police work...
"High Wire" (1961) - The Plane Makers One Of Those Days (1963)
- The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre To Have And To Hold (1963)
- No Hiding PlaceNo Hiding PlaceNo Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967....
The Game (1967) - Softly, Softly: Task Force Cause Of Death (1968)
- Crime of Passion Alain (1970)
- Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor 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...
(1963–1966, 1973)