William Hartnell

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William Henry Hartnell (1908-2004) was an English actor.

Hartnell appeared in Doctor Who from 1963 to 1966, he was the first Doctor Who incarnation.

He was also known for his appearances as Sergeant Grimshaw, the first Carry On Film's title character, and Major Percy Bullimore in the sitcom The Army Game from 1957 to 1961.

Early life

Hartnell was born in the slums of London's district of St Pancras, England, on January 8, 1908. Lucy Hartnell's only child, an unmarried mother, was born in 1908. Despite his attempts to locate his father, whose particulars were left blank on his birth certificate, Hartnell never learned the identity of his father, whose details were left blank on his birth certificate. In various interviews, he stated that he was born in Seaton, Devon, and that his father was a dairy farmer, but later said he was a soldier turned stockbroker.

Hartnell was raised partly by a foster mother, and he spent many holidays in Devon with his mother's family of farmers, from whom he learned to ride horses. Hartnell was reportedly injured in a fall and was kicked by a horse. In an apparent effort to disinfect the wound, an unidentified individual applied disinfectant to it. Nonetheless, the disinfectant was of a type that was unsuitable for first aid purposes and caused blisters. The end result was a more serious injury than would have otherwise occurred. He had a large scar on his temple, which is evident in some of his stills shots, even though it was covered with make-up during filming. He was Norman Hartnell's second cousin.

Hartnell left school with no plans and dabbled in petty violence. Hugh Blaker, his unofficial guardian, arranged for him to enroll as a jockey and assisted him in gaining admission to the Italia Conti Academy at the age of 16. Hartnell's, a fan of Blake's, wanted to receive some "polish" at the Imperial Service College, but Hartnell refused because the restrictions were too tight and fled away. Hartnell and his wife stayed in one of Blaker's closest houses in Isleworth when they married in 1929, and their daughter was born there.

Personal life

Hartnell was married to Heather McIntyre from 9 May 1929 to his death. They had a daughter, Heather Anne, and two grandchildren. The Hartnells lived on Thames Ditton Island after living on 51 Church Street, Isleworth, next door to Hugh Blaker. In the 1960s, the couple lived in Mayfield, Sussex. They lived at Sheephurst Lane in Marden, Kent, in later life. Heather Hartnell died in 1984.

Later life and death

Hartnell's health had deteriorated during the early 1970s and, in December 1974, he was admitted to the hospital permanently. He had a string of strokes triggered by cerebrovascular disease in early 1975, and died in his sleep of heart disease on April 23, 1975 at the age of 67.

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Career

Hartnell debuted in 1925 as a general stagehand under Frank Benson. He appeared in many Shakespearian plays, including The Merchant of Venice (1926), As You Like It (1926), and Macbeth (1926). He appeared in She Stoops to Conquer (1926), The School for Scandal (1926) and Good Morning Bill (1927), before appearing in Miss Elizabeth's Prisoner (1928). Robert Neilson Stephens and E. Lyall Swete wrote this play. Heather McIntyre, a writer who died within a year after being married in the following year, appeared in the film. In Say It With Music (1932), his first of more than 60 film appearances was in Say It With Music (1932).

His radio work also played a role in his career, with his first public appearance in a Chinese Moon Party production being broadcast by the BBC on May 11-1931.

Hartnell, who suffered during the Second World War, volunteered for the RAF. He served in the British Army in the Tank Corps but was forced to return to action after 18 months due to a nervous breakdown. In Nol Coward's film In Which We Serve, he was cast as Albert Fosdike in 1942. He arrived late for his first day of shooting, and Coward chastised him for his unprofessionalism, made him personally apologize to everyone and then fired him. Michael Anderson, the first assistant director, took over the role (and was credited as "Mickey Anderson").

In the rousing role of Sergeant Ned Fletcher in The Way Ahead (1944), Hartnell continued to play comedic characters until he was cast. From there, his career was defined by playing mainly policemen, soldiers, and thugs. And when he was cast in comedies, this sortcasting bothered him because he invariably played the "heavy." In 1958, he appeared as Sergeant in Carry On Comedy's first Carry On comedy film, Carry On Sergeant. He appeared in the film The Mouse That Roared (1959), which starred Peter Sellers, and in the Boulting brothers' film Heavens Above, he played Will Buckley, another military character. (1963) with Sellers once more.

Sergeant Major Percy Bullimore, who appeared on television for the first time in 1957, was in charge of The Army Game. He left after the first season and returned in 1961 for the final season. He was also cast in a "tough guy" role, despite being a comedy series. In addition, he appeared in a supporting role in the film version of This Sporting Life (1963), giving a touching appearance as "Dad," an ageing rugby league talent scout.

Hartnell referred to himself as a "true character actor of theatre and film."

Verity Lambert, the producer who was establishing a new science-fiction television series called Doctor Who, loved Hartnell's role in This Sporting Life; mainly because of his appearance, Lambert offered him the title role. Although Hartnell was initially skeptical about accepting a part of a children's series, in part due to his film success, Lambert and director Waris Hussein persuaded him to perform the role, and it became the character for which he rose the most fame and is now best remembered. Hartnell later revealed that he took the role because it took him away from the gritty, military roles in which he had been typecast, and because he had two grandchildren of his own, he cherished the attention and admiration he received from children. Doctor Who's first episode aired on November 23, 1963.

Doctor Who gave Hartnell a regular salary of £315 an episode by 1966 (in the days of 48 weeks per year production), roughly equivalent to £6,243 in 2021. In 1966, Anneke Wills and Michael Craze's co-stars were making £68 and £52 per episode at the same time, respectively. Hartnell wore a wig when portraying the Doctor because the character had long hair.

Hartnell referred to his Doctor as "a wizard" and "a cross between the Wizard of Oz and Father Christmas." Hartnell developed a habit of being tongue-tied and stumbled over words, according to William Russell.

Hartnell's colleagues on Doctor Who suggested that he be a challenge to work with, though others, Russell and Peter Purves, and producer Lambert, all agreed enthusiastically of him. Although Hartnell has been accused of being white or anti-Semitic, his admiration for his co-workers of various backgrounds has been criticized by most. Hartnell's grandchild, Jessica Carney, wrote his biography, could be large and frequented with xenophobic remarks, but "all those loudly expressed opinions were contradicted by his conduct on a personal level." Hartnell adored Carole Ann Ford and Lambert, both Jewish, and had a great admiration for Hussein, who is Indian. Despite Hartnell's claim not to like immigrants, "as one of his best friends on the show was half Greek and half Maltese," she said. However, if he liked someone, they weren't a stranger, they weren't a stranger."

Hartnell's declining health (he suffered from undiagnosed arteriosclerosis) began to affect his ability to write his lines, with the difficulty increasing as the series progressed. In addition, he had a bad working relationship with a new production team on the series since Lambert's departure. In 1966, he met Doctor Who. When he left the show's producer, he came up with the theory that since the Doctor is an alien, he could transform himself physically, thereby renewing himself. Hartnell suggested that the actor who would play the new Doctor be Patrick Troughton. The First Doctor reincarnates as Troughton's Second Doctor in the fourth episode of The Tenth Planet.

During the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors (1972–73), Hartnell reconstructed the role of the Doctor in Doctor Who. Heather Hartnell's wife learned of her son's participation in the special that she told the show's crew that his weak memory and weakening health would prevent him from appearing in it. Hartnell would sit down during the shooting and read his lines from cue cards, according to a joint venture between the crew and Heather. Due to his declining health, his appearance in this film was his last piece of work as an actor.

As a result of Hartnell's then-standard procedure of destroying old shows, several of his episodes are missing from the archives.

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