<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

British Actor William Hartnell is perhaps best remembered as the first actor to play the title role in the BBC's long-running hit Doctor Who. Born on January 8, 1908, Hartnell would claim in press interviews of the 1940's that his father was a farmer (or a stockbroker). The reality, however, seems to be that he was born out of wedlock. The actor tried in vain to identify his father later in life, but was never successful at doing so.

Hartnell began his theatrical career at age 16 when his adoptive father, art connoiseeur Hugh Blaker, helped him to find employment with Sir Frank Benson's Shakespearean Company. Intially just a stage hand who was occasionally allowed a brief walk on role, Hartnell quickly worked his way up in the theatrical world. Leaving Benson's company in 1926 to tour with several other companies throughout Great Britain and Canada, he became known as a comedic actor and by 1932 had landed his first film role. Say it With Music would, in fact, be the first of more than 60 film appearances for Hartnell. He continued in a largely comedic bent until he was cast as Sergeant Ned Fletcher in 1944's The Way Ahead. His memorable performance in that film would change the direction of his career to playing mostly police and military roles.

Hartnell gained his first role as a regular on television in 1957. His role in this case, CSM Bullimore on The Army Game, was another hard boiled military type.

In 1963, Hartnell appeared to much acclaim as an ageing rugby talent scout in the film version of This Sporting Life. This more sensitive role caught the attention of Verity Lambert, the producer for the BBC's latest project, Doctor Who. Lambert had earlier been struck by Hartnell's irrascible performance in The Army Game and speculated that the combination of outward irrascibility and inward sensitivity might prove a powerful combination for the show's title character - an individual who was to be above all else an enigma.

On November 23rd of that same year, Hartnell began appearing as the Doctor on television screens across Great Britain. As producer Lambert had wished, his performance was mercurial, both grandfatherly and at times menacing. It proved to be an enthralling combination that would launch an enduring legacy as actor after actor took on the reins of the role.

Hartnell would continue to star in Doctor Who for three full seasons (and part of a fourth). Although the official reason for his departure was failing health, there are those that insist that he was in fact pushed out of the role by the show's new producers, who wished to rid themselves of Hartnell's healthy salary and difficult reputation.

The actor immediatly returned to stage work, but by the early 1970's, his health really had begun to limit his ability to work. Hartnell returned to Doctor Who one final time for the show's 10th anniversary story "The Three Doctors." However, his health had limited him to recording pre-filmed inserts in which he appeared to be chair bound and he was reduced to reading his lines off cue cards.

He died just two years later on April 24, 1975. He was sixty-seven.