William Hartnell

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Birthday:

8 January 1908, St. Pancras, London, England, UK

Birth Name:

William Henry Hartnell

Height:

173 cm

William Hartnell was born on 8 January 1908, just south of St. Pancras 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 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), The Way Ahead (1944), Strawberry Roan (1944), The Agitator (1945), Murder in Reverse (1945) and Appointment with Crime (1946). His memorable performance on the television series The Army Game (1957) and the movie This Sporting Life (1963) led to him being cast as the Doctor on Doctor 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. Show less «

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 ...Show more »

[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. Show less «

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. Some...Show more »

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. Show less «

It may seem like hindsight now, but I just knew that Doctor Who (1963) was going to be an enormous success. Don't ask me how. Not everybody ...Show more »

It may seem like hindsight now, but I just knew that Doctor Who (1963) was going to be an enormous success. Don't ask me how. Not everybody thought as I did. I was universally scoffed at for my initial faith in the series, but I believed in it. It was magical. Show less «

We did Doctor Who (1963) for forty-eight weeks a year but I loved it. I couldn't go out into the street without a bunch of children followin...Show more »

We did Doctor Who (1963) for forty-eight weeks a year but I loved it. I couldn't go out into the street without a bunch of children following me, like the Pied Piper. People used to take it terribly seriously. I'd get letters from boys swotting for exams, asking me complicated questions about time ratios and the TARDIS. I couldn't help them. A lot of the script writers used to make the Doctor use expressions like 'centrifugal force' but I refused. If it gets too technical, the children don't understand and they lose interest. I saw the Doctor as a kind of lama, one of those long-lived old boys out in Tibet who might be anything up to eight hundred years old but only look seventy-five. Show less «

I was so pleased to be offered Doctor Who (1963). To me kids are the greatest audience - and the greatest critics - in the world.

Before the part came along I'd been playing a bunch of crooks, sergeants, prison warders and detectives. Then, after appearing in This Sport...Show more »

Before the part came along I'd been playing a bunch of crooks, sergeants, prison warders and detectives. Then, after appearing in This Sporting Life (1963), I got a phone call from my agent. He said, "I wouldn't normally have suggested you work in children's television, Bill, but there's a sort of character part come up that I think you'd just love to play. My agent said the part was that of an eccentric old grandfather- cum-professor type who travels in space and time. Well, I wasn't that keen, but I agreed to meet the producer. Then, the moment this brilliant young producer Miss Verity Lambert started telling me about Doctor Who (1963), I was hooked. I remember telling her, "This is going to run for five years." And look what's happened. Show less «

[on Doctor Who (1963)] We did it forty-eight weeks a year in those days and it was very hard work. But I loved every minute.

Doctor Who (1963) is certainly a test for any actor. Animals and children are renowned scene-stealers and we had both - plus an assortment o...Show more »

Doctor Who (1963) is certainly a test for any actor. Animals and children are renowned scene-stealers and we had both - plus an assortment of monsters that became popular in their own right. Look at the Daleks. They started in the second series and were an immediate success. Show less «

At one time (in late 1964) I thought we might extend the series and I suggested giving the Doctor a son and calling the programme The Son of...Show more »

At one time (in late 1964) I thought we might extend the series and I suggested giving the Doctor a son and calling the programme The Son of Doctor Who. The idea was for me to have a wicked son. We would both look alike, each have a TARDIS and travel in outer space. In actual fact, it would have meant that I had to play a dual role when I 'met' my son. But the idea was not taken up by the BBC so I dropped it. I still think it would have worked and been exciting to children. Show less «

You know, I couldn't go out into the high street without a bunch of kids following me. I felt like the Pied Piper.

People really used to take it literally. I'd get letters from boys swotting for O-levels asking complicated questions about time-ratio and t...Show more »

People really used to take it literally. I'd get letters from boys swotting for O-levels asking complicated questions about time-ratio and the TARDIS. The Doctor might have been able to answer them - I'm afraid I couldn't! But I do believe there is life on other planets - and they know there's life here but don't have the technology to get through. Show less «

Memories? There are so many. There was the occasion when I arrived at an air display in the TARDIS and the kids were convinced I had flown i...Show more »

Memories? There are so many. There was the occasion when I arrived at an air display in the TARDIS and the kids were convinced I had flown it there! On another occasion I went by limousine to open a local fete. When we got there the children just converged on the car cheering and shouting, their faces all lit up. I knew then just how much the Doctor really meant to them. Show less «