Originally Posted by
Deejay
For those not young enough to remember
Early life
William Hartnell born in St Pancras, London, England,
Hartnell entered the theatre in 1924 working under Frank Benson.[3] 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.[2] The first of more than sixty film appearances was Say It With Music in 1932. Hartnell usually played comic characters, until 1944 when he was cast in the robust role of sergeant Ned Fletcher in The Way Ahead.[3] From then on his career was defined by playing mainly policemen, soldiers, and thugs — although he was noted for his ability to bring complexity to such roles, for example his widely praised performance as Dallow in Brighton Rock. In 1958 he topped the bill in the first Carry On film, Carry On Sergeant playing Sergeant Grimshaw, and in 1963 he appeared as a town councillor in the Boulting Brothers' film Heavens Above! with Peter Sellers.
Doctor Who (1963-1966)
Hartnell's performance in This Sporting Life was noted by Verity Lambert, the producer who was setting up a new science-fiction television series for the BBC, Doctor Who. Lambert offered Hartnell the title role. Although he was initially uncertain, 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 widely remembered. Hartnell later revealed he took the role as it led him away from the gruff, military roles in which he was becoming increasingly typecast, and came to particularly relish the attention and affection playing the character brought him from children.
Doctor Who earned Hartnell a regular salary of £315 per episode by 1966 (equivalent to £4,050.90 in modern currency[4]).
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