JON PERTWEE

'John Devon Roland Pertwee' (7 July, 1919 – 20 May, 1996), better known as 'Jon Pertwee', was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', where he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series ''Worzel Gummidge''. He also hosted the murder mystery quiz programme ''Whodunnit!'' between 1974 and 1978 for Thames Television. Pertwee also voiced the character of "Spotty" in the 1980s cartoon series ''SuperTed''.

Contents

Biography

Early life

''Doctor Who'' (1970-1974)

Later life

Death and legacy

References

External links

Biography

Early life

Born in Chelsea, London, the son of noted screenwriter and actor Roland Pertwee (and cousin of actor Bill Pertwee who played Chief Warden Hodges in the comedy ''Dad's Army''), Pertwee was educated at Frensham Heights School, an independent school in Rowledge, near Farnham in Surrey, and at some other schools from which he was expelled. After school, he went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), from which he was also expelled after he refused to play the small part of a wind in a Greek play.
Pertwee was an officer in the Royal Navy, spending some time working in naval intelligence during the Second World War. He was a crew member of HMS ''Hood'' and was transferred off the ship shortly before it was sunk, losing all but three men.
After the war he made a name for himself as a comic actor, notably on radio in ''Waterlogged Spa'' and ''Puffney Post Office'' in which he played a hapless old postman with the catch-phrase "It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you tears them up". From the late 1950s, he had a long-running role as the conniving Chief Petty Officer Pertwee in ''The Navy Lark'' on BBC Radio. He was known as a Danny Kaye look-alike, and his impersonation of Kaye can be seen in the 1949 film ''Murder at the Windmill''.
On stage, he played the part of Lycus in the 1963 London production of ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' with Frankie Howerd and appeared in the smaller role of Crassus in the 1966 film version. He appeared in four Carry On films: ''Carry On Cleo'' (1964, as the soothsayer), ''Carry On Screaming'' (1966, as Dr. Fettle), ''Carry On Cowboy'' (1965, as Sheriff Earp) and ''Carry On Columbus'' (1992, as Duke of Costa Brava). On television, he made an appearance in ''The Avengers'' episode ''From Venus with Love'' as Brigadier Whitehead, and in the 1970s, he guest starred as a Vicar in ''The Goodies''' episode "''Wacky Wales''".
He was married twice, first to Jean Marsh (1955–1960), whom he divorced, and then, on August 13, 1960, to Ingeborg Rhoesa, by whom he had two children, Sean and Dariel.

''Doctor Who'' (1970-1974)

In 1969 he was selected by producer Peter Bryant to take over as the Doctor from Patrick Troughton in the television series ''Doctor Who''. In a departure from the Doctor's first two incarnations, Pertwee played the character as an interplanetary crusader with a penchant for action. He played the Doctor for five seasons from 1970 to 1974, at the time the longest stint of any of the actors who played the part, surpassing predecessors William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton's three years each in the role. Only his immediate successor, Tom Baker, would play the Doctor for longer (seven years from 1974-1981). In early 1974, Pertwee announced he would step down as the Doctor in order to resume his stage career in ‘The Breadwinner', also citing typecasting in the role as a reason for quitting. His final regular appearance in the series was in the story ''Planet of the Spiders'' in June 1974.
On 14 April 1971, Pertwee was the subject of Thames Television's ''This Is Your Life'' which featured the first television appearance of his son Sean Pertwee, who went on to become an actor.
In 1972, he released a vocal version of the Doctor Who theme music entitled "Who is the Doctor", ^[1], and in 1976 recorded two tracks for a now exceptionally hard-to-find Heinz Noodle Doodles promotional flexi-disc. The A-side was 'The Noodle Doodle Man' and the B-side was 'The Noodle Doodle Man on the Moon'. In 1980 he released a single based on Worzel Gummidge entitled "Worzel's Song" from the album "Worzel Gummidge Sings" ^[2].

Later life

He returned to the role of the Doctor in the 1983 20th-Anniversary television special ''The Five Doctors'' and in the 1993 charity special ''Dimensions in Time''. During the 1990s, he made a guest appearance in the "Lords and Ladies" episode of the BBC Radio 4 comedy series ''Harry Hill's Fruit Corner'', playing a Time Lord and also spoofed the role in the Radio 4 comedy ''The Skivers''.
In 1993, Pertwee was featured in the unofficial 30th Anniversary VHS release of Doctor Who entitled '30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond'. When asked in an interview for this documentary if the show should be brought back he simply replied with 'No...no'.
Pertwee would continue to act in films and television as well as make appearances world-wide in support of ''Doctor Who.''
Ultimately, Pertwee was successful in seeing the Third Doctor return to the airwaves with two audio productions for BBC Radio, ''The Paradise of Death'' and ''The Ghosts of N-Space''. Following its British cancellation, ''Worzel Gummidge'' was eventually picked up for production on New Zealand television in the late 1980s after much campaigning by Pertwee.
He only reprised the role once in the the five doctors.

Death and legacy

Pertwee continued on the convention circuit and with his voice and television acting until his death, aged 76, from a heart attack whilst on holiday in Connecticut on 20 May, 1996 (some reports, however, place the location of his death in New York). Coincidentally, his ''Doctor Who'' predecessor, Patrick Troughton, had also died of a heart attack in the United States.
He died only days after the American broadcast of the ''Doctor Who'' television movie which used in its opening credits a logo based on the one from his era of the television series. The BBC broadcast of the television movie featured a dedication to Pertwee at its end.
His last association with the series was posthumous. With the approval of his widow, Ingeborg, his voice was utilised as part of the plot of the Big Finish Productions 40th-Anniversary ''Doctor Who'' audio drama, ''Zagreus''. Pertwee's voice was culled from a fan-produced ''Doctor Who'' film ''Devious'', portions of which were recorded prior to his death.
Pertwee wrote two autobiographies: ''Moon Boots and Dinner Suits'' (published in 1984), which primarily covers his life and career prior to ''Doctor Who'' and the posthumously published ''Doctor Who: I Am the Doctor - Jon Pertwee’s Final Memoir'' (published in 1996 by Virgin Publishing Ltd and co-written with David J. Howe) which covered his life during and after the series. In 2000, a biography about Pertwee's life was written. ''Jon Pertwee: The Biography'' (ISBN 0-233-99831-4) was published by Andre Deutsch Ltd and written by Bernard Bale. This biography was produced with approval from Ingeborg, who herself also wrote a few chapters of her past with Jon in the book.

References

1. Millennium effect
2. Worzel Gummidge

External links

★ Interview with Jon Pertwee conducted in March 1996

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★ Jon Pertwee Dot Com

★ Action Who - Jon Pertwee article at Kasterborous.com

★ Jon Pertwee's biography at Carryonline.com

★ Jon Pertwee's career including The Navy Lark at http://www.kastria.net