Doctor Who and Spin-off Stars who passed away

Born of a Spanish father and French mother in Whitechapel. Although most often called upon to play the villain (due to his dark good looks and sinister beard), he also had a career as a voice actor on BBC Radio appearing on such programs as the "Morning Story". He was a notable 'The Master' in many series of Doctor Who (1963).

William Hartnell was born on 8 January 1908, just south of St. Pancras railway 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 theatre 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), Query (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.

Kevin Lindsay was born on 17 April 1924 in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. He was an actor, known for Doctor Who (1963), War & Peace (1972) and Paul Temple (1969). He died on 26 April 1975 in Enfield, Middlesex, England, UK.

Peter Butterworth's promising career in the British Navy Fleet Air Arm ended when the plane which he was flying was shot down by the Germans in WW II and he was placed in a POW camp. There he became close friends with Talbot Rothwell (later a writer on the "Carry On" series, on which Butterworth often worked) and the two began writing and performing sketches for camp shows to entertain the prisoners (and to cover up the noise of other prisoners digging escape tunnels). Never having performed in public he was petrified but gamely sang a duet with Talbot. This sparked his enthusiasm to enter show business after the war and Talbot helped and encouraged him and he soon became a familiar character actor in both films and television. He specialized in playing gentle, well-meaning but somewhat eccentric characters (which, by most accounts, is what he was in real life). He was married to impressionist Janet Brown, who he met while doing a Summer show at Scarborough and their son, Tyler Butterworth, also became an actor. Butterworth died suddenly in 1979, as he was waiting in the wings to go onstage in a pantomime show.

A gaunt, intense character actor of striking presence, Richard Gibbon Hurndall was educated at Scarborough College and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He acted professionally from 1930, initially in repertory theatre and later with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, his roles including Orlando in "As You Like It", Bassanio in "The Merchant of Venice" and Laertes in "Hamlet". Richard's powerful voice and precise diction were also perfectly suited to working in radio. Between 1949 and 1952, he was a member of the BBC radio drama repertory company. In October 1958, he took over as host of Radio Luxemburg's half-hour British version of Edward R. Murrow's "This I Believe". A year later, he was well cast as Sherlock Holmes in a BBC radio adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Sign of Four", transmitted over five weekly episodes.

From 1946, Hurndall made sporadic television appearances, but did not fully take to the medium until the mid 1960's. His incisive personality, combined with a natural ability to adopt diverse accents and dialects, led to him being cast as doctors, magistrates, aristocrats, and other authority figures of various ethnic backgrounds. By contrast, he was equally effective as a debonair underworld figure, Henry Mackleson, in Spindoe (1968). On the humorous side, he essayed a campy, effete antiques dealer in an episode of Steptoe and Son (1962) ("Any Old Iron?"); and alternated being sinister and droll, as Carne, a German general masterminding a rather unusual invasion of a Cornish fishing village at the onset of World War I, in the hilariously funny Ripping Yarns (1976) adventure, "Whinfrey's Last Case" .

His best known role was also destined to be one of his last. On the strength of his appearance in an episode of Blake's 7 (1978), Hurndall was cast as the First Doctor (formerly played by the late William Hartnell) in the 1983 feature length Doctor Who (1963) reunion special The Five Doctors (1983). The series' continuity adviser, Ian Levine, had spotted a resemblance between the two actors, an opinion with which Hartnell's widow apparently concurred. By his own admission, Hurndall entered the project with a measure of ambiguity, having had limited exposure to science fiction, or Doctor Who (1963), for that matter. Ultimately, he conformed perfectly to Hartnell's precise idiosyncratic mannerisms and intonation - a performance which proved more than adequate to the original. Sadly, Hurndall died within a few months of The Five Doctors (1983) going to air.

Ian Marter left university in 1969 and joined the Bristol Old Vic as an acting stage manager. In 1970, producer Barry Letts considered him for the role of Captain Mike Yates in Terror of the Autons: Episode One (1971), but it ultimately went to Richard Franklin. However, Letts remembered him and two years later cast him as John Andrews in Carnival of Monsters: Episode One (1973).

When Jon Pertwee decided to leave the series during the following year, Letts considered casting an older actor in the part of the Doctor. This meant that any physical action sequences might have to be performed by a younger actor (in the role of a companion to the Doctor) and Marter was thus cast as Surgeon Lieutenant Harry Sullivan. When 40-year-old Tom Baker landed the role of the Doctor, Marter became surplus to requirements and was written out in Baker's second season by the new production team of Philip Hinchcliffe and Robert Holmes, who felt the Doctor only needed one companion.

Marter spent much of the rest of his life novelising Doctor Who (1963) stories for Target Books. He died suddenly and prematurely in 1986.

Fulton Mackay was born on August 12, 1922 in Paisley, Scotland. He was an actor and writer, best known for his portrayal of authoritarian prison warder Mr Mackay in one of the BBC's most popular sitcoms, Porridge (1974), as well as appearing in Local Hero (1983), Defense of the Realm (1985) and Porridge (1979). He was married to Sheila Manahan. He died on June 6, 1987 in London, England.

Patrick Troughton was born in Mill Hill, London and was educated at Mill Hill School. He trained as an actor at the Embassy School of Acting in the UK and at Leighton Rollin's Studio for for Actors at Long Island, New York in the USA. During World War II he served in the Royal Navy and after the war ended he joined the Old Vic and became a Shakespearean actor. He won his most famous role as the second Doctor in Doctor Who (1963), in 1966 and played the role for three years. His hobbies included golf, sailing and fishing. He was a father of six (David, Jane, Joanna, Mark, Michael and Peter), a stepfather to Gill and Graham and a grandfather to Harry Melling, Jamie and Sam Troughton.

Gerald Flood was born in Portsmouth, son of a Naval family. He was a wireless operator during the War and worked as a filing clerk after the War ended until he landed a job with the Farnham Repertory Company. It was there that he met his future wife, Anne. He toured in rep, and appeared in productions including "Hamlet," "Power and Glory" and "Charley's Aunt." In 1960 he performed in "The Complaisant Lover" at the Globe Theatre and went on to appear in "The Formation Dancers," "Children's Day" and "There's A Girl In My Soup." In the 1960's he appeared in a science fiction series called "Pathfinders in Space" (1960), and its sequels "Pathfinders to Mars" (1960-1961) and "Pathfinders to Venus" (1961). Other television roles followed, including "The Ratcatchers" (1966/67), "A Sharp Intake of Breath," "Third Time Lucky" and "Bleak House." He also guested on shows like "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased): A Disturbing Case" (1969), "Strange Report" (1969), "Steptoe and Son: What Prejudice" (1970) and "Return of the Saint" (1979). His films included "Black Beauty" (1946), "Patton" (1970), "Smokescreen" and "Frightmare" (1974). He died in April 1989.

A RADA scholar who was spotted by Laurence Olivier, Bernard Bresslaw got professional security from the "Carry On" films but was typecast (as TV's The Army Game (1957) had done earlier). He was beginning to extend himself through stage work when, in 1993, just before a performance in "The Taming Of The Shrew" in Regent's Park, London, he had a heart attack and died at the age of 59.

Born in 17 December 1929, Jacqueline Hill was orphaned as a toddler and raised by her grandparents. She was taken out of school at the age of 14 to enable her younger brother to continue. She then worked at Cadbury's, which had an amateur dramatics society. She was encouraged to apply for, and was awarded, a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and entered RADA at the age of 16. She made her stage debut in London's West End in "The Shrike." Many more roles followed, including, on TV, Shop Window, Patrol Car (1954) and An Enemy of the People. It was around this time that she married top director Alvin Rakoff, who cast her opposite Sean Connery in one of ABC TV's Armchair Theatre plays. She was asked to play Barbara Wright in Doctor Who (1963) after she and producer Verity Lambert, whom she knew socially, discussed the role at a party. Soon after leaving the series in 1965 she gave up acting to raise a family. However, she resumed her career in 1979 and gained further TV credits on, amongst other programmes, Romeo & Juliet (1978), Tales of the Unexpected (1979), and the 1980 Doctor Who (1963) story "Meglos" (as a character called Lexa).

Peter Pratt was born on 21 March 1923 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Doctor Who (1963), Thursday Theatre (1964) and Theatre 625 (1964). He died on 11 January 1995 in London, England, UK.

Michael Wisher was born on 19 May 1935 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Doctor Who (1963), The Airzone Solution (1993) and The Newcomers (1965). He died on 21 July 1995 in Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England, UK.

Jon Pertwee is best known for his portrayal of the Third Doctor on the BBC's science-fiction television series Doctor Who (1963) from 1970 to 1974. He was also the first to play the role following the transition of BBC One from black and white to colour. His 60-year entertainment career included work in radio, films and cabaret. This was despite the inauspicious beginning of having been thrown out of drama school as a young man and told he had no future as an actor.

Jon Pertwee was born John (after the apostle and disciple) Devon (after the county) Roland (after his father) Pertwee (an Anglicised version of the true family name, Perthuis de Laillevault) on 7 July 1919 in the Chelsea area of London. He was the second son of famous playwright, painter and actor Roland Pertwee, and his actress wife Avice - his writer brother Michael Pertwee being three years his senior. The Pertwee family had a long connection with show business and the performing arts, and it was at Wellington House preparatory school in Westgate-On-Sea in Kent that Jon, as a small and rebellious child, was encouraged in that direction. Later, at Frensham Heights co-educational school, Jon had his first taste of "real" theatre with real women in the school stage productions of "Twelfth Night" and "Lady Princess Stream". In 1936 he auditioned for, and was accepted by, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). He was later kicked out for refusing to play the part of the wind in a play.

Jon Pertwee died on 20 May 1996 of a heart attack. The BBC announced his death. He was survived by his wife Ingeborg Rhoesa, his son Sean Pertwee, a popular and talented actor, and his daughter Dariel Pertwee, an accomplished stage actress.

Don Henderson was born on 10 November 1931 in Leytonstone, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Brazil (1985) and No Escape (1994). He was married to Shirley Stelfox and Hilary. He died on 22 June 1997 in Warwick, Warwickshire, England, UK.

Plymouth-born Adrienne Hill trained in acting at the Bristol Old Vic, then spent some time with the Old Vic Company in London, followed by eight years' work in repertory theatre. Having been spotted by Doctor Who production assistant Viktors Ritelis while understudying for Maggie Smith in a play called "Mary, Mary", she was invited to audition for the role of Princess Joanna in "The Crusade." Although she did not win that part, director Douglas Camfield remembered her and cast her as Katarina. In the late sixties she had continued success, particularly in radio, and landed a regular role in the BBC's "Waggoner's Walk." She then moved abroad with her husband when his work took him first to Holland and later to the USA. In the late seventies, after her marriage broke up, she returned to England and studied for a degree. During the eighties she launched a new career as a drama teacher, while continuing to do occasional acting work.

Michael Craze was born on 29 November 1942 in Cornwall and got into acting quite by chance as, at the age of twelve, he discovered through Boy Scout Gang Shows that he had a perfect boy soprano voice. This led him to win parts in "The King and I" and "Plain and Fancy", both at Drury Lane, and "Damn Yankees" at the Coliseum. Once he had left school, he went into repertory and got into TV through his agent. His first televison was a show called "Family Solicitor" for Granada which was followed for Granada which was followed, amongst others, by a part in ABC TV's 1960 series "Target Luna" (written by Malcolm Hulke and Eric Price and produced by Sydney Newman). When he was twenty Michael wrote, directed and acted in a film called "The Golden Head" which won an award at the Commonwealth Film Festival in Cardiff. Following Doctor Who, Michael worked on several ITV productions, including one episode (The Last Visitor) of Hammer Films' first TV series "Journey to the Unknown" in 1968. In the eighties Michael acted only occasionally and also managed a pub.

Joan Sims, the "First Lady of Carry On", was born Irene Joan Marion Sims on 9 May 1930. The daughter of an Essex railway station master, Joan was interested in pursuing show-business, and soon became a familiar face in a growing number of amateur productions. In 1946, Joan first applied to RADA, her audition was unsuccessful. She did succeed in being admitted to the academy's preparatory school, and finally, on her fourth attempt, trained at RADA. She graduated in 1950 at the age of nineteen.

A cameo appearance in Doctor in the House (1954) as the sexually repressed Nurse Rigor Mortis led to Joan being first spotted by Peter Rogers; Rogers' wife Betty E. Box was the producer of the Doctor series, in which Joan herself became a regular.

A few years later, in 1958, Joan received another script from Peter Rogers, it was Carry on Nurse (1959). The film had been a huge success at the box office and in the autumn of that year Rogers and Gerald Thomas began planning a follow up. She went on to appear in 24 of the films, making her the longest serving female member of the team.

She first starred in the following three Carry On films: Carry on Teacher (1959), Carry on Constable (1960) and Carry on Regardless (1961), before taking a break from the next four films to concentrate on stage work. She rejoined the team with Carry on Cleo (1964) and remained all the way through to Carry on Emmannuelle (1978) in 1978.

Ironically, she was never proclaimed Queen of Carry On. This title went to saucy Barbara Windsor, even though she had only appeared in nine Carry On films.

One could argue that her final performances in the Carry On films were rather sentimental, as though she knew that the series was coming to an end and two scenes come to mind. The scene in which she plays cards with Peter Butterworth in Carry on Behind (1975) in his caravan late at night, and also in the launderette where she dances with an early Carry Oner Victor Maddern in Carry on Emmannuelle (1978). Both of these are memorable sentimental film scene stealers.

With the end of the Carry On series in 1978, Joan went on to become a familiar face on TV screens, with ongoing roles in a number of highly successful sitcoms On the Up (1990) and As Time Goes By (1992) and the BBC's prestigious classic drama adaptations such as Martin Chuzzlewit (1994).

Joan's autobiography, High Spirits, was released in 2000. She complains in the last few pages of her book at the lack of information on her on the IMDB trivia page, something that was only significantly expanded after her death.

In her later years she became a cult figure and something of a British National Institution as the only surviving major Carry On star from early days. However, years of heavy drinking took their toll and she suffered in her later years with ill health. She was admitted to Hospital in Chelsea in London in mid 2001 and slipped into a coma. She died on 28 June 2001, with her lifelong friend and Carry On Norah Holland holding her hand.

Following her death, surviving Carry On stars celebrated her achievement in the Carry On films. Barbara Windsor, said at the time of her death, "To me she was the last of the great Carry Ons, she was there at the beginning. Her talent was wonderful, she could do any accent, dialect, she could dance, sing, play dowdy and glam. We laughed all the time and giggled a lot. I will sorely miss her." That quote is so true, throughout her whole Carry On career she alone stands apart as the most versatile actress in the whole series. She was never typecast in the films like the other actors and actresses.

Others also paid tribute, even ex-Government Cabinet Ministers. Her agent Richard Hatton said, "It's wonderful to be able to say that she really did have all the qualities that her many fans would have wished. A great sense of humour, a sympathetic and endearing personality, terrific talent and consideration for others.

"Over and above this, she discovered a new side of herself when she wrote her autobiography last year, which was untypical for the genre - honest, frank and intelligent. Everyone who knew her is going to remember her forever."

Carmen Silvera was a British comic actress of Spanish descent, primarily known for television roles. Her most memorable role was playing Edith Artois in the hit sitcom "'Allo 'Allo!" (1982-1992), which depicted multiple ongoing conspiracies in German-occupied France during World War II.

Edith was the antagonistic wife of the series' main character, the opportunist café owner Rene Artois. Husband and wife were reluctant members of the French Resistance, while also collaborating with corrupt German officers and being involved in several other conspiratorial schemes. Ongoing plot-lines involving Edith included her suspicions that Rene was cheating on her (while she appeared unaware that he was having extramarital affairs with all of their waitresses, and that he had an unrequited love for resistance leader Michelle Dubois), her regular attempts to perform as a cabaret singer (despite having an awful singing voice), her romantic relationships with undertaker Monsieur Alfonse and the Italian Captain Alberto Bertorelli, and Edith being far more patriotic and idealistic than her husband.

In 1922, Silvera was born in Toronto, Ontario to British expatriate parents. Her father was Roland Silvera (1895-1986), a well-known bowls player, and a member of the Stoke Bowling Club, Coventry. In the 1970s, Roland served as a president of the Warwickshire County Bowls Association. During his term, the association won the English Bowling Association Middleton Cup for the first time in its history.

The Silvera family emigrated back to England in 1924. They settled in Warwickshire, a county in the West Midlands region of England. Carmen was evacuated to Montreal, Canada during World War II. She originally aspired to follow a dancing career, taking lessons from a ballet company that served as one of several rival successors to the famed "Ballets Russes" (1909-1929). She appeared with the ballet company on stage, but only for a small number of performances.

Following the end of World War II, Silvera returned to England and decided to follow an acting career. She was trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and then started appearing repertory theatre. She had a brief marriage to theatrical actor John Cunliffe. In 1948, they were divorced after Silvera suffered a miscarriage. She never remarried, instead focusing o her career.

In the late 1950s, Silvera started appearing in television roles. Her first recurring role in a series was playing Camilla Hope in the soap opera "Compact" (1962-1965). The opera depicted the personal and professional lives of the employees of a magazine. It reportedly enjoyed high ratings throughout its run. Its demise was attributed to the dislike of its premise by BBC executives.

In 1966, Silvera played three different roles in the story arc "The Celestial Toymaker" of the hit science fiction series "Doctor Who" (1963-1989). One of her three roles was the Queen of Hearts in a set of living playing cards. The episodes were considered offbeat for featuring strong fantasy elements in a series that typically focused on science fiction and historical fiction. Silvera later returned to the series in the story arc "Invasion of the Dinosaurs", which featured dinosaurs transported to modern-age London. This story arc was noted for featuring villains who were well-intentioned extremists, firmly believing that the ends justify the means (in other words, that their crimes were justified by their righteous goal).

In 1970, Silvera had a guest star role in an episode of the World War II-themed sitcom "Dad's Army" (1968-1977), which featured the misadventures of the Home Guard. She portrayed Fiona Gray, a middle-aged woman who wants to join the war effort. Her character served as a new love interest for the main character, the aging Captain George Mainwaring. The episode was unusual in having a tragic theme, and emphasizing Mainwaring's loneliness. It was directed by David Croft, who would later cast Silvera in "'Allo 'Allo!".

Silvera made her film debut in the erotic film "Clinic Exclusive" (1971), at the age of 49. She played the role of Elsa Farson, an aging, lonely lesbian who is in love with Julie Mason (played by Georgina Ward), not caring that Mason is a ruthless businesswoman with a side career as a blackmailer. The film was scripted and produced by Hazel Adair, who had previously worked with Silvera in "Compact". Most of the film's actors were veterans from Adair's television productions.

Throughout the 1970s, Silvera had a few more film roles in British productions. Her last film role in this decade was playing Lady Bottomley in the sex comedy "Keep It Up Downstairs" (1976). The film's plot focused on the efforts of two aging aristocrats to find a rich wife for their son, despite the young man's disinterest in anything outside his career as an inventor.

Silvera found success late in life, when cast in the role of Edith Artois in the sitcom "'Allo 'Allo!" (1982-1992). Initially conceived as a parody of the wartime drama series "Secret Army" (1977-1979), it became a much more popular and long-running series than the one it parodied. Unusual for a sitcom, "'Allo 'Allo!" had overarching plot-lines, rather than featuring simple stand-alone stories. Nearly every character took part in conspiracies and had agendas of his/her own, but their schemes often clashed and backfired. Besides the ongoing scheming, the film placed emphasis on the characters' romantic and sexual lives, with a large amount of sexual innuendo in each episode. The series lasted for 9 seasons, and 85 episodes. Much of the main cast of series gained enduring popularity with the British public.

During the 1990s, Silvera enjoyed a revival of her theatrical career. She appeared in stage musicals, such as "That's Showbiz" (1997) by Jimmy Perry. Her last film role was a small part in the drama film "La Passione" (1996). The film was partly based on the childhood experiences of screenwriter Chris Rea as a son of immigrants in the United Kingdom.

Silvera was a heavy smoker for much of her life, and she was eventually diagnosed with lung cancer. She spend her last years as a resident of Denville Hall, a retirement home for professional actors and their spouses. In August 2002, Silvera died there due to cancer. She was 80-years-old. Her popularity endures primarily due to her appearances in classic sitcoms.

Anthony Ainley was a notable British actor and a member of a distinguished British acting family. His brother was Richard Ainley (1910-1967) and his father Henry Ainley (1879-1945). He worked in the theatre for many years and eventually found work in various historical film dramas in the 1970s. However, his claim to fame is his casting in the role of the Master in the long running science fiction series, Doctor Who (1963). He first appeared in the role in 1981 and would makes further appearances each year up to and including 1986. He then reprised the role one last time in 1989, for the final Doctor Who serial entitled 'Survival'. He retired from acting professionally in the late nineties and played cricket up until the time of his death in May 2004.

Michael Sheard was born on 18 June 1938 in Aberdeen, Grampian, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), The Outsider (1983) and Five Red Herrings (1975). He was married to Rosalind Allaway. He died on 31 August 2005 in Newport, Isle of Wight, England, UK.

John Hollis was born on 12 November 1927 in Fulham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Flash Gordon (1980) and Superman II (1980). He was married to Sheila Forrester and Gabrielle Hamilton. He died on 18 October 2005 in Richmond upon Thames, London, England, UK.

Peter Hawkins was born on 3 April 1924 in London, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for The Big Spender (1965), Doctor Who (1963) and The Storyteller (1987). He was married to Rosemary Miller. He died on 8 July 2006 in London, England, UK.

David Brierly was born in 1935 in Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Threads (1984), Sex Through the Ages (1974) and Doctor Who (1963). He died on 10 June 2008.

Roy Stewart was born on 15 May 1925 in Jamaica. He was an actor, known for Live and Let Die (1973), Doctor Who (1963) and The Avengers (1961). He died on 27 October 2008 in London, England, UK.