William Hartnell

As of 2017, Hartnell's incarnation of the Doctor is the only version that has also been played by other actors, while still being referred to as the "First Doctor". In the film Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965), the Doctor is played by Peter Cushing; though this was before regeneration had been created. After Hartnell's death, Richard Hurndall played his version of the Doctor in Doctor Who: The Five Doctors (1983). In the 2017 Christmas special, Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time (2017), the role of the First Doctor is played by David Bradley.

As of 2009, he is one of eleven actors to play "official" incarnations of Doctor Who. Also as of 2009, he is the only actor playing the Doctor to have died in England, as his successors Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee died while visiting the USA.

His final film role was a cameo in The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), but he was cut out of the film entirely.

In 1966, due to the actor's health problems, the decision was made to replace Hartnell as the Doctor but continue the series. The story editor of Doctor Who (1963), Gerry Davis, came up with a unique idea: since the Doctor is an alien, he can transform into another man when he dies, thereby renewing himself. Hartnell reportedly approved of the casting of the versatile character actor Patrick Troughton to succeed him, a decision by Innes Lloyd, the then producer of the series. However, his former co-star Peter Purves stated in an interview that Hartnell would almost certainly have felt very hurt that anybody felt he could be replaced in the series because he had become so attached to the part that he had originated.

At one time he shared the same agent as Nicholas Courtney, who later became a regular in Doctor Who (1963) as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

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.

He was sacked from In Which We Serve (1942) for being late. Some believe that this damaged his subsequent film career and left Hartnell dissatisfied with how his career in films had turned out. Bernard Kay said on the DVD commentary for a later Doctor Who serial, Colony in Space, that Hartnell had been a "bitter" man.

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.

Both he and John Hurt, one of his successors as the Doctor, appeared in film adaptations of Graham Greene's 1938 novel "Brighton Rock": Hartnell played Dallow in Brighton Rock (1948) while Hurt played Phil Corkery in Brighton Rock (2010).

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).

Began his film career in low budget comedies during the 1930s.

" He also toured Canada in 1928-29, acquiring much valuable experience. On his return to England, Hartnell married actress Heather McIntyre.

William Hartnell was born on 8 January 1908, just south of St. Pancras station in London.