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William Hartnell was a British Actor, remembered primarily as the First Doctor from Doctor Who - although when he took the role, nobody knew there would be a Second Doctor, let alone an Eleventh.
Prior to becoming a national icon, he had primarily played military types (such as the eponymous Sergeant in Carry On, Sergeant) and sinister hoods - he turned in a memorably creepy performance in Brighton Rock, where he was overshadowed by Richard Attenborough's turn as Villain Protagonist Pinky. Hartnell also appeared with Peter Sellers in 1959 film The Mouse That Roared again as a sergeant.
The First Doctor's crochety old man persona was partly influenced by his own nature, particularly because his memory was beginning to fail him; his blustering diatribes at his companions often went off-script, which, in an era when Television was essentially live theatre performed for a camera, resulted in more than a few occasions where the other actors are visibly struggling not to corpse and improvising like crazy to get the scene back on track.
His sadly increasing infirmity led to the creative team finding a new way to continue the show; since the Doctor was an Alien, who was to say what he might or might not do? He might even turn into a completely different person... and thus was born Regeneration, by means of which a television series that started in 1963 is still airing more than fifty years later. He reprised the role of the Doctor once more, in the serial "The Three Doctors", filmed in 1972; with his health in serious decline, he had to appear only in pre-recorded inserts, and read all his dialogue from cue cards, but still managed to deliver a spiky putdown of Patrick Troughton (who he had personally suggested as a worthy successor) and Jon Pertwee; "So, you're my replacements, hmm? A Dandy and a Clown!"
In 1975, after a long illness, he died in his sleep; his death was reported on the BBC National news, illustrated - naturally enough - with a clip from his time as the Doctor.
- Determinator: Didn't bow out of being the Doctor until he had absolutely no choice.
- I Am Not Shazam: Averted. As the character was still called "Doctor Who" in ancillary media back in the 1960s, Hartnell was often called that and came to many public events dressed as the First Doctor.
- It Will Never Catch On: Once claimed that Doctor Who would only last five years. He was thrilled to be proven wrong.
- The Mentor: Carol Ann Ford (Susan) has described him as such in the early days of Doctor Who. She often sounds like she's holding back from completely breaking down out of sadness when discussing him.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Most people who worked with him refer to him as "Bill."
- So My Kids Can Watch: His granddaughter's eagerness at Doctor Who was a factor in his signing on. Even as his health declined, he pressed on as long as he could, motivated by the smiles he brought to every child in Britain.
- Throw It In: Thanks to his memory problems. He generally kept to the script but his co-stars often had to improvise themselves to course correct the script.
- Typecasting: Prior to his role as the Doctor, he only did military tough guys. He was partly drawn to the role of the Doctor for Playing Against Type.