William Hartnell
William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975), also known as Billy Hartnell or Bill Hartnell, was an English actor. Hartnell played the first incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, from 1963 to 1966. He was also known for his roles as Sergeant Grimshaw, the title character of the first Carry On film, Carry On Sergeant in 1958, and Company Sergeant Major Percy Bullimore in the sitcom The Army Game from 1957 until 1958, and again in 1960. Hartnell entered the theatre in 1925 working under Frank Benson as a general stagehand. He appeared in numerous Shakespearian plays, including The Merchant of Venice (1926), Julius Caesar (1926), As You Like It (1926), Hamlet (1926), The Tempest (1926) and Macbeth (1926). He also appeared in She Stoops to Conquer (1926), School for Scandal (1926) and Good Morning, Bill (1927), before performing in Miss Elizabeth's Prisoner (1928). This play was written by Robert Neilson Stephens and E. Lyall Swete. It featured the actress Heather McIntyre, whom he married during the following year. His first of more than sixty film appearances was in Say It With Music (1932). Hartnell continued to play comic characters until he was cast in the robust role of Sergeant Ned Fletcher in The Way Ahead (1944). From then on his career was defined by playing mainly policemen, soldiers, and thugs. 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 entitled Doctor Who; and, mainly on the strength of that performance, Lambert offered him the title role.
Filmography
Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
as Dr. Who (archive footage) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
as Dr. Who (archive footage) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Savages
as The Doctor (voice)
Doctor Who: The Savages
as The Doctor (voice)
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
as The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
as The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
An Adventure in Space and Time
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
An Adventure in Space and Time
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
The Sets of Marinus
as The Doctor (archive footage)
The Sets of Marinus
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Mounting the Rescue
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Mounting the Rescue
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Masters of Sound
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Masters of Sound
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Remembering 'The Aztecs'
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Remembering 'The Aztecs'
as The Doctor (archive footage)
What's a Carry On?
as Sergeant Grimshawe (archive footage) (uncredited)
What's a Carry On?
as Sergeant Grimshawe (archive footage) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
as The First Doctor (archive footage)
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
as The First Doctor (archive footage)
Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
That's Carry On!
as Sergeant Grimshawe (archive footage)
That's Carry On!
as Sergeant Grimshawe (archive footage)
Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks
as The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks
as The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks
as The Doctor in the mirror (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks
as The Doctor in the mirror (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
as The Doctor (1)
Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
as The Doctor (1)
Doctor Who: The War Machines
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The War Machines
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Savages
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Savages
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Ark
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Ark
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
as The Doctor / Abbot of Amboise
Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
as The Doctor / Abbot of Amboise
Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Chase
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Chase
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Space Museum
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Space Museum
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Crusade
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Crusade
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Web Planet
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Web Planet
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Rescue
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Rescue
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: Planet of Giants
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: Planet of Giants
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Sensorites
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Sensorites
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
as The Doctor
The World Ten Times Over
as Dad
The World Ten Times Over
as Dad
To Have and to Hold
as Insp. Roberts
To Have and to Hold
as Insp. Roberts
Tomorrow at Ten
as Freddie Maddox
Tomorrow at Ten
as Freddie Maddox
Heavens Above!
as Major Fowler
Heavens Above!
as Major Fowler
This Sporting Life
as 'Dad' Johnson
This Sporting Life
as 'Dad' Johnson
And the Same to You
as Walter 'Wally' Burton
And the Same to You
as Walter 'Wally' Burton
Jackpot
as Supt. Frawley
Jackpot
as Supt. Frawley
The Night We Dropped a Clanger
as Sgt. Bright
The Night We Dropped a Clanger
as Sgt. Bright
The Mouse That Roared
as Will Buckley
The Mouse That Roared
as Will Buckley
Shake Hands with the Devil
as Sergeant Jenkins
Shake Hands with the Devil
as Sergeant Jenkins
On the Run
as Tom Casey
On the Run
as Tom Casey
The Hypnotist
as Inspector Ross
The Hypnotist
as Inspector Ross
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
as Leading Seaman Leslie Frank
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
as Leading Seaman Leslie Frank
Tons of Trouble
as Bert
Tons of Trouble
as Bert
Private's Progress
as Sgt. Sutton
Private's Progress
as Sgt. Sutton
Josephine and Men
as Detective Sgt. Parsons
Josephine and Men
as Detective Sgt. Parsons
Footsteps in the Fog
as Herbert Moresby
Footsteps in the Fog
as Herbert Moresby
The Holly and the Ivy
as Company Sergeant Major
The Holly and the Ivy
as Company Sergeant Major
The Pickwick Papers
as Irate Cabman
The Pickwick Papers
as Irate Cabman
The Magic Box
as Recruiting Sergeant
The Magic Box
as Recruiting Sergeant
The Dark Man
as Superintendent of Police
The Dark Man
as Superintendent of Police
Double Confession
as Charlie Durham
Double Confession
as Charlie Durham
The Lost People
as Barnes
The Lost People
as Barnes
Now Barabbas
as Warder Jackson
Now Barabbas
as Warder Jackson
Escape
as Inspector Harris
Escape
as Inspector Harris
Brighton Rock
as Dallow
Brighton Rock
as Dallow
The Agitator
as Peter Pettinger (as Billy Hartnell)
The Agitator
as Peter Pettinger (as Billy Hartnell)
Strawberry Roan
as Chris Lowe
Strawberry Roan
as Chris Lowe
The Way Ahead
as Sgt. Ned Fletcher
The Way Ahead
as Sgt. Ned Fletcher
Headline
as Dell
Headline
as Dell
The Dark Tower
as Jim Towers (as Bill Hartnell)
The Dark Tower
as Jim Towers (as Bill Hartnell)
The Bells Go Down
as Brookes
The Bells Go Down
as Brookes
Sabotage at Sea
as Jacob Digby
Sabotage at Sea
as Jacob Digby
The Goose Steps Out
as German Officer at Station
The Goose Steps Out
as German Officer at Station
They Flew Alone
as Scotty
They Flew Alone
as Scotty
Suspected Person
as Detective Saunders
Suspected Person
as Detective Saunders
Freedom Radio
as Radio Location Aerial Operator (uncredited)
Freedom Radio
as Radio Location Aerial Operator (uncredited)
They Came by Night
as Undetermined Role
They Came by Night
as Undetermined Role
Midnight at Madame Tussaud's
as Stubbs
Midnight at Madame Tussaud's
as Stubbs
The Crimson Circle
The Crimson Circle
Parisian Life
Parisian Life
The Guv'nor
as Car Salesman
The Guv'nor
as Car Salesman
The Perfect Flaw
as Vickers
The Perfect Flaw
as Vickers