Editing William Hartnell (section)

==Career==
[[File:William Hartnell, 1950 (halftone filtered).jpg|thumb|upright|Hartnell in 1950]]

===Early career===
Hartnell entered the theatre in 1925<ref name="biog"/> working under [[Frank Benson (actor)|Frank Benson]] as a general stagehand.<ref name="meyrick"/><ref name="times">"Obituary: Mr William Hartnell&nbsp;– An actor of varied talents", ''[[The Times]]'', 25 April 1975.</ref> He appeared in numerous Shakespearian plays, including ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'', ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'', ''[[As You Like It]]'', ''[[Hamlet]]'', ''[[The Tempest]]'' and ''[[Macbeth]]'' (all 1926). He also appeared in ''[[She Stoops to Conquer]]'', ''[[The School for Scandal]]'' (both 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,<ref>Craig Cabell ''Who Were the Doctors'' (John Blake, 2013)</ref> whom he married during the following year.<ref name="dnb"/> His first of more than 60 film appearances was in ''[[Say It with Music (1932 film)|Say It With Music]]'' (1932).

Radio work also featured in his career, with his earliest known performance – in a production of ''Chinese Moon Party'' – being broadcast by the BBC on 11 May 1931.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/1389f789b52e478682ecbd2c680f7cc8 |title=BBC Genome Project, 11 May 1931|access-date=5 March 2018 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

From the outbreak of the [[Second World War]], Hartnell attempted to volunteer for the [[Royal Air Force|RAF]].<ref>Carney, p. 91</ref> He served in the [[British Army]] in the Tank Corps, but he was invalided out after 18 months as the result of a nervous breakdown and returned to acting.<ref name="dnb"/> In 1942, he was cast as Albert Fosdike in [[Noël Coward]]'s film ''[[In Which We Serve]]''. He turned up late for his first day of shooting, and Coward berated him in front of the cast and crew for his unprofessionalism, made him personally apologise to everyone and then sacked him. [[Michael Anderson (director)|Michael Anderson]], who was the [[First Assistant Director|first assistant director]], took over the part (and was credited as "Mickey Anderson").<ref>{{cite book |last=Hoare |first=Philip |title=Noël Coward: A Biography |url=https://archive.org/details/nolcowardbiogr00hoar |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-684-80937-3 |ref=Hoare}}</ref>

Hartnell continued to play comic characters until he was cast in the robust role of Sergeant Ned Fletcher in ''[[The Way Ahead]]'' (1944).<ref name="times" /> From then on, his career was defined by playing mainly policemen, soldiers and thugs. This typecasting bothered him, for even when he was cast in comedies he found he invariably played the "heavy". In 1947 he was cast in a major role in the [[Boulting brothers]] classic gangster film noir [[Brighton Rock (1948 film)|Brighton Rock]], playing the tough gang underboss, Dallow. In 1957 he appeared in [[Hell Drivers]] as a ruthless and hard-nosed transport yard manager, Cartley.  In 1958, he played the sergeant in the first [[Carry On (film series)|Carry On]] comedy film, ''[[Carry On Sergeant]]''. He appeared as [[serjeant-at-arms]] of [[Grand Fenwick]] Will Buckley, another military character, in the film ''[[The Mouse That Roared (film)|The Mouse That Roared]]'' (1959), which starred [[Peter Sellers]], and he played a town [[councillor]] in the [[Boulting brothers]]' film ''[[Heavens Above!]]'' (1963), again with Sellers.

His first regular role on television was as [[Sergeant Major]] Percy Bullimore in ''[[The Army Game]]'' in 1957. He left after the first season and returned for the final season in 1961. Again, although it was a comedy series, he found himself cast in a "tough guy" role. He also appeared in a supporting role in the film version of ''[[This Sporting Life]]'' (1963), giving a sensitive performance as an ageing [[rugby league]] talent scout known as "Dad".<ref name="times"/>

Hartnell described himself as "a legitimate character actor of the theatre and film".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/aug/22/doctor-who-rediscovered-william-hartnell-interview |first=Charles |last=Norton |title=Doctor Who: the rediscovered William Hartnell interview |newspaper=The Guardian |date=22 August 2013 |access-date=8 October 2013}}</ref><ref name="Points West">{{cite web |url=https://www.doctorwho.tv/news/?article=hartnell-the-daleks-were-difficult-to-play-to |title=Hartnell: 'The Daleks were difficult to play to' |last=Allen |first=Christopher |work=DoctorWho.tv |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=5 October 2013 |accessdate=8 July 2021 }}</ref>

===''Doctor Who''===
Hartnell's performance in ''This Sporting Life'' was liked by [[Verity Lambert]], the producer who was setting up a new science-fiction television series for the [[BBC]] entitled ''[[Doctor Who]]''; mainly on the strength of that performance, Lambert offered him the [[First Doctor|title role]]. Although Hartnell was initially uncertain about accepting a part in what was pitched to him as a children's series, in part due to his success in films,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-10-16/doctor-whos-waris-hussein-on-william-hartnell-bette-davis--peter-cook-loathing-david-frost |title=Doctor Who's Waris Hussein on William Hartnell, Bette Davis, & Peter Cook loathing David Frost |last=Mulkern |first=Patrick |magazine=[[Radio Times]] |date=16 October 2013 |access-date=14 December 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/oct/16/doctor-who-director-william-hartnell-time-lord |title=Doctor Who director exposes William Hartnell as reluctant first Time Lord |first=Mark |last=Sweney |work=The Guardian |date=16 October 2013 |access-date=13 November 2013}}</ref> Lambert and director [[Waris Hussein]] convinced him to take the part, and it became the character for which he gained the highest profile and is now most remembered. Hartnell later revealed that he took the role because it led him away from the gruff, military parts in which he had become [[Typecasting (acting)|typecast]], and, having two grandchildren of his own, he came to relish particularly the attention and affection that playing the character brought him from children. An obituary would state how delighted Hartnell was to get the role of the Doctor at the age of 55 after a career of "playing what he called bastards."<ref>[[Peter Haining (author)|Haining, Peter]]. ''Doctor Who: The Key to Time. A Year-by-Year Record.'' London: W. H. Allen, 1984, 151.</ref> His [[An Unearthly Child|first episode]] of ''Doctor Who'' aired on 23 November 1963.<ref>{{cite AV media |year=2006 |title=Doctor Who: Origins |url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMnKNp4o_BHeOKCrF_0awsx91AcfPukoL |access-date=28 July 2013 |author=2-entertain |author-link=2 Entertain |publisher=YouTube }}</ref>

''Doctor Who'' earned Hartnell a regular salary of £315 an episode by 1966 (in the era of 48 weeks per year production on the series), {{Inflation|UK|315|1966|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}. By comparison, in 1966 his co-stars [[Anneke Wills]] and [[Michael Craze]] were earning £68 and £52 per episode at the same time, respectively.<ref name="First Doctor Handbook">{{cite book | last1 = Howe | first1 = David J. | author-link1 = David J. Howe |last2=Stammers |first2=Mark |author-link3=Stephen James Walker |last3=Walker |first3=Stephen James | year = 1994 | title = The Handbook: The First Doctor&nbsp;– The William Hartnell Years 1963–1966 | publisher = Virgin Publishing | location = London | isbn = 978-0-426-20430-5}}</ref> Throughout his tenure as the Doctor, Hartnell wore a wig when playing the part, as the character had long hair.<ref name="Brief">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/news/briefhistory/hartnell.shtml |title=A Brief History of a Time Lord. |author=Doctor Who |author-link=Doctor Who |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=28 July 2013 }}</ref>

Hartnell described his character the Doctor as "a [[Wizard (fantasy)|wizard]]", and "a cross between the [[Wizard (Oz)|Wizard of Oz]] and [[Father Christmas]]".{{sfnp|Howe|Stammers|Walker|1993|pp=16–17}} According to [[William Russell (English actor)|William Russell]], Hartnell deliberately became occasionally tongue-tied and stumbled over words.{{sfnp|Howe|Stammers|Walker|1993|p=19}}

According to some of his colleagues on ''Doctor Who'', Hartnell could be a difficult person to work with; among the more caustic accounts, [[Nicholas Courtney]] and Wills described Hartnell as being [[Racism|racist]]<ref name="Harmes">{{cite book |last=Harmes |first=Marcus K. |date=2014 |title=Doctor Who and the Art of Adaptation: Fifty Years of Storytelling |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdyJAwAAQBAJ&q=william+hartnell+racist&pg=PA40 |location=[[Lanham, Maryland]] |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |page=40 |isbn= 978-1442232853 |access-date=4 September 2014 }}</ref> and [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]].<ref>[http://www.timelash.com/tardis/display.asp?1223 Big Finish Talks Back: The Nicholas Courtney Memoirs (A Soldier in Time)]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2008-04-01/interview-nicholas-courtney |title=Interview: Nicholas Courtney |last=Mulkern |first=Patrick |date=1 April 2008 |access-date=27 July 2013 }}</ref> Hussein stated that Hartnell was [[homophobic]], but also said "I never allowed him to think of me as anything other than a director". They enjoyed a good working relationship and Hussein developed a "great affection" for Hartnell; Hussein said Hartnell was upset when Hussein left the show.<ref name="Mulkern">{{cite news|last=Mulkern|first=Patrick|url= http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-10-16/doctor-whos-waris-hussein-on-william-hartnell-bette-davis--peter-cook-loathing-david-frost |title=Doctor Who's Waris Hussein on William Hartnell, Bette Davis, & Peter Cook loathing David Frost|work=[[Radio Times]] |date=16 October 2013 |accessdate=18 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lawrence |first=Ben |date=2024-01-30 |title=Waris Hussein: 'I am so angry the BBC sold Television Centre. They destroyed the world they had' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2024/01/30/waris-hussein-interview-bbc/ |access-date=2024-06-13 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> Hartnell's granddaughter, Jessica Carney, wrote that Hartnell was very bigoted and often made [[xenophobic]] comments but that "all those loudly expressed opinions were contradicted by his behaviour on a personal level". Val Speyer said that while Hartnell claimed not to like foreigners, "as one of his greatest friends on the show was half Greek and half Maltese, I didn't see how this could figure. However, if he liked someone, they weren't a foreigner, they were a friend!"<ref name="Carney, p. 171">Carney, p. 171</ref>

Hartnell's deteriorating health (undiagnosed [[arteriosclerosis]]) began to affect his ability to learn his lines, with the problem increasing as his time on the series progressed.{{sfnp|Howe|Stammers|Walker|1993|p=17}} In addition, he had a poor relationship with Lambert’s successor John Wiles, who resigned from the role after barely six months. The producer role was then given to Innes Lloyd who, with new story editor Gerry Davis, developed the idea that since the Doctor was an alien, he could transform himself physically, enabling the production to recast the lead role. Hartnell left ''Doctor Who'' in 1966.<ref name="Brief"/><ref>[[#Haining|Haining]], p. 39</ref> Hartnell himself suggested his successor; "There's only one man in England who can take over, and that's [[Patrick Troughton]]."{{sfnp|Howe|Stammers|Walker|1993|p=68}} Hartnell departed the show in the serial ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'' where the First Doctor [[Regeneration (Doctor Who)|regenerates]] into Troughton's [[Second Doctor]].<ref>{{Cite episode |title=The Tenth Planet |episode-link=The Tenth Planet |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |network=[[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] |date=29 October 1966 |season=4 |number=2 }}</ref>

Hartnell reprised the role in the tenth anniversary story ''[[The Three Doctors (Doctor Who)|The Three Doctors]]'', broadcast from December 1972 to January 1973. When Hartnell's wife Heather found out about his planned involvement, she informed the show's crew that his failing memory and weakening health would prevent him from starring in the special. An agreement was made between the crew and Heather that Hartnell would sit down during the shoot and read his lines from [[cue cards]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfTGVnk_XEU | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/TfTGVnk_XEU| archive-date=11 December 2021 | url-status=live|title=Exclusive First Look: Hartnell's perseverance – Doctor Who – The Three Doctors |author=Doctor Who |author-link=Doctor Who |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=7 February 2012 |access-date=28 July 2013 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> His appearance in the story was his final piece of work as an actor due to his declining health.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Neil |date=16 July 2017 |title=All the Doctors, from William Hartnell to Jodie Whittaker |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40585673 |access-date=2024-11-13 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

As a result of the then-standard practice of discarding old recordings in order to make room for newer ones, 44 of Hartnell's 134 video episodes are [[Doctor Who missing episodes|missing from the archives]], although audio recordings exist.{{Cn|date=May 2025}}