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Richard Gibbon Hurndall (3 November 1910 – 13 April 1984) was an English actor.[1][2][3] He is best remembered for replacing William Hartnell in the role of the First Doctor for Doctor Who's 20th anniversary special "The Five Doctors".
Richard Hurndall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Richard Gibbon Hurndall 3 November 1910 Darlington, County Durham, England |
| Died | 13 April 1984 (aged 73) London, England |
| Education | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Known for | Replacing William Hartnell as the First Doctor in The Five Doctors |
Career
editBBC radio
editHurndall was born in Darlington and he attended Claremont Preparatory School, Darlington and Scarborough College,[4] before training as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.[5] He then appeared in several plays at Stratford-upon-Avon.[3] Hurndall acted with the BBC radio drama repertory company from 1949 to 1952.[5] In 1959, he played Sherlock Holmes in a five part adaptation of The Sign of Four.[1] He continued to play roles on BBC radio until about 1980, often as the leading man.[6]
Radio Luxembourg
editIn 1958 he became the third host of the Radio Luxembourg program called This I Believe. (This show had originally been hosted by Edward R. Murrow on the U.S. CBS Radio Network from 1951 to 1955 and it was then edited in London for rebroadcast on 208 with a British style of presentation at 9:30 PM on Sunday evenings.)[citation needed]
Television work
editHurndall appeared in numerous radio and stage plays, films and television series over the course of his lengthy career. He appeared in 'Someone at the Door', a 1949 live broadcast TV comedy/thriller, which also featured Patrick Troughton (with whom he was later to appear in Doctor Who – see below).[7] Other television shows of the era that he appeared in include The Avengers, The Persuaders!, Blake's 7, Whodunnit! and Bergerac.[8] He played the suave London gangster Mackelson in the gritty 1968 drama series Spindoe and the following year had a recurring role as flawed senior civil servant Jason Fowler in the final series of The Power Game.[9] He appeared in the comedy series Steptoe and Son in 1970 as Timothy, a gay antique dealer who takes a shine to Harold Steptoe, in Any Old Iron (series 5 episode 3, 20 March 1970).[10] He guest starred in the third series of Callan.[11] He appeared twice in the series Public Eye, first playing a distinguished entomologist who is unwilling to trace his missing son in "The Golden Boy" (10 January 1973) and later a priest in "How About a Cup of Tea?" (13 January 1975).[12][13] He was Lord Montdore in Love in a Cold Climate (1980).[14]
Doctor Who
editIn 1983, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, producer John Nathan-Turner planned a special event, "The Five Doctors", a 90-minute episode to feature four of the five actors who had at that point played the role of the Doctor.[15] William Hartnell, the actor who originated the role, had died in 1975.[16] Hurndall eventually won the role of the First Doctor, playing him as "acerbic and temperamental but in some ways wiser than his successors." His casting in the role was approved[clarification needed] by Hartnell's widow, Heather.[17][better source needed] When Tom Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor, declined to appear in the programme, Hurndall's role was expanded slightly to have the First Doctor take a greater part in the action.[18] It was hoped Hurndall would reprise his portrayal of the First Doctor alongside the Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman, played by Carole Ann Ford, in the season 22 story The Two Doctors, but Hurndall's death saw the storyline adjusted to feature the Second Doctor played by Patrick Troughton and Jamie McCrimmon played by Frazer Hines.[19]
Films
editHis films included Joanna (1968), Hostile Witness (1968), Some Girls Do (1969), Zeppelin (1971), I, Monster (1971),[20] Lady Caroline Lamb (1972), Royal Flash (1975), and Crossed Swords (1977).[2]
Death
editIn April 1984, Hurndall died of a heart attack at the age of 73 in London, less than five months after the first broadcast of "The Five Doctors".[5] Many sources,[who?] including Elisabeth Sladen's autobiography, state that he died before being paid for the role.[21] However, Doctor Who Magazine writer Richard Bignell claims that this isn't true, saying "Hurndall had five different payments made out to him ... (four contractual, one expenses) and all were paid in 1982 and 1983, way before his death."[22]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Deadlier Than the Male | Suited Man at Judo Club | Uncredited |
| 1968 | Joanna | Butler | Uncredited |
| Hostile Witness | Supt. Eley | ||
| The Avengers | Farrer | Episode: Legacy of Death | |
| 1969 | Some Girls Do | President of Aircraft Co. | |
| 1970 | Steptoe and Son | Timothy Stanhope | Episode: Any Old Iron? |
| 1971 | Zeppelin | Blinker Hall | |
| I, Monster | Lanyon | ||
| The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes | Lord Faber | Episode: The Ripening Rubies | |
| 1972 | Lady Caroline Lamb | Radical | |
| 1972-1973 | War and Peace | Count Rostopchin | 3 episodes |
| 1972-1977 | Van der Valk | Picard/Magistrate | 2 episodes |
| 1973 | Gawain and the Green Knight | Bearded Man | |
| 1974 | The Brothers | Clifton | Episode: A Bad Mistake |
| Father Brown | Father Superior | Episode: The Arrow of Heaven | |
| 1975 | Royal Flash | Detchard | |
| 1977 | The Prince and the Pauper | Archbishop Cranmer | |
| Just William | Great Uncle George | Episode: William's Worst Christmas | |
| 1981 | Blake's 7 | Nebrox | Episode: Assassin |
| 1983 | Blue Peter | First Doctor | |
| Doctor Who | Episode: "The Five Doctors" |
See also
edit- This I Believe – 1957 second season on Radio Luxembourg
References
edit- ^ a b Scott, Cavan; Wright, Mark (2017). Who-Ology: The Official Miscellany. BBC Books. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-84990-619-7.
- ^ a b "Richard Hurndall". Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Richard Hurndall – Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
- ^ Chris Lloyd (12 May 2010). "Of Escomb, Eden and the Darlo Doctor Who".
- ^ a b c "Richard Hurndall obituary (1984)". The Daily Telegraph. 14 April 1984.
- ^ "BBC Radio Times Archive – Richard Hurndall".
- ^ "Someone at the Door · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk.
- ^ T.V.com. "Richard Hurndall". TV.com.
- ^ "Richard Hurndall". www.aveleyman.com.
- ^ "Any Old Iron? (1970)". Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
- ^ "The Same Trick Twice (1970)". 24 March 2015.
- ^ "Public Eye: S". www.aveleyman.com.
- ^ "How about a Cup of Tea? (1975)". Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
- ^ "Richard Hurndall - the Doctor Who Cuttings Archive".
- ^ "Errors 500 – Doctor Who". Doctor Who.
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Hartnell, William (1908–1975) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- ^ "Richard Hurndall (1980's)". 19 October 2009.
- ^ "The Five Doctors ★★★★".
- ^ Doctor Who - The Complete History, Stories 139-141. Panini UK Ltd., 2016
- ^ "I, Monster (1971) – Stephen Weeks – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related – AllMovie". AllMovie.
- ^ Simon Brew (18 February 2008). "Doctor Who: The Five Doctors Special Edition DVD review".
- ^ "Richard Bignell on Twitter: "No, it's all absolute tosh. Hurndall had five different payments made out to him with regards to The Five Doctors (four contractual, one expenses) and all were paid in 1982 and 1983, way before his death". 15 December 2021. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
