Friday, October 10, 2014

The Five Doctors

The Five Doctors in an alternative
universe perhaps? Pic: Whopix blog
One episode (The Five Doctors)
First broadcast Nov 23 1983 - on PBS in the USA; two days later in the UK
Average audience for serial: 7.7m

REGULAR CAST

Peter Davison (The Doctor) Born Apr 13 1951 Click here for Peter Davison's entry on Logopolis

Janet Fielding (Tegan) Born Sep 9 1953 Click here for Janet Fielding's entry on Logopolis

Mark Strickson (Turlough) Born Apr 6 1959 Click here for Mark Strickson's entry on Mawdryn Undead

GUEST CAST

Anthony Ainley (The Master) Aug 20 1932 to May 3 2004 (cancer) Click here for Anthony Ainley's entry on The Keeper of Traken

Tom Baker (The Doctor) Born Jan 20 1934 Click here for Tom Baker's entry on Robot

David Banks (Cyber Leader) Born Sep 24 1951
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cyber Leader in Earthshock (1982), The Five Doctors (1983), Attack of the Cybermen (1985), Silver Nemesis (1988)
Career highlights
David, 6ft 3in, made his acting debut in Keep It in the Family (1980), then made appearances in Bret Maverick (1981/82), The Bill (1991), A Time to Dance (1992), EastEnders (1994), Canary Wharf (1996) and Doctors (2006). Between 1991-92 he had a regular role in soap Brookside as Graeme Curtis.
Facts
In 1989 he played Karl the mercenary in the stage play Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure (a role he reprised for an audio adaptation in 2007). On April 29th 1989, Pertwee fell ill and was replaced for two performances by David, who wore a white suit, t-shirt and Panama hat as the Doctor. In the late 1980s David got involved with Cyber-lore, writing the biographical work Doctor Who - Cybermen in 1988, which he adapted into audio cassettes and narrated as Origins of the Cybermen (1989-90). In 1984 David submitted a script to the Doctor Who production team called FlipBack which was steeped in Cyber-continuity, and was ultimately developed into his New Adventure novel Iceberg in 1993. David would have been cast as the Auton leader if the aborted Season 23 Doctor Who story Yellow Fever and How to Cure It had been filmed.

Stuart Blake (Commander) Born Sep 2 1950
Doctor Who credits
Played: Zoldaz in State of Decay (1980)
Played: Commander in The Five Doctors (1983)
Played: Scibus in Warriors of the Deep (1984)
Career highlights
Other work includes A Bridge Too Far (1977), Flash Gordon (1980), King Lear (1982), Metal Mickey (1982), The Fourth Arm (1983) and Amy (1984).
Facts
Stuart gave up acting in 1987 and is now a "communications designer", principally for social media and live events. Stuart has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London for his part in the 800th anniversary celebrations of the London Mayoralty.

Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart) Dec 16 1929 to Feb 22 2011 (cancer) Click here for Nicholas Courtney's entry on The Daleks' Master Plan

Ray Float (UNIT Sergeant) Born 1949
Career highlights
Ray's further credits include How We Used to Live (1981), All for Love (1982), Juliet Bravo (1983), 'Allo 'Allo! (1984) and By the Sword Divided (1985).

Carole Ann Ford (Susan) Born Jun 16 1940 For a full career biography for Carole Ann Ford, click here.

Richard Franklin ("Mike Yates") Jan 15 1936 to Dec 25 2023 Click here for Richard Franklin's entry on Terror of the Autons

Mark Hardy (Cyber Lieutenant)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cyber Lieutenant in Earthshock (1982), The Five Doctors (1983), Silver Nemesis (1988)
Career highlights
Mark's other credits include A Coming-Out Party (1961), Carry On Cleo (1964), The Corridor People (1966), The Orchard End Murder (1980), Personal Services (1987), Who's the Boss? (1987), Friendships Field (1995) and Bright Young Things (2003). It is unclear whether these are all the same actor (it's a common name!).

William Hartnell (The Doctor) Jan 8 1908 to Apr 23 1975 (heart failure after a series of strokes) For a full career biography for William Hartnell, click here.

Frazer Hines ("Jamie McCrimmon") Born Sep 22 1944 Click here for Frazer Hines's entry on The Highlanders

Keith Hodiak (Raston robot) Born 1950
Career highlights
Trained dancer Keith's other credits include The Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), Fox (1980), Wood and Walters (1981), The Chinese Detective (1981), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Are You Being Served? (1985, as semi-regular Seymour), Full Metal Jacket (1987), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988) and EastEnders (1992). Guyanese Keith now runs adult ballet classes in London.
In 2015 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Keith here.

Richard Hurndall (The Doctor) Nov 3 1910 to Apr 13 1984 (heart attack)
Career highlights
Richard began acting on the stage in 1930, but his first screen appearance was in Adventure Story (1946), followed by parts in 1066 and All That (1947), The Middle Watch (1948), Emma (1948), The Good Companions (1949), Two of Everything (1953), Portrait of Man (1960), The Last Man Out (1962), No Hiding Place (1964), Take It or Leave It (1964-65), United! (1966), Breaking Point (1966), Haunted (1967), The Paradise Makers (1967), Spindoe (1968), The Avengers (1968), Some Girls Do (1969), The Power Game (1969), Manhunt (1970), Steptoe and Son (1970), Zeppelin (1971), I, Monster (1971), It's Murder But Is It Art (1972), Doctor in Charge (1972), War and Peace (1972-73), Gawain and the Green Knight (1973), The Inheritors (1974), The Brothers (1974), The Rough with the Smooth (1975), Oil Strike North (1975), Philby, Burgess and Maclean (1977), Running Blind (1979), Ripping Yarns (1979), Love in a Cold Climate (1980), Blake's 7 (1981), Rep (1982), Nanny (1983) and Bergerac (1983).
Facts
Richard's middle name was Gibbon. Richard was a member of the BBC Radio repertory company between 1949-52 and in the late 1950s worked for both Radio Luxembourg and the BBC (playing Sherlock Holmes). His third wife was actress Margaret Ward. Sadly, Richard died just four and a half months after The Five Doctors aired - reportedly before he'd even been paid for playing the role of the First Doctor.

Paul Jerricho (Castellan) Born Nov 18 1948
Doctor Who credits
Played: Castellan in Arc of Infinity, The Five Doctors (both 1983)
Career highlights
Paul, who was brought up in the Caribbean, debuted in Clayhanger in 1976, followed by roles in Space: 1999 (1977), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Grange Hill (1981), The Biko Inquest (1984), Knights of God (1987), Cry Freedom (1987), Howards' Way (1990), Love Hurts (1993), The Ice House (1997), Mosley (1998), A Likeness in Stone (2000), Footballers' Wives (2004), Look Around You (2005), Jericho (2005), EastEnders (2009), The Whistleblower (2010), Lewis (2012) and Casualty (2014). He also had a regular role as Charles Woodhouse in 78 episodes of the soap Triangle (1981-83).
Facts
Until 1984, Paul was married to actress Barbara Kinghorn, the only guest star to survive the Doctor Who story The Caves of Androzani. His current partner is actress Helena Little. Here he is, on Twitter!

Caroline John ("Liz Shaw") Sep 19 1940 to Jun 5 2012 (cancer) Click here to see Caroline John's entry on Spearhead from Space

William Kenton (Cyber scout) Jun 9 1944 to Nov 2 2021
Career highlights
His CV also includes Russian Roulette (1973), By the Sword Divided (1983) and Big Deal (1984). He was also credited as a poker advisor on Big Deal (1984-86; William also worked as a croupier) and a boat wrangler on Rosie & Jim (1991; he was also a merchant seaman).
Facts
His parents were actors Godfrey and Mary Kenton (incidentally, Godfrey's third wife, after Mary, was Vivienne Bennett, who played Queen Elizabeth I in The Chase).

Philip Latham (Lord President Borusa) Jan 17 1929 to Jun 20 2020
Career highlights
Philip's first credit was in A Rubovian Legend (1955), followed by Huntingtower (1957), The Moonstone (1959), The Army Game (1959), The treasure Seekers (1961), The Andromeda Breakthrough (1962), Harpers West One (1962), The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964), The Secret of Blood Island (1964), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), Middlemarch (1968), UFO (1971), No Exit (1972), Seeing and Believing (1961-75), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), From a Far Country (1981), The Fourth Arm (1983), Leaving (1985), Murder of a Moderate Man (1985) and The Man from the Pru (1990). Philip's most famous roles were as Willy Izard in 110 episodes of The Troubleshooters (1965-72), Plantagenet in 26 episodes of The Pallisers (1974) and Arthur Bourne in 75 episodes of The Cedar Tree (1976-77).

John Leeson (Voice of K-9) Born Mar 16 1943 Click here for John Leeson's entry on The Invisible Enemy

John Scott Martin (Dalek operator) Apr 1 1926 to Jan 6 2009 (Parkinson's Disease) Click here for John Scott Martin's entry on The Web Planet

Richard Mathews (Rassilon) Dec 11 1914 to Oct 15 1992
Career highlights
Richard's earliest credit was in No Medals (1948), after which he secured roles in ...And Humanity (1958), Emergency Ward 10 (1961), Thorndyke (1964), The Baron (1966), The Caesars (1968), Z Cars (1967/70), Crown Court (1972), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973), The Adams Chronicles (1976), Children of the Stones (1977), Beryl's Lot (1977), The Walls of Jericho (1981), The Forgotten Story (1983) and Harnessing Peacocks (1992). He also narrated the 1976 paranormal series Beyond Belief.

Stephen Meredith (Technician)
Career highlights
Stephen's other work includes The Enchanted Castle (1979) and A Little Silver Trumpet (1980).

Wendy Padbury ("Zoe Heriot") Born Dec 7 1947 Click here for Wendy Padbury's entry on The Wheel in Space

Jon Pertwee (The Doctor) Jul 7 1919 to May 20 1996 (heart attack) Click here to see Jon Pertwee's entry on Spearhead from Space

David Savile (Crichton) Born Nov 3 1936
Doctor Who credits
Played: Lieutenant Carstairs in The War Games (1969)
Played: Winser in The Claws of Axos (1971)
Played: Crichton in The Five Doctors (1983)
Career highlights
David's career has been busy since he made his first appearance in a 1965 episode of Out of the Unknown, including Pride and Prejudice (1967), The Power Game (1969), Hell Boats (1970), The Man Who Was Hunting Himself (1972), The Big Sleep (1978), Out (1978), Kinvig (1981), Dempsey and Makepeace (1985), Shine On Harvey Moon (1985), Howards' Way (1988), Anglo Saxon Attitudes (1992), The Young Poisoner's Handbook (1995), Peak Practice (1999), Cambridge Spies (2003), New Tricks (2004) and Tan Lines (2005). He also regularly played Lieutenant Commander Beaumont in over 30 episodes of Warship (1973-76) and Max Barker in Kinsey (1991-92).
Facts
He was once married to actress Lois Baxter, who appeared in The Androids of Tara (1978).

Dinah Sheridan (Chancellor Flavia) Sep 17 1920 to Nov 25 2012
Career highlights
Debuted at the age of 17 in Landslide (1937), followed by roles in Irish and Proud of It (1938), Full Speed Ahead (1940), Get Cracking (1943), Murder in Reverse (1945), The Hills of Donegal (1947), Dark Secret (1949), Ivory Hunter (1951), Breaking the Sound Barrier (1952), Genevieve (1953), The Contact (1968), The Railway Children (1970), Call My Bluff (1969-71), Ooh La La! (1973), Zodiac (1974), Marked Personal (1974), Village Hall (1975), Whodunnit? (1977), Sykes (1979), Sink or Swim (1981), All for Love (1983), The Winning Streak (1985), Blankety Blank (1981-87), Cross Wits (1990), Keeping Up Appearances (1991), Just Us (1992), Lovejoy (1992), Countdown (1988-93), All Night Long (1994) and Jonathan Creek (1999). Dinah found early recognition playing Paul Temple's wife Steve in the late 1940s, and found renewed fame as Angela Latimer in 38 episodes of the sitcom Don't Wait Up (1983-90).
Facts
Dinah was one of the first actresses to appear on BBC Television in 1936 when she was interviewed for Picture Page. Dinah's parents were photographers to the Royal family, by appointment to the Queen and Queen Mother. Dinah retired from acting in 1954 after marrying second husband Sir John Davis, president of the Rank Organisation (it was his condition she gave up acting if they wed), but returned following their divorce. Dinah's first husband was actor Jimmy Hanley, with whom she had three children - one died in infancy, while the other two are Jenny Hanley, best remembered as presenter of children's show Magpie in the 1970s, and Sir Jeremy Hanley, former Conservative MP and British foreign minister and Conservative Party chairman in the 1990s. Her third (of four) husband was Canadian actor John Merivale, who in 1970 was given 10 years to live due to a previously undiagnosed hereditary kidney condition. When he married Dinah in 1986 she learnt how to administer kidney dialysis at home, until he passed away in 1990.
This is Your Life: Dinah was the subject of Thames TV's This is Your Life on March 28th, 1979, surprised by host Eamonn Andrews dressed as a porter at Heathrow Airport. Link to The Big Red Book entry.

Roy Skelton (Dalek voice) Jul 20 1931 to Jun 8 2011 (pneumonia following a stroke) Click here for Roy Skelton's entry on The Ark

Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) Feb 1 1946 to Apr 19 2011 (pancreatic cancer) Click here for Elisabeth Sladen's entry on The Time Warrior

John Tallents (Guard) Born Jan 11 1947
Career highlights
Further credits include Nancy Astor (1982), The Fourth Arm (1983), Diana (1984) and Island at War (2004).
Facts
John started out studying law, as he comes from a continuous line of solicitors dating back to 1780, but changed his career when he got a job at auctioneers Sotheby's specialising in ceramics. He didn't decide to go into acting until the late 1970s. Nowadays he performs as Charles Dickens on reading tours around the UK and beyond, much like we see Dickens doing in The Unquiet Dead.

Patrick Troughton (The Doctor) Mar 25 1920 to Mar 28 1987 (heart attack) See Patrick Troughton's entry on The Power of the Daleks

Lalla Ward (Romana) Born Jun 28 1951 Click here for Lalla Ward's entry on The Armageddon Factor

CREW

Terrance Dicks (writer) Apr 14 1935 to Aug 29 2019 Click here for Terrance Dicks's entry on The Invasion

Peter Moffatt (director) Aug 15 1922 to Oct 21 2007
Doctor Who credits
Directed: State of Decay (1980), The Visitation (1982), Mawdryn Undead (1983), The Five Doctors (1983), The Twin Dilemma (1984), The Two Doctors (1985)
Played: Man outside restaurant in The Two Doctors (1985, uncredited)
Played: Tourist in Silver Nemesis (1988, uncredited)
Career highlights
His training to become an actor was disturbed by the outbreak of World War Two, during which he became a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft 3 in Germany. After the war he went back into acting in programmes such as Emil and the Detectives (1952) and Tales from Soho (1956), but then turned to directing, working on Small Time (1960), Tales of Mystery (1961), It Happened Like This (1963), Crane (1963-64), Seven Deadly Sins (1966-67), Sexton Blake (1968), Hadleigh (1969), Big Brother (1970), Crime of Passion (1971-72), New Scotland Yard (1972), Melissa (1974), Rooms (1974-77), The Camerons (1979), The Gentle Touch (1980), Juliet Bravo (1980/82), EastEnders (1986) and All Creatures Great and Small (1978-88).
Facts
He was married to actress/ director/ producer Joan Kemp-Welch.

John Nathan-Turner (producer) Aug 12 1947 to May 1 2002 (liver failure) Click here for John Nathan-Turner's entry on The Leisure Hive

Eric Saward (script editor) Born Dec 9 1944 Click here for Eric Saward's entry on on Castrovalva

3 comments:

  1. Anyone know who actually Voiced the Cyber Leader; "Why was the main gate left unguarded?"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Frazer Hines's book is full of rubbish in the Childhood chapter! He stole his brother Iain's experiences, and used them...all Iain's history living in Scotland, during which time Frazer was not even born! When Frazer was two, Iain worked at the Guest house age 9 until 15, Frazer never served food, Iain in Hus schooldays worked at the hotel fulltime until age 15, all the time giving his money to Frazer's mother towards mortgage..he continued until he joined the RAF on callup..and sent pay home even then...later, when they lived in Chiswick, Mr Hines Snr wanted to donate a share when that house was sold to Iain, who had always contributed..Frazer screamed out "Over my dead body"..
    Another National Treasure faker...
    Always remember..your Dr Who icons are often lived as the characters..but in real life the reverse! Just ask Gemma Craven, Frazer's ex!

    ReplyDelete
  3. True. I knew the three Hines boys, Frazer was the darling, but Roy and Ian had much more talent, Roy as a dancer and Ian as a musician, composer, actor. They had no chance, Frazer born two years after Frazer, and he and Ian sent up to Scotland so Mrs Hines had Frazer to herself. Disgusting, and Roy dued aged 40, Frazer refusing to go to see him till Ian threatened to drag him down to London. He never went to Roy's funeral. I read a Gemma Craven comment that her parents detested Frazer. Don't forget, actors like him still act in real life. Gordon

    ReplyDelete

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