Biography
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
all 130
Movies 123
TV Shows 7
Voice 3
self 2

Doctor Who: The Savages (2025)

Doctor Who at the Proms (2024)

Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker (2024)

Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour (2023)

Tales of the Tardis (2023)

Talking Doctor Who (2023)

Doctor Who: Galaxy 4 (2021)

Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time (2017)

Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song (2015)

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor (2013)

An Adventure in Space and Time (2013)

Richard Wilson - Both Feet In the Army (2013)

Don't Lose Your Head (2012)

Vision On (2012)

The Sets of Marinus (2009)

Doctor Who: The Next Doctor (2008)

Creation of the Daleks (2006)

Masters of Sound (2006)

Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS (2006)

Remembering 'The Aztecs' (2002)

Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks (1984)

Doctor Who: The Five Doctors (1983)

Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead (1983)

Doctor Who: Earthshock (1982)

That's Carry On! (1977)

Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius (1976)

Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks (1972)

Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks (1966)

Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet (1966)

Doctor Who: The Smugglers (1966)

Doctor Who: The War Machines (1966)

Doctor Who: The Savages (1966)

Doctor Who: The Gunfighters (1966)

Doctor Who: The Ark (1966)

Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (1966)

Doctor Who: The Myth Makers (1965)

Doctor Who: Galaxy 4 (1965)

Doctor Who: The Time Meddler (1965)

Doctor Who: The Chase (1965)

Doctor Who: The Space Museum (1965)

Doctor Who: The Crusade (1965)

Doctor Who: Lost in Time (1965)

Doctor Who: The Web Planet (1965)

Doctor Who: The Romans (1965)

Doctor Who: The Rescue (1965)

Doctor Who: Planet of Giants (1964)

Doctor Who: The Sensorites (1964)

Doctor Who: The Aztecs (1964)

Doctor Who: Marco Polo (1964)

Doctor Who (1963)

To Have and to Hold (1963)

Tomorrow at Ten (1963)

Heavens Above! (1963)

This Sporting Life (1963)

And the Same to You (1960)

Jackpot (1960)

The Night We Dropped a Clanger (1959)

The Mouse That Roared (1959)

Shake Hands with the Devil (1959)

Carry On Sergeant (1958)

On the Run (1958)

The Hypnotist (1957)

Hell Drivers (1957)

Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst (1957)

Private's Progress (1956)

Doublecross (1956)

Josephine and Men (1955)

Footsteps in the Fog (1955)

Will Any Gentleman...? (1953)

The Holly and the Ivy (1952)

The Ringer (1952)

The Pickwick Papers (1952)

The Magic Box (1952)

The Dark Man (1951)

Double Confession (1950)

Now Barabbas (1949)

Escape (1948)

Temptation Harbour (1947)

Odd Man Out (1947)

Appointment with Crime (1946)

A Defeated People (1946)

Murder in Reverse? (1945)

The Agitator (1945)

Strawberry Roan (1944)

The Way Ahead (1944)

The Dark Tower (1943)

The Peterville Diamond (1943)

Sabotage at Sea (1942)

The Goose Steps Out (1942)

Suspected Person (1942)

Freedom Radio (1941)

They Came by Night (1940)

They Drive by Night (1938)

Farewell Again (1937)

The Guv'nor (1935)

The Perfect Flaw (1934)

The Lure (1933)

Follow the Lady (1933)
Gallery





Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1908-01-08
Deathday1975-04-23 (67 years old)
Birth NameWilliam Henry Hartnell
Birth PlaceSt Pancras, United Kingdom
ReligionJudaism
FatherNN
MotherLucy Ann Hartnell
CitizenshipsUnited Kingdom
Also Known AsBilly Hartnell , Bill Hartnell, Уильям Хартнелл, William Henry Hartnell
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