Jon Pertwee

John Devon Roland Pertwee was born on 7 July 1919 in Chelsea, London, and died on 20 May 1996. He performed professionally under the name Jon Pertwee. His surname derived from the French Huguenot name "Perthuis," or more fully "de Perthuis de Laillevault," a family of counts with lineage traced to Charlemagne. His father was screenwriter and actor Roland Pertwee, and actor Bill Pertwee was his distant cousin. His godfather was actor Henry Ainley, a close friend of his father. Pertwee's mother, Avice Scholtz, separated from Roland Pertwee when Jon was young; she died in 1951. Pertwee received his education at Frensham Heights School in Rowledge, Surrey, and at Sherborne School in Dorset. He was admitted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art but was later expelled, with accounts citing either rude remarks written on lavatory walls or his refusal to play a Greek wind in a production.

Before his professional career began in earnest, Pertwee worked as a circus performer while still at school, riding the wall of death on a motorcycle with a toothless lion in the sidecar. He subsequently worked in repertory theatre and was contracted by the BBC as an actor at the age of eighteen. During the Second World War, Pertwee served six years in the Royal Navy. He was a crew member of HMS Hood and was transferred off the vessel for officer training shortly before it was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941, an engagement that killed all but three of those aboard. He was later attached to the Naval Intelligence Division, where he worked alongside future James Bond author Ian Fleming and reported directly to Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee. In 1942, as a Sub Lieutenant posted to HMS Valkyrie on the Isle of Man, he participated in amateur variety shows and became one of the founding members of the Service Players, a drama society that remains active.

Following the war, Pertwee worked as a stage comedian, appearing at venues including the Glasgow Empire Theatre alongside Max Wall and Jimmy James. He developed a reputation in radio for his range of comedic voices and accents, featuring in programs including Waterlogged Spa with Eric Barker and Puffney Post Office, in which he played an old postman with the catchphrase "It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you tears them up." From 1959 to 1977, he played the conniving Chief Petty Officer Pertwee in the BBC Radio sitcom The Navy Lark, eventually taking on several additional roles in the series after Ronnie Barker's departure, including a villainous character called the Master.

Pertwee's stage career included playing Lycus in the 1963 London production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Frankie Howerd. In 1966, he starred alongside Donald Sinden in the original West End production of the comedy There's a Girl in My Soup. The following year, in 1967, Pertwee brought that production to Broadway, extending his run in the show. That same year, he had been considered for the role of Captain George Mainwaring in Dad's Army by producer David Croft but turned it down, a decision possibly connected to his preference for continuing his Broadway engagement. His film work during this period included appearances in four entries in the Carry On series: Carry On Cleo (1964) as a soothsayer, Carry On Cowboy (1965) as Sheriff Earp, Carry On Screaming! (1966) as Dr. Fettle, and a fourth entry in 1992. He also appeared as Crassus in the 1966 film version of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

In 1969, producer Peter Bryant cast Pertwee as the Third Doctor in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, a role he held from 1970 to 1974. Pertwee had asked his agent to put him forward for the part and was surprised to learn he was already on the shortlist; Ron Moody had been the first choice but was unavailable. His interpretation of the Doctor was shaped in part by the James Bond film series, presenting the character as action-oriented, confident, and scientifically minded. Following Doctor Who, Pertwee played the title character in Worzel Gummidge from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1987 to 1989. He also hosted the game show Whodunnit? from 1974 to 1978. In his later years, Pertwee maintained a sustained connection to Doctor Who through appearances at fan conventions and interviews related to the series.