Jon Pertwee (1919 - 1996)

From the Boston Globe Newspaper - 21st May 1996

John Pertwee, 77

Actor best known as Dr. Who

LONDON-Actor John Pertwee, who played Dr. Who in Britain's science fiction television series, has died at the age of 77, the British Broadcasting Corp. said yesterday.

Mr. Pertwee played the eccentric time traveler Dr. Who on BBC television from 1970 to 1974. Others succeeded him in the TV role. He returned to the Dr. Who role for a gruelling stage tour in 1989.

Although he also worked on radio, films, music, and in cabaret, he found it difficult to shake off the Dr. Who image. But he never minded being typecast.

"I'm very much afraid to say it, but I'm rather a cult figure," he said recently.

Mr. Pertwee spent more than 60 years in show business despite being thrown out of drama school as a young man and told he had no future as an actor.

The BBC did not give the exact time or circumstance of his death.

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Last Updated: 21/05/96