Richard Hurndall

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Richard Hurndall
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
OccupationActor

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.

Career

BBC radio

Hurndall was born in

The Sign of Four.[1] He continued to play roles on BBC radio until about 1980, often as the leading man.[6]

Radio Luxembourg

In 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

Hurndall 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

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

In 1983, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the BBC

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

His films included

Crossed Swords (1977).[2]

Death

In 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

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

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1-84990-619-7
    .
  2. ^ a b "Richard Hurndall". Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Richard Hurndall – Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  4. ^ Chris Lloyd (12 May 2010). "Of Escomb, Eden and the Darlo Doctor Who".
  5. ^ a b c "Richard Hurndall obituary (1984)". The Daily Telegraph. 14 April 1984.
  6. ^ "BBC Radio Times Archive – Richard Hurndall".
  7. ^ "Someone at the Door · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk.
  8. ^ T.V.com. "Richard Hurndall". TV.com.
  9. ^ "Richard Hurndall". www.aveleyman.com.
  10. ^ "Any Old Iron? (1970)". Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
  11. ^ "The Same Trick Twice (1970)". 24 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Public Eye: S". www.aveleyman.com.
  13. ^ "How about a Cup of Tea? (1975)". Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Richard Hurndall - the Doctor Who Cuttings Archive".
  15. ^ "Errors 500 – Doctor Who". Doctor Who.
  16. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Hartnell, William (1908–1975) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  17. ^ "Richard Hurndall (1980's)". 19 October 2009.
  18. ^ "The Five Doctors ★★★★".
  19. ^ Doctor Who - The Complete History, Stories 139-141. Panini UK Ltd., 2016
  20. ^ "I, Monster (1971) – Stephen Weeks – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related – AllMovie". AllMovie.
  21. Simon Brew (18 February 2008). "Doctor Who: The Five Doctors Special Edition DVD review"
    .
  22. ^ "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.

External links

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