William Nicholas Stone Courtney(16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011)[1][2]was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was best known for his long-running role asBrigadier Lethbridge-Stewartin theBBCscience fiction televisionseriesDoctor Who.[3][4][5]
Nicholas Courtney | |
|---|---|
 Courtney in 2010 | |
| Born | William Nicholas Stone Courtney 16 December 1929 Cairo,Egypt |
| Died | 22 February 2011(aged 81) London,England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1957–2008 |
| Known for | Doctor Who |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 2 |
Early life
editNicholas Courtney was born 16 December 1929 inCairo, Egypt,the son of Major Geoffrey William Courtney, a British army officer and diplomat, and Evelyn (néeStout).[6][7][8]His paternal grandparents were the Oxford academic and journalistWilliam Leonard Courtneyand his first wife, Cordelia (néePlace).[9][10][11]His grandfather, W. L. Courtney, had been an amateur actor during his tenure at Oxford University and was involved in the early productions in theNew Theatreby theOxford University Dramatic Society.[12][9]Nicholas' parents separated in 1931, when his mother Evelyn left the household.[9][6]He was raised by his father and stepmother Anne (néePerrott), who married Geoffrey Courtney in 1938.[13][6]
Courtney was educated in France,KenyaandEgyptand attended a public school in Kent.[14][6]On his maternal side, he was descended from New Zealand politicianJohn Cuff.He performednational servicein theBritish Army,leaving after 18 months as a private, not wanting to pursue a military career. He moved to England to join London'sWebber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.[4]After two years of repertory theatre inNorthampton,he became resident in London in 1961.
Courtney's first television work was in the 1957 seriesEscape.He made guest appearances in several cult television series, includingThe Avengers(1962, 1967),The Champions(1968),Randall and Hopkirk(1969) and as a racing driver inRiviera Police(1965), and briefly appeared as a TV panel chairman in the filmTake a Girl Like You(1970), hosting a debate betweenJohn BirdandJohn Fortune.
Doctor Who
editDuringWilliam Hartnell's tenure as theFirst Doctor,directorDouglas Camfieldoriginally considered Courtney for the role ofRichard the Lionheartin the serialThe Crusade(1965), a role that ultimately went toJulian Glover.Camfield kept Courtney in mind for future roles, and later that year cast him inThe Daleks' Master Plan,in which he played Space Security Agent Bret Vyon.[14]
Camfield liked Courtney's performance, and when the director was assigned the 1968 serialThe Web of Fear,he initially cast Courtney as Captain Knight. WhenDavid Langtongave up the role of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart to work elsewhere, Camfield recast Captain Knight and gave the part to Courtney instead.[15]The Lethbridge-Stewart character returned in the next season inThe Invasion,promoted to the rank ofbrigadier,[3]and in charge of the British contingent ofUNIT.The organisation had been charged with protectingEarthfromalieninvasion. Years later, actor and writerIan Marter(who played UNIT medical officerHarry SullivanalongsideTom Baker) named a Russian military base used inThe Invasion,but unnamed on screen, "Nykortny" in his novelisation of the story.[16]
In this recurring role, he appeared semi-regularly in 101 episodes between 1970 and 1975. The character proved popular enough to return in 1983, first inMawdryn Undeadand in the official 20th anniversary special "The Five Doctors".Courtney made his final appearance in the 1989 serialBattlefield(although like many other former cast members, he reprised the role for the charity specialDimensions in Time). He appeared withJean Marshin both his first and last regularDoctor Whotelevision appearances. Jean Marsh portrayed the character of Sara Kingdom in Courtney's first appearance,The Daleks' Master Plan,playing his character's sister. In Courtney's final appearance on the show, Marsh portrayed the villainousMorgainein theArthurian-inspiredBattlefield.Marsh also appeared in the earlier storyThe Crusadefor which Courtney had been considered. Courtney played Lethbridge-Stewart, either on television or inspin-off audio plays,alongside every subsequent Doctor up to and includingPaul McGann,as well as substituteFirst DoctorRichard Hurndall.He did not act in the revived series, but appeared in archive footage. While he acted withTenth DoctoractorDavid Tennantin theBig Finishaudio dramasSympathy for the DevilandUNIT: The Wasting,Tennant was playing a different character, Colonel Ross Brimmicombe-Wood, on both occasions.
Fifteen years afterDimensions in Time,Courtney returned as Lethbridge-Stewart (now,SirAlistair), freshly returned fromPeru,inEnemy of the Bane(2008), a two-part story in the Doctor Who spin-offThe Sarah Jane Adventures,starringElisabeth SladenasSarah Jane Smith.TheSarah Jane Adventuresproduction team intended that Courtney would reappear in the following year'sThe Wedding of Sarah Jane Smithso that Lethbridge-Stewart would meet theTenth Doctor,but Courtney was recovering from a stroke and unable to take part.[17]
Following Courtney's death on 22 February 2011, Lethbridge-Stewart was written out as having also died; when the Eleventh Doctor wanted to contact him in "The Wedding of River Song",he was informed that Sir Alistair has died some months earlier at his nursing home. The Brigadier was mentioned several times in the series' golden anniversary episode,"The Day of the Doctor",[a]and quoted once;[b]and, with a prominent close-up of his archival portrait,[18]Courtney is the only individual to appear in all theDoctor Whoanniversary stories prior to "The Day of the Doctor".[c]
In a 2008 interview, Courtney criticised the pacing of the new series ofDoctor Who,saying: "It’s all a bit rushed sometimes. It’s a heck of a lot to get in in three quarters of an hour, the whole story. In the old days, it used to be half an hour every Saturday for four Saturdays, or six Saturdays, so it does all seem to be a bit of a rush. In fact, it leaves me rather gasping for breath sometimes." Courtney also commented: "I think people’s attention span is more limited than it used to be."[19]
AfterDoctor Who
edit
Courtney continued to act extensively in theatre and television after his mainDoctor Whoappearances, guest-starring in television programmes includingWhodunnit?in 1977, where he appeared again with Jon Pertwee,Minder(1984),All Creatures Great and Small(1980, episode "Matters of Life And Death" ),Only Fools and Horses(1988) andYes, Prime Minister(1986), and the 1984 television movieTo Catch a King.In 1982 he was cast alongsideFrankie Howerdin theWorld War II-set comedy seriesThen Churchill Said to Mebut the series remained untransmitted for over a decade due to the outbreak of theFalklands War.He also had a regular role in the comedyFrench Fieldsbetween 1989 and 1991.
Courtney also appeared in an episode of the long-runningBBCTV seriesThe Two RonniesalongsideRonnie BarkerandRonnie Corbettas the character of 'Captain Dickie Chapman', a fellow prisoner-of-war (POW) inColditzduring World War II, in a sketch based on the original BBC serial,Colditz.
In 1985, Courtney played 'The Narrator' inThe Rocky Horror Show.In 1989 he portrayed Temple in theBBC Radio 4adaption ofJohn Wyndham'sSurvival.He also appeared briefly in the 1990 filmBullseye!,directed byMichael Winner.
Courtney also appeared in theBig Finish Productionsaudio dramaEarthsearch Mindwarp,based on aJames Follettnovel, broadcast on thedigital radiostationBBC 7.Courtney starred as Inspector Lionheart opposite fellowDoctor WhoactorTerry Molloyin the audio seriesThe Scarifyers,from Cosmic Hobo Productions. The first twoScarifyersadventures,The Nazad ConspiracyandThe Devil of Denge Marsh,were broadcast onBBC 7in 2007; the third, entitledFor King and Countryin 2008, and fourth,The Curse of the Black Comet,in 2010. He also appeared in three episodes ofKaldor Cityas the newscaster Danl Packard. He regularly made personal appearances atscience fiction conventionsand in 1997 was made the honorary president of theDoctor Who Appreciation Society.Courtney also appeared in BBC Radio 4's five part chilling radio drama "Outbreak of Fear" by R.D. Wingfield in the 1980s (repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra up to August 2017 in stereo only on TV and online - not DAB).
In 1998, Courtney released his autobiography, titledFive Rounds Rapid!(ISBN978-1852277826) after a line of dialogue the Brigadier had in the 1971Doctor WhoserialThe Dæmons.[20]He recorded his memoirs, subtitledA Soldier in Timefor release on CD in 2002 byBig Finish.In 2008 he appeared in the filmIncendiary,as theArchbishop of Canterbury,alongsideEwan McGregor.
Courtney's updated autobiography,Still Getting Away With It(ISBN978-1871330731), was published in 2005,[14]with co-author Michael McManus.
Death
editCourtney's death was reported bySFX[1]andThe Stageearly in the morning of 23 February 2011.[2]Doctor Whoaudio playproducersBig Finish,with whom Courtney had worked on several releases in his continuing role as the Brigadier, confirmed the date of his death as 22 February 2011.[21]TheBBCreported that he had "died in London at the age of 81".[22]
According to Courtney's official website, he died following a brief illness.[23]Doctor WhowriterMark Gatisscalled him "a childhood hero and the sweetest of gentlemen".[22]FormerDoctor Whoco-starTom Bakeralso paid tribute, having visited him on the Friday before his death. Baker wrote "We shall miss him terribly" in a newsletter on his website, in which he also indicated that Courtney had been battling cancer for a few months prior to his death.[24]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Brides of Fu Manchu | Sergeant | Film debut, Uncredited |
| 1969 | Doppelgänger | Medical Data Analyst | Uncredited |
| 1970 | Take a Girl Like You | Panel Chairman | |
| 1971 | Endless Night | Second Auctioneer | Uncredited |
| 1974 | Soft Beds, Hard Battles | French Intelligence Officer | Uncredited |
| 1990 | Bullseye! | Sir Hugh | |
| 1995 | Downtime | Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart | Direct-to-video Doctor Who spin-off |
| 2008 | Incendiary | Archbishop of Canterbury | Final film |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962, 1967 | The Avengers | Captain Gifford/Captain Legros | 2 episodes |
| 1965 | The Saint | Alain/Policeman | 2 episodes |
| 1965-1966 | Doctor Who | Bret Vyon | Serial:The Daleks' Master Plan |
| 1968, 1970–1975, 1983, 1989 | Doctor Who | Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart | 107 episodes |
| 1969 | Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) | Max | Episode: "The Ghost who Saved the Bank at Monte Carlo" |
| 1973 | The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes | Hutchinson Hatch | Episode:Cell 13 |
| The Two Ronnies | Dickie | 1 episode | |
| 1980 | All Creatures Great and Small | Paul Cotterell | Episode:Matters of Life and Death |
| 1984 | To Catch a King | de Oliveira | TV movie |
| Minder | Raymond Wilkins | Episode:The Balance of Power | |
| 1987 | Yes Prime Minister | Police Commissioner | Episode:A Diplomatic Incident |
| 1988 | Only Fools and Horses | Charles | Episode: Dates |
| Doctor Who | Man chatting with other sightseers in the queue to visit Windsor Castle[d] | Uncredited cameo; serialSilver Nemesis | |
| 1989–1991 | French Fields | Marquis | 5 episodes |
| 1991, 2007 | The Bill | Dr Nigel Botterill/Judge | 2 episodes |
| 1992 | Screen One | Tim Aying | Episode:Born Kicking |
| 1993 | Then Churchill Said to Me | Lt. Col. Robin Witherton | 6 episodes, filmed in 1982 |
| Dimensions in Time | Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart | TV Short for Children in Need | |
| 1996 | Satellite City | English Stan | Episode:The Other Side |
| 2005 | Doctors | Edmund Black | Episode:Heart on His Sleeve |
| 2007 | Casualty | Claude Devigny | Episode:The Fires Within |
| 2008 | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart | Episode:Enemy of the Bane |
Notes
edit- ^"Kate Lethbridge-Stewart... as I'm sure your father would have told you..." "I need you to send me one of my father's incident files..." "Somewhere in your memory, there is a man called Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart; I'm his daughter." "'Science leads,' Kate. Is that what you meant? Is that what your father meant?" "Space-time telegraph, Kate; a gift from me to your father."
- ^"Three of them?! All my worst nightmares at once!" fromThe Three Doctorsis repeated by the general defending Gallifrey.
- ^He was a regular co-star as the Brigadier in the tenth anniversary serial,The Three Doctors,guest-starred as the retired brigadier in the 20th anniversary episode, "The Five Doctors",made a cameo appearance (never clarified if he was Lethbridge-Stewart or another character) chatting with other sightseers in the queue to visit Windsor Castle in the silver anniversary serial,Silver Nemesis,and had his only scene with theSixth Doctorin the non-canonical 30th anniversary special,Dimensions in Time.
- ^It was never clarified if he was Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart or another character.
References
edit- ^ab"Nicholas Courtney RIP".SFX.23 February 2011.Retrieved23 February2011.
- ^abScott, Matthewman (23 February 2011)."Doctor Who's Brigadier Nicholas Courtney dies".The Stage.The Stage Newspaper Limited.Retrieved23 February2011.
- ^abMacManus, Michael (26 February 2011)."Nicholas Courtney: Actor known for his long-running role as the Brigadier in Doctor Who".The Independent.Retrieved29 February2016.
- ^ab"Nicholas Courtney".The Daily Telegraph.23 February 2011.
- ^Clapperton, Guy (2 November 2006)."Regenerating an original Doctor Who".The Guardian.Retrieved28 December2010.
- ^abcdJohn Ainsworth (editor) (2016),Profile: Nicholas Courtney,Doctor Who: The Complete History: Stories 38-41,BBCWorldwide UK Publishing; Panini UK Ltd.; Hachette Partworks Ltd., page 144.
- ^Samir W. Raafat (1994),Maadi 1904-1962: Society and History in a Cairo Suburb,Zamalek: The Palm Press, pages 37, 80.
- ^'Forthcoming Marriages',The Times(London), 13 September 1927, page 13.
- ^abc"Nicholas Courtney: Actor known for his long-running role as the Brigadier in Doctor Who".Independent.co.uk.The Independent. 26 February 2011.Retrieved22 September2024.
- ^'Nicholas Courtney,The Telegraph,23 February 2011; accessed 22 September 2024.
- ^1891 Census of England, Wales & Scotland- Reference: RG12; Piece number: 108; Folio: 56; Page: 41; Schedule: 188.
- ^'Obituary: Mr. W. L. Courtney: Editor and Critic',The Times(London), 2 November 1928, page 19.
- ^Courtney, Anne,The Diplomatic Service List 1966,Volume 1: Great Britain, London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
- ^abcHadoke, Toby (23 February 2011)."Nicholas Courtney obituary".The Guardian.London.Retrieved29 February2016.
- ^Steve Broster (Producer) (19 June 2006).The UNIT Family (Part 1)(DVD). United Kingdom:BBC Worldwide.
- ^"Interview with Nicholas Courtney".
- ^McManus, Michael (26 February 2011)."Nicholas Courtney: Actor known for his long-running role as the Brigadier in Doctor Who".The Independent.Retrieved27 February2011.
- ^"The Day of the Doctor"at 50:06.
- ^"The Den of Geek interview: Nicholas Courtney".Den of Geek.13 May 2008.Retrieved21 May2013.
- ^He orders one of his subordinates to "Chap with wings – five rounds rapid!"
- ^Briggs, Nicholas (23 February 2011)."Nicholas Courtney 1929–2011".Big Finish website: News.Big Finish Productions.Archived fromthe originalon 25 February 2011.
- ^ab"Doctor Who 'Brigadier' Nicholas Courtney dies aged 81".BBC News. 23 February 2011.Retrieved23 February2011.
- ^Official Web site
- ^Baker, Tom (12 February 2011)."The Brigadier is dead".Tom Baker Ltd.Retrieved24 April2011.