Patrick Troughton was born in Mill Hill, London and was educated at Mill Hill School. He trained as an actor at the Embassy School of Acting in the UK and at Leighton Rollin's Studio for for Actors at Long Island, New York in the USA. During World War II he served in the Royal Navy and after the war ended he joined the Old Vic and became a Shakespearean actor. He won his most famous role as the second Doctor in _"Doctor Who" , a stepfather to Gill and Graham and a grandfather to Harry Melling, Jamie and Sam Troughton.
He was the father of David Troughton and Michael Troughton , and he was the grandfather of Sam Troughton and Harry Melling. He was also the grandfather of Warwickshire and England cricketer Jim Troughton.
Troughton died while attending a science fiction convention (Magnum Opus Con) in the United States. His successor as the Doctor, Jon Pertwee , also died of a heart attack while visiting the U.S.
He performed in regional repertory and with the Bristol Old Vic, the BBC Repertory Company and on the stage at Londons West End. Despite being a highly trained classical stage actor, Troughton was unusual among his generation in that he was known to have an intense dislike of stage acting, which he described as "shouting in the evenings", and avoided it whenever possible once his television career had taken off.
He enjoyed reading philosophy and comparative religion.
He claimed to have had a "whale of a time" playing the Second Doctor in "Doctor Who" . He also developed a close relationship with his co-star Frazer Hines , who said working with Troughton was the happiest time in his long acting career. They had previously worked together in "Smugglers Bay" and came back to the series for "Doctor Who" {The Five Doctors (#20.23)} and "Doctor Who" {The Two Doctors: Part One (#22.7)} .
Troughton once claimed his favourite role on television had been Daniel Quilp in the BBCs adaptation of Charles Dickens s classic story "The Old Curiosity Shop" . Like much television from the era, not a single episode exists today.
He was one of a select few classically trained actors to be cast by Laurence Olivier in his film Hamlet . The young Troughton was also cast in another acclaimed Olivier production, Richard III .
He was an excellent swordsman.
According to his son Michael Troughton , Troughton was an early British "method" actor who took a Konstantin Stanislavski approach to his work.
He has six children: Joanna, Jane, David, Michael, Peter and Mark. His stepchildren were Jill and Graham. He had grandchildren Tierney and Florence Troughton.
He was the only actor to play the Doctor and his nemesis in the same story, which was "Doctor Who" {The Enemy of the World: Episode 1 (#5.17)} , in which he played a Hispanic dictator named Salamander. It is considered by many to be a tour de force by Troughton during his time on the series. Unfortunately, at some point between 1972 and 1978, the BBC wiped all except episode three of this serial. However, the discovery of 16mm film prints of the complete serial in Nigeria made national news in the UK in the series 50th anniversary year.
Before World War II, he trained as an actor at the Embassy School of Acting in London, UK and at the Leighton Rallius Studio for Actors at the John Drew Memorial Theatre, Long Island, New York in the USA.
He was the first actor to play the legendary folk hero Robin Hood on television, in "Robin Hood" . The series ran for six episodes in March and April 1953 and were broadcast live. Coincidentally, his grandson Sam Troughton plays Much, a trusted friend and ally of the character, in "Robin Hood" .
In 1948, he made his feature film debut as a shepherd in Escape . One of the stars of the film was William Hartnell , his predecessor in the role of the Doctor in "Doctor Who" . They had previously appeared in several plays together, one of which involved Troughton acting as Hartnells understudy.
Along with Nicholas Courtney , he is one of only two actors to play the same character (the Second Doctor) in "Doctor Who" in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
When it was announced in 1980 that Peter Davison was to play the Fifth Doctor, he advised the 29-year-old actor to limit his time on the series to three years, as he had done, in order to avoid being typecast. Davison followed this advise. In March 1987, only weeks before Troughtons death, Davison advised Sylvester McCoy , who had been announced as the Seventh Doctor that month, to do likewise.
Of the five other actors to play the Doctor during his lifetime, he worked with all of them except for Tom Baker.
Of the first four actors to play the Doctor in "Doctor Who" , he had the shortest lifespan at 67 years and three days.
He was the earliest living Doctor from the death of William Hartnell on April 23, 1975 until his own death on March 28, 1987. As he predeceased Jon Pertwee , nine months his senior, he was never the oldest living Doctor.
Troughton was actually far from the first choice for the lead role as the second incarnation of "Doctor Who" . Ron Moody , Michael Hordern , Patrick Wymark and Peter Jeffrey all turned it down, and Brian Blessed (who had recently left "Z Cars" ) once claimed that the BBC told him that he was considered for it. However, producer Innes Lloyd would later comment that Troughton turned out to be "an absolutely ideal choice" because of his "versatility" and "leading actors temperament".
He played British Prime Ministers in two separate ITV historical drama series: Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) in "Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill" and Clement Attlee (1883-1967) in "Edward & Mrs. Simpson" .
He appeared in two different adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson s 1883 novel "Treasure Island": Treasure Island and "Treasure Island" . He played Roach in the former and Israel Hands in the latter.
He played Alan Breck in two different adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson s 1886 novel "Kidnapped": "Kidnapped" (1952) and "Kidnapped" .
He appeared in episodes of three different series with Roger Moore : "Ivanhoe" , "The Saint" and "The Persuaders!" .
He died at the age of 67, the same age that his "Doctor Who" predecessor William Hartnell was when he died.
He was considered for the roles of Dr. Armstrong and Sir Percy Heseltine in Lifeforce . However, Patrick Stewart and Aubrey Morris were cast respectively.
He received the 1939-45 Star, the Atlantic star, the Defence medal, the 1939-45 war medal and a mention in dispatches during World War II.
He appeared in two adaptations of "Hamlet" in as many years: Hamlet Part 1 and Hamlet . He played Horatio in the former and the Player King in the latter.
He made four films with Peter Cushing : Hamlet , The Black Knight , The Gorgon and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell . Of the four films, The Black Knight is the only one in which Christopher Lee did not also appear.
Although he is now fondly remembered for his role as the Second Doctor in "Doctor Who" , with his performance in the role being either praised or cited as an influence by almost all of his successors, including Tom Baker , Peter Davison , Colin Baker , Sylvester McCoy , David Tennant , Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi , Troughtons period as the star of the series was also the worst affected by the BBCs policy in the 1970s of wiping programmes. Of the 21 serials Troughton starred in as the Doctor between 1966 and 1969, only seven are known to exist in their entirety.
He was offered the role of the Second Doctor in "Doctor Who" during the filming of The Viking Queen , in which he played Tristram, in Ireland.
He made four films with Niall MacGinnis : Hamlet , Chance of a Lifetime , Jason and the Argonauts and The Viking Queen .
He played Sir James Tyrrell in Richard III while his grandson Sam Troughton played George, Duke of Clarence in "The Hollow Crown" {Richard III (#2.3)} .
Tenth Doctor David Tennant once said that he thought Troughton had done more to define the character of the Doctor than his predecessor, William Hartnell.
"Doctor Who" (1963) gave me a chance to indulge my passion for,dressing up and being able to have some sly fun as well as a bit of,clowning.
I have been asked what impact the part of the Doctor had on my career,and I can honestly say none. For luckily I got out in time before I was,too typecast.
If I had not been an actor I would quite like to have been a teacher.
Children keep one young.
It seems so long ago that I played the part of the Doctor.
I think space will be conquered through the mind rather than the clumsy,medium of space travel.
[on "Doctor Who" (1963) ] I believed totally in the possibilities,implied in the series. I never thought of it as fantasy. Far from it.
I think acting is magic. If I tell you all about myself it will spoil it,[on playing the Doctor] I had a Whale of a time!,[on playing the Doctor] It was the happiest time of my professional,life. .
