Stephen Dartnell

Last updated

Stephen Dartnell
Stephen Dartnell.jpeg
Dartnell in Doctor Who : The Sensorites (1964)
Died1994
Occupation Actor
Years active1955-1966

Stephen Thomas Dartnell (died 1994 [1] ) was a British actor, [2] who appeared in several television programmes. [3] He is best known for his two 1964 appearances in the first season of Doctor Who . He portrayed Yartek, leader of the Voord, in The Keys of Marinus [4] and John, a mineralogist who has been driven to mania, in The Sensorites . [5] [6] Dartnell also made appearances in the 1960 feature films Circle of Deception and Oscar Wilde . [7] He was also a theatre director and was active with the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. [3] [8]

Contents

Personal life

As a gay young man during the early 1950s, Dartnell found himself the victim of homophobic abuse when a youth threw paint over him. The youth went home and told his father that the actor had propositioned him. The father went to the police and when it came to court, the judge threw it out for being indefensible and the father and son were fined for wasting police time and perjury. As a result, Dartnell was kicked out of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop (as was Harry Greene for sticking up for him) but was supported throughout this ordeal by Harry H. Corbett. [9]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1960 Oscar Wilde Cobble
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Clubhouse workeruncredited
Circle of Deception Brunneruncredited
1972Second BestDirector/Writer (short film)

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1955 BBC Sunday Night Theatre Military recruitSeason 6, episode 44: "The Makepeace Story #3: Family Business"
OthelloSailorTV movie
1960ITV Television PlayhouseJack PalmerSeason 5, episode 30: "Incident"
1964 Doctor Who Yartek

John

Season 1: (7 episodes)
1965 A Tale of Two Cities Jacques OneSeries 1 (4 episodes)
1966 Theatre 625 BarmanSeason 3, episode 21: "A Man Like That"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Phillips</span> British actor (1924–2022)

Leslie Samuel Phillips was an English actor. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. He appeared in the Carry On and Doctor in the House film series as well as the long-running BBC radio comedy series The Navy Lark. In his later career, Phillips took on dramatic parts including a BAFTA-nominated role alongside Peter O'Toole in Venus (2006). He provided the voice of the Sorting Hat in three of the Harry Potter films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sessions</span> Scottish actor and comedian (1953–2020)

John Sessions, born John Marshall, was a British actor and comedian. He was known as a regular performer on comedy improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, as co-creator, co-writer and co-star of the sitcom Stella Street, as a panellist on QI, and as a character actor in numerous films, both in the UK and Hollywood.

Sean Biggerstaff is a Scottish actor. He is best known for playing Oliver Wood in the Harry Potter film series, appearing in Philosopher's Stone (2001), Chamber of Secrets (2002), and Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Isaacs</span> British actor (born 1963)

Jason Isaacs is an English actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series (2002–2011). His other film roles include Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot (2000), Michael D. Steele in Black Hawk Down (2001), and Captain Hook in Peter Pan (2003).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Butterworth</span> English actor and comedian (1915–1979)

Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth was a British actor and comedian best known for his appearances in the Carry On film series. He was also a regular on children's television and radio. Butterworth was married to actress and impressionist Janet Brown.

Simon Jones is an English actor. He portrayed Arthur Dent, protagonist of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on radio in 1978 and again on television in 1981. Jones also appeared in the film The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) in a cameo role. He also played the role of Donald Shellhammer in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), appeared in Brideshead Revisited as Lord Brideshead, and as King George V in the film Downton Abbey.

Stephen Vincent Moore was an English actor, known for his work on British television since the mid-1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Russell (English actor)</span> English actor (born 1924)

William Russell Enoch is an English actor. He achieved prominence when he took the title role in the ITV television series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956–1957). In 1963, he became part of the original lead cast of BBC1's Doctor Who, playing the role of schoolteacher Ian Chesterton opposite William Hartnell from the show's first episode until 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry H. Corbett</span> English actor (1925–1982)

Harry H. Corbett was an English actor and comedian, best remembered for playing rag-and-bone man Harold Steptoe alongside Wilfrid Brambell in the long-running BBC television sitcom Steptoe and Son. His success on television led to appearances in comedy films including The Bargee (1964), Carry On Screaming! (1966) and Jabberwocky (1977).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Williams (actor)</span> English actor, comedian, presenter and screenwriter

Mark Williams is an English actor, comedian, presenter and screenwriter. He first achieved widespread recognition as one of the central performers in the popular BBC sketch show The Fast Show. His film roles include Horace in the 1996 version of 101 Dalmatians and Arthur Weasley in seven of the Harry Potter films. He made recurring appearances as Brian Williams in the BBC television series Doctor Who and as Olaf Petersen in Red Dwarf. Since 2013, Williams has portrayed the title character in the long-running BBC series loosely based on the Father Brown short stories by G. K. Chesterton.

Claire Skinner is an English actress, known in the United Kingdom for her television career, particularly playing Sue Brockman from the BBC television series Outnumbered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Paterson (actor)</span> Scottish actor (born 1945)

William Tulloch Paterson is a Scottish actor with a career in theatre, film, television and radio. Throughout his career he has appeared regularly in radio drama and provided the narration for a large number of documentaries. He has appeared in films and TV series including Comfort and Joy (1984), Traffik (1989), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986), Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990), Wives and Daughters (1999), Sea of Souls (2004–2007), Amazing Grace (2006), Miss Potter (2006), Little Dorrit (2008), Doctor Who (2010), Outlander (2014), Fleabag (2016–2019), Inside No. 9 (2018), Good Omens (2019), and Brassic (2020). He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Scottish BAFTAs.

<i>The Sensorites</i> 1964 Doctor Who serial

The Sensorites is the seventh serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Peter R. Newman and directed by Mervyn Pinfield and Frank Cox, the serial was first broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 20 June to 1 August 1964. In the serial, the First Doctor, his granddaughter Susan Foreman, and her teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright visit a planet known as the Sense-Sphere to find the cure to a disease afflicting the alien race the Sensorites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Griffiths</span> English actor (1947–2013)

Richard Thomas Griffiths was an English actor of film, television, and stage. He is known for his portrayals of Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films (2001–2010), Uncle Monty in Withnail and I (1987), and Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky (1994–1997). Over his career he received numerous accolades including a Tony Award and Olivier Award as well as a nomination for a BAFTA Award. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Bradley (English actor)</span> English actor (born 1942)

David John Bradley is an English actor. He is known for his screen roles including Argus Filch in the Harry Potter film series, Walder Frey in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, and Abraham Setrakian in the FX horror series The Strain.

John Woodvine is an English actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Mangan</span> English film and stage actor (born 1968)

Stephen James Mangan is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in Green Wing, Dan Moody in I'm Alan Partridge, Seán Lincoln in Episodes, Bigwig in Watership Down, Postman Pat in Postman Pat: The Movie, Richard Pitt in Hang Ups, Andrew in Bliss (2018), and Nathan Stern in The Split (2018–2022).

Adrian Philip Scarborough is an English actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin McFarlane</span> British actor

Colin Andrew Ignatius Peter McFarlane is a British actor, narrator and voice actor. He is known for his roles in film and television including Gillian B. Loeb in two films of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy and Ulysses in the STARZ television drama series Outlander. McFarlane's voice roles include JJ in Bob the Builder, Bulgy in Thomas & Friends and PC Malcolm Williams in Fireman Sam. He was the voice of The Cube in the ITV game show.

<i>Doctor Who</i> (season 1) Season of British television series

The first season of British science fiction television programme Doctor Who was originally broadcast on BBC TV between 1963 and 1964. The series began on 23 November 1963 with An Unearthly Child and ended with The Reign of Terror on 12 September 1964. The show was created by BBC Television head of drama Sydney Newman to fill the Saturday evening timeslot and appeal to both the younger and older audiences of the neighbouring programmes. Formatting of the programme was handled by Newman, head of serials Donald Wilson, writer C. E. Webber, and producer Rex Tucker. Production was overseen by the BBC's first female producer Verity Lambert and story editor David Whitaker, both of whom handled the scripts and stories.

References

  1. "Beyond the TARDIS: Obituary", Doctor Who Magazine , No. 220, 21 December 1994, pg.2 (I have had confirmation from a family tree owner for Stephen Thomas Dartnell 1931-1995 who informed that he was not an actor)
  2. "Stephen Dartnell | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Stephen Dartnell". IMDb. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  4. "BBC One - Doctor Who".
  5. "Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - The Sensorites". BBC.
  6. "Doctor Who Guide: Stephen Dartnell". Doctor Who Guide. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  7. "Stephen Dartnell | TV Guide". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  8. Everett, Rupert (18 January 2007). Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins: The Autobiography. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN   9780759571396.
  9. Corbett, Susannah (2011). Harry H. Corbett: The Front Legs of the Cow. History Press. ISBN   9780752480473.