Stephen Dartnell

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

Stephen 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 and mocked his sexuality. The youth then went home and told his father that the actor had propositioned him. The father went to the police but when the case 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, for fear of bad publicity, 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 and Marjie Lawrence. [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"

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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. "Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - The Keys of Marinus". BBC.}}
  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.