Nicholas Courtney facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nicholas Courtney
|
|
|---|---|
Nicholas Courtney at The Television & Movie Store, Norwich, England, on 19 January 2008
|
|
| Born |
William Nicholas Stone Courtney
16 December 1929 Cairo, Egypt
|
| Died | 22 February 2011 (aged 81) London, England
|
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1957–2009 |
| Spouse(s) |
Madeleine Seignol
(m. 1962; div. 1978)Karen Harding
(m. 1994) |
| Children | 2 |
William Nicholas Stone Courtney (born 16 December 1929 – died 22 February 2011) was a famous British actor. He is best known for playing Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the popular BBC science fiction TV show Doctor Who. He played this role for a very long time.
Contents
Early Life and Acting Start
Nicholas Courtney was born in Cairo, Egypt. His father was a British diplomat, and his mother was half-American. He went to school in France, Kenya, and Egypt.
After school, he joined the British Army for 18 months. But he didn't want to be a soldier forever. So, he moved to England to study acting. He joined the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. After acting in plays for two years, he moved to London in 1961.
Nicholas Courtney's first TV job was in a show called Escape in 1957. He also appeared in other popular TV shows. These included The Avengers and The Champions. He even had a small part in the movie Take a Girl Like You.
Becoming the Brigadier in Doctor Who
Nicholas Courtney first appeared in Doctor Who in 1965. He played a character named Bret Vyon in an episode called The Daleks' Master Plan. The director, Douglas Camfield, really liked his acting.
Later, in 1968, Camfield cast him again in The Web of Fear. Nicholas Courtney was supposed to play Captain Knight. But another actor left the show, so Courtney was given the role of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart instead. This character became very important!
Lethbridge-Stewart returned in the next season, now promoted to a brigadier. He was in charge of UNIT, a special group. UNIT's job was to protect Earth from alien invasions. This role made Nicholas Courtney very famous.
The Brigadier's Many Appearances
Nicholas Courtney played the Brigadier in 101 episodes of Doctor Who. He appeared regularly between 1970 and 1975. The character was so popular that he came back in 1983. He appeared in Mawdryn Undead and the 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors.
His last regular appearance was in 1989, in an episode called Battlefield. He even came back for a charity special called Dimensions in Time. Nicholas Courtney acted alongside many different Doctors. He worked with every Doctor up to Paul McGann.
He didn't appear in the new Doctor Who series that started in 2005. However, he did appear in the spin-off show, The Sarah Jane Adventures. In 2008, he returned as Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart in Enemy of the Bane. He was supposed to meet the Tenth Doctor in another episode. But he was recovering from a stroke and couldn't take part.
After Nicholas Courtney passed away in 2011, his character, the Brigadier, was also written out of the show. The Eleventh Doctor was told that Sir Alistair had died. The Brigadier was mentioned many times in the 50th anniversary episode, The Day of the Doctor. Nicholas Courtney is the only person to appear in all Doctor Who anniversary stories before The Day of the Doctor.
In 2008, Nicholas Courtney shared his thoughts on the new Doctor Who series. He felt it was "a bit rushed sometimes." He said, "It's a heck of a lot to get in in three quarters of an hour." He thought older episodes, which were longer, gave more time for the story.
Life After Doctor Who
Even after his main Doctor Who appearances, Nicholas Courtney continued to act a lot. He performed in plays and on television. He guest-starred in shows like Minder (1984) and Only Fools and Horses (1988). He also had a regular role in the comedy show French Fields from 1989 to 1991.
He appeared in an episode of The Two Ronnies, a famous BBC comedy show. He played a prisoner-of-war in a sketch. In 1985, he was 'The Narrator' in the musical The Rocky Horror Show. He also acted in the 1990 film Bullseye!.
Nicholas Courtney also did many audio dramas. These are like plays you listen to. He appeared in Earthsearch Mindwarp and The Scarifyers. He was also made the honorary president of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society in 1997.
In 1998, he wrote his life story in a book called Five Rounds Rapid!. This title came from a famous line the Brigadier said in Doctor Who. He also recorded his memories for a CD in 2002. In 2008, he appeared in his final film, Incendiary, playing the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Death
Nicholas Courtney passed away on 22 February 2011, at the age of 81. He died in London after a long illness. Many people, including his Doctor Who co-stars, shared how much they would miss him. Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss called him "a childhood hero and the sweetest of gentlemen." Tom Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor, said, "We shall miss him terribly."
Images for kids
-
Nicholas Courtney at The Television & Movie Store, Norwich, England, on 19 January 2008
See also
In Spanish: Nicholas Courtney para niños
