Recently Deceased Dr Who Actors

[Theta Sigma]

Former Producer Peter Bryant has passed away:
From Outpost Gallifrey:
"Peter Bryant

May 31, 2006
Peter Bryant, former Doctor Who producer and script editor who guided the series through much of the Patrick Troughton era of the series, died on Friday May 19, according to a post by fan Ian Levine on the Restoration Team forum. Bryant joined the series with the story "The Faceless Ones" as associate producer under Innes Lloyd, then produced the serial "Tomb of the Cybermen" before becoming script editor for three series during the show's fifth season. He became the series producer again with "The Web of Fear" and did so through Troughton's penultimate story, "The Space Pirates," when he left the position and was replaced by Derrick Sherwin. Once married to actress Shirley Cooklin ("The Tomb of the Cybermen"), he had remarried and is survived by one of two children, his daughter, and several grandchildren.

Update: The official Doctor Who website also just posted an announcement about this, stating, "Born in 1923, Peter began his career as an actor, appearing in roles as diverse as a 1953 adaptation of Wuthering Heights (as Edgar Linton) and as the cheerful elder son Jack in the BBC's first soap opera The Grove Family. He later became an announcer for BBC radio, also producing scripts for radio drama and eventually becoming the Head of the Drama Script Unit. ... After leaving Doctor Who, he moved on to produce several other TV programmes, including Paul Temple and Special Project Air, before becoming an Actors' and Writers' agent.""

 

[Majestic]

Bad news indeed.

 

[Theta Sigma]

David Maloney has passed away

David Maloney has passed away:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2006/07/21/34074.shtml

"Classic director dies
Horror master Maloney dies.

Not many directors have casued a national bed-wetting epidemic. David Maloney wasn't popular with Mary Whitehouse, the self-appointed media guardian, who objected to the mattress-dampening effect of his amazing Tom Baker stories.

Under Maloney the series was at its most frightening, with slow-mo massacres, freeze-frame drownings, and blood-drenched psychopathic puppets.

He first worked on the series in 1965 as a production assistant on The Time Meddler. By 1968, he was in the director's chair for the surreal adventure The Mind Robber and oversaw Patrick Troughton's final story as the Doctor, The War Games.

It was Genesis of the Daleks, with its brutal depictions of warfare, and The Deadly Assassin's use of freeze-frame as the Doctor appears to drown that led to Doctor Who coming under the beady-glare of TV campaigner Mary Whitehouse.

David's final work on Doctor Who, The Talons of Weng Chiang, took the Doctor and his companion Leela to Victorian London to battle giant rats, a killer ventriloquist dummy and the insane Magnus Greel. A firm fan favourite, the story has regularly topped popularity polls ever since it was first shown in 1977.

Away from Doctor Who, he produced the first two series of Terry Nation's Blake's 7 and the terrifying 1981 TV adaptation of John Wyndham's Day of the Triffids.

David Maloney died on 18th July at the Marie Curie Hospice, Hampstead. He is survived by his wife, Edwina and children, Paul, Matthew and Sophia."

The report got it wrong about Blake's 7 as he produced season 3 as well.
Still very sad news as I only recently heard him in the commentary and seen him in the special features of Genesis of the Daleks.

 

[Theta Sigma]

John Hallam has passed away

John Hallam who was Light in the 1989 serial Ghost Light recently passed away on November 13:
http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/74876.html
"John Hallam, who captivated the nation with his portrayal of lust and debauchery in the 1979 Granada period drama The Mallens, has died at the age of 65. During a distinguished career in TV and cinema, Hallam produced a rogues' gallery of memorable villains, including Sir Wilfred Death in The Black Adder (1983), Dirty Den's prison pal Barnesy on EastEnders (1988-90) and a murderous alien mistaken for an angel on Doctor Who (1989)."

 

[Theta Sigma]

Dave Martin has passed away

K-9 co-creator Dave Martin passed away last week:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/04/12/42652.shtml

"It's our sad duty to report the death of one of Doctor Who's most prolific writers, Dave Martin. He was 72.

Working with long time writing partner Bob Baker, Dave wrote eight stories from the Classic Series, including The Claws of Axos and anniversary tale The Three Doctors.

Martin may, however, be best remembered as the co-creator of K9, the metal dog who proved such a hit last year when he returned in School Reunion. He's also due to star in his own animated series soon.

Before Doctor Who, Baker and Martin had previously worked together on several stage plays, before breaking into television with scripts for police drama Z Cars in the early 1960s.

According to reports, Martin was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year. He is survived by his wife and three children."

 

[Syf]

This is a great loss for the fans of Dr. Who. I'm sure he will be missed.
*Bag pipes sound Amazing grace*

 

[Theta Sigma]

Peter Tuddenham has passed away

Outpost Gallifrey has reported that Peter Tuddenham has passed away. Peter Tuddenham had been an actor and a voice artise and is best known for the providing the voices of the computers Zen, Orac and Slave in Blake's 7.

Like most of his Blake's 7 co-stars he has done work on Doctor Who. He had provided his voice in The Ark In Space, Masque of Masque of Mandragora & Time and the Rani.

In recent years, Tuddenham was in the Kaldor City audio spin-offs Occam's Razor and Death's Head, which were Doctor Who/Blake's 7 crossovers produced by Magic Bullet.

He was 80 years ago and died after a short illness.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Oops a mistake Peter Tuddenham was 88 years old when he died.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Peter Moffatt has passed away

Read in Outpost Gallifrey that classic series director Peter Moffatt passed away on October 21 2007 at the age of 84.

Moffatt had directed six Doctor Who stories State of Decay (1980), The Visitation (1982), Mawdryn Undead (1983), The Five Doctors (1983), The Twin Dilemma (1984; which was the formal debut for Sixth Doctor Colin Baker) & The Two Doctors (1985).

In recent years Moffatt provided DVD commentaries for three of those stories The Visitation & The Two Doctors which have already been released, and State of Decay which has yet to see release.

Also on The Visitation DVD, Moffatt provided a retrospective of his work which is included as a DVD extra.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Peter Haining has passed away

John Bowman has reported at Outpost Gallifrey that author Peter Haining has passed away at the relatively young age of 67.

Haining wrote a number of books about Doctor Who, starting with the 20th- anniversary volume Doctor Who: A Celebration - Two Decades Through Time And Space in 1983.

Other titles followed, including The Key To Time: A Year-By-Year Record, The Doctor Who File, The Time-Travellers' Guide, Doctor Who: 25 Glorious Years and The Nine Lives of Doctor Who.*

Haining also wrote about Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Maigret and James Bond as well as editing many anthologies of horror and fantasy stories.

In 2001, he won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award.

It is believed the cause of death was a heart attack.

*I browsed through but did not buy The Nine Lives of Doctor Who at the ABC Shop back in 1999 some six years before the current TV series and the title does not include in its reference Ninth Doctor Chris Eccleston but the first eight TV Doctors from Hartnell to McGann and the Dalek movie Doctor Peter Cushing.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Verity Lambert has passed away

It is with deep sadness and shock for me to inform people that Verity Lambert the original producer of Doctor Who has passed away at the age of 71:
BBC - Doctor Who - News - Verity Lambert - 1935 - 2007
"Verity Lambert - 1935 - 2007

Original Doctor Who producer passes away.

It's with great sadness that we have to announce the first producer of Doctor Who, Verity Lambert has passed away.

Verity produced Doctor Who when the series began in 1963.

During her career, she also produced dramas including The Newcomers, Adam Adamant Lives!, Minder and Quatermass.

In 1985, Verity formed her own independent television company, Cinema Verity. She produced the second series of Jonathan Creek and recently completed the second series of BBC one's Love Soup.

In January 2002, Lambert was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to film and television. Shortly before she died she was given the Working Title Films lifetime achievement award at the 2007 Women In Film And Television Awards.

Russell T Davies, Lead Writer and Executive Producer of Doctor Who, said: "There are a hundred people in Cardiff working on Doctor Who and millions of viewers, in particular many children, who love the programme that Verity helped create. This is her legacy and we will never forget that."

Jon Plowman, Executive Producer, BBC Comedy, said: "Verity was a TV giant. Her career spanned the eras, from first episodes of Doctor Who and Minder through to Jonathan Creek and the forthcoming series of Love Soup.

"She was extraordinary – very keen to get shows right and to encourage people, as she did for me in my early days. She never held back in her praise and was not jealous of anyone else's success – she enjoyed watching people grow up around her."

Jane Tranter, Controller, BBC Fiction, said: "Verity was a total one-off. She was a magnificently, madly, inspirationally talented drama producer. During her long and brilliant career there was no form of drama that was beyond her reach and that she didn't excel at. From the early episodes of Doctor Who to the still to be transmitted comedy drama Love Soup, via Widows, Minder, GBH, Eldorado and Jonathan Creek (to name but the tiniest handful of credits) – Verity was a phenomenon. Today is the 44th anniversary of her first ever episode of Doctor Who."

Menna Richards, Controller, BBC Wales, said, "In Doctor Who, Verity Lambert has left a legacy that lives on in the new productions BBC Wales has been making since 2004. We in Wales owe her a debt of gratitude for handing on such a treasure which continues to be enjoyed the world over.""

She died on November 22 2007, a day before Doctor Who's 44th anniversary on November 23 and five days before her 72nd birthday on November 27.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Kevin Stoney has passed away

John Bowman at DoctorWhoNews.com has reported that Kevin Stoney has passed away.

Looking up at Wikipedia he died on January 20 2008.*

Kevin Stoney played the villain Mavic Chen and Tobias Vaughan in Daleks Master Plan (1965-66) & The Invasion (1968) respectively.

He also appeared as Tyrum in Revenge of the Cyberman (1975) starring Fourth Doctor Tom Baker.*

Roles outside of Doctor Who included appearances in Blake's 7 in the episodes Hostage & Animals.

He was 86.

* Incidentally January 20 is the birthday of his Revenge of the Cybermen co-star Tom Baker.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Howard Atfield Has Passed Away

Found out from the latest issue of Data Extract that Howard Atfield who played Donna's father in The Runaway Bride has died.

He died on October 31 last year after completing scenes for the season 34 opener Partners In Crime.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Johnny Byrne Has Passed Away

As posted by Shaun Lyon at DoctorWhoNews.com, several sources has reported on the death of Johnny Byrne on April 3.

Johnny Byrne has written three Doctor Who serials Keeper of Traken, Arc of Infinity & Warriors of the Deep. All three stories brought back past foes of the Doctor. All three stories have been released on DVD, the last of which Warriors of the Deep was released last month as part of the Beneath the Surface set.

Byrne also wrote a Doctor Who movie script which ultimately was not used.

His other work included writing and script editing Space 1999.

Born in 1935, he died on April 3 due to undisclosed causes.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Tristam Cary Has Passed Away

DoctorWhoNews.com has reported on the death of Tristam Cary at the age of 82. Cary an Australian, composed the incidental music for many Doctor Who serials. His first with the Daleks' very first story in 1963/4 and his last for the 1972 serial The Mutants.

Other work include the Hammer movie version of Quatermass and the Pit.

As noted by DoctorWhoNews.com, Cary was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to Australian music in 1991. In 1999 he received the SA Great Music Award for the year, and in 2001 he gained the degree of Doctor of Music at Adelaide University.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Received clarification that he actually died after filming shortly began so he does not appear in Partners In Crime but the episode is dedicated to his memory in the end credits.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Bruce Purchase Has Passed Away

DoctorWhoNews.com has reported on the passing of Bruce Purchase who played the Captain in the Tom Baker story The Pirate Planet which was the writing debut to Doctor Who of Douglas Adams.

Born in 1938, he died on June 2008 at the age of 69 after a serious illness.

His other work included playing Gola in the Blake's 7 episode The Keeper and as Tommy Roach in two episodes of Quatermass (1979), Ringstone Round & Lovely Lightning .

 

[Theta Sigma]

David Brierly Has Passed Away

John Bowman at DoctorWhoNews.com has reported on the passing of David Brierly who voiced K-9 in four stories of season 17 The Creature From the Pit, Nightmare of Eden, The Horns of Nimon and the unfinished story Shada. Brierly voiced the robot dog for season 17 when John Leeson took a break from voicing him. (Leeson subsequently resumed his voicing duties for the dog in the following season, season 18.)

Brierly was born in 1935 and died on June 10 2008.

 

[Sweldon]

K-9

Stands at attention out side the tardus . Then lowers head shacking breifly...
" K-9 you will be missed greatly. You where a good companion for the orginal Dr."
Aim Ak-47 into the air , fires two clip on automatic mode towards the setting sun behind Big-Ben.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Elizabeth Spriggs Has Passed Away

Paul Hayes has posted at DoctorWhoNews.com has reported on the passing of Elizabeth Spriggs who appeared in the season 24 serial Paradise Towers as Tabby.

She was born on September 18 1929 and passed away on July 2 2008 at the age of 78.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Hugh Lloyd Has Passed Away

Found out that Hugh Lloyd had passed away on July 14.

Born on April 22 1923, Hugh Lloyd appeared in Doctor Who in 1987 as Gorowny in the season 24 serial Delta and the Bannermen.

 

[Sweldon]

May He rest in peace

May he lie among the star with his great wisdom .

 

[Theta Sigma]

Ken Campbell Has Passed Away

Ken Campbell has passed away:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/sep/01/theatre.comedy?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

Ken Campbell had unsuccessfully auditioned for the Seventh Doctor, the role that ultimately went to Sylvester McCoy who had been a member of the Ken Campbell Roadshow.

Ken Campbell's roles on television included playing Reg in the Fawlty Towers episode The Anniversary.

Born on December 10 1941, he died on August 31 at the age of 66.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Ian Collier Has Passed Away

Shaun Lyon has posted at DoctorWhoNews.com about the passing of Ian Collier.

News of his passing came from Derek Hambly in a post at the Doctor Who Forum.

Ian Collier made his first appearance in Doctor Who in the 1972 story The Time Monster as Stuart Hyde.

He then appeared as one of the Doctor's well known foes Omega in the 1983 story Arc of Infinity (Omega was originally played by Stephen Thorne in The Three Doctors (1972/3).

Collier also appeared as Omega in the Big Finish audio Omega. His other roles in Big Finish was as Commisar Erco Sallis in Excelis Decays and as Benny Summerfield's father Isaac in the Benny story Death and the Daleks.

He died on October 1 2008 of unspecified causes.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Peter Copley Has Passed Away

Paul Hayes has posted at DoctorWhoNews.com the passing of Peter Copley.

Born on May 20 1915, Peter Copley appeared in Doctor Who in the 1975 serial Pyramids of Mars as Dr Warlock.

Copley died on October 7 2008. His death comes five months after the passing of another Pyramids of Mars guest star Bernard Archard (Marcus Scarman).

In another sad coincidence I saw Copley in the 2005 Roman Polanski version of Oliver Twist on October 11 a mere few days after Copley's passing.

 

[Theta Sigma]

John Ringham Has Passed Away

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/3374315/John-Ringham.html

John Ringham had appeared in Doctor Who in The Aztecs (1964), The Smugglers (1966) and Colony In Space (1971).

Born on February 10 1928, he died on October 20 2008.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Margot Van Der Burgh Has Passed Away

Marcus has posted at DoctorWhoNews.com the passing of Margot Van der Burgh who has died at the age of 73.

Born in 1935, she has appeared in two Doctor Who serials. The first was in 1964 in the First Doctor story The Aztecs as Cameca and then in the Fourth Doctor story The Keeper of Traken, 17 years later in 1981 as Katura.

 

[Theta Sigma]

John Scott Martin Has Passed Away

Paul Hayes has posted at DoctorWhoNews.com the passing of John Scott Martin whose most prominent role in the classic Doctor Who TV series across its 26 years was as the main Dalek operator.

Full list of Doctor Who roles:
Outpost Gallifrey: Doctor Who Database

Born on April 1 1926* he passed away on January 6 2009 a little less than three months before his 83rd birthday.

*April 1 was also the birthday of Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman. Newman was born in 1917, nine years before Martin.

 

[Theta Sigma]

Alan W Lear Has Passed Away

Alan W Lear who co-wrote the season 27 closer Minuet In Hell starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, India Fisher as Charley and Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier and made on audio by Big Finish, has passed away at the age of 55.

http://announce.jpress.co.uk/1555985?s_source=jpsc_scot_scot

Born on October 1953 he passed away on December 26 2008.

Prior to Big Finish, Lear wrote four stories for the Audio Visuals series of amateur produced Doctor Who audio stories including the original version of Minuet In Hell in the 1980s.

Reading from Wikipedia a further story by Lear for Big Finish, Riders Of The Vortex had been planned but was abandoned due to creative difficulties with producer Gary Russell.

 

[Theta Sigma]

James Bree Has Passed Away

John Bowman has posted at DoctorWhoNews.com on the passing of James Bree at the age of 85 after a long illness.

Born on July 20 1923 he appeared in Doctor Who in The War Games (1969), Full Circle (1980) and The Ultimate Foe, the final segment of The Trial of a Time Lord (1986).

He also appeared in the direct to video spinoff Downtime (1995).

He died on December 1 2008.