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{{Infobox person
| name          = Jon Pertwee
| image         = Jon Pertwee.webp
| caption       = 
| birth_name    = John Devon Roland Pertwee
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|df=yes|1919|07|07}}
| birth_place   = [[London]], England
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1996|05|20|1919|07|07}}
| death_place   = [[Sherman, Connecticut|Sherman]], US
| years_active  = 1938–1996
| occupation   = {{hlist|Actor|comedian|entertainer}}
| education     = [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
| notable_works = {{Unbulleted list|''[[Doctor Who]]'' (1970–1974)|''[[Worzel Gummidge (TV series)|Worzel Gummidge]]'' (1979–1981, 1987–1989)|''[[The Navy Lark]]'' (1959–1977)}}
| spouse        = {{Unbulleted list|{{Marriage|[[Jean Marsh]]|1955|1960|end=div}}|{{Marriage|Ingeborg Rhoesa|1960|1996}}}}
| children      = 2, including [[Sean Pertwee]]
| parents       = {{ubl|[[Roland Pertwee]]|Avice Scholtz}}
| relatives     = {{ubl|[[Michael Pertwee]] (brother)|[[Bill Pertwee]] (cousin)}}
}}
'''John Devon Roland Pertwee''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɜːr|t|w|iː}};<ref>See, for example, Derek Batey's 1985 interview with Pertwee.</ref> 7 July 1919<ref>GRO Register of Births: SEP 1919 1a 132 KENSINGTON – John D. R. Pertwee, mmn = Scholts</ref>&nbsp;– 20 May 1996), known professionally as '''Jon Pertwee''', was an English actor, comedian, entertainer, cabaret performer and TV presenter. Born into a theatrical family, he served in the [[Royal Navy]] and the [[Naval Intelligence Division (United Kingdom)|Naval Intelligence Division]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. In his early career, he worked as a  stage comedian, which included performing at the [[Glasgow Empire Theatre]] and sharing a bill with [[Max Wall]] and [[Jimmy James (comedian)|Jimmy James]].<ref name="Cult leader's mission to return to future">[http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/cult-leader-s-mission-to-return-to-future-1.628340 Cult leader's mission to return to future ]. ''[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]''. 15 May 1989. Retrieved 3 July 2014.</ref>

As an actor, Pertwee appeared in many comedy roles, including four films in the ''[[Carry On (franchise)|Carry On]]'' series, and he became widely known for spending 18 years (1959–1977) playing [[Chief Petty Officer]] Pertwee (and three other roles) in the sitcom ''[[The Navy Lark]]'' on [[BBC Radio]].<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-jon-pertwee-5615100.html | title= Obituary: Jon Pertwee | work=The Independent |first=Nick | last=Smurthwaite | date=21 May 1996 | access-date=28 July 2019}}</ref> On television, Pertwee starred as the [[Third Doctor|third incarnation]] of [[Doctor (Doctor Who)|the Doctor]] in the long-running British science fiction series ''[[Doctor Who]]'' (1970–1974), hosted the game show ''[[Whodunnit? (British game show)|Whodunnit?]]'' (1974–1978), and played the title character in ''[[Worzel Gummidge (TV series)|Worzel Gummidge]]'' (1979–1981 and 1987–1989). Towards the end of his life he maintained a close association with ''Doctor Who'' by appearing at many [[fan convention]]s related to the series and giving interviews. He also performed a [[Solo performance|one-man show]] called ''Who is Jon Pertwee?''.<ref name="Cabell">{{cite book |last=Cabell |first=Craig |title=The Doctors Who's Who: The Story Behind Every Face of the Iconic Time Lord|year=2013|publisher=John Blake Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1782194712}}</ref>

==Biography==
===Early life and education===
Born in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], and having [[Huguenots|French Huguenot]] ancestry (his surname was an Anglicisation of "Perthuis"; the origins of his surname being "de Perthuis de Laillevault", the family being Counts descended from [[Charlemagne]]),<ref>Jon Pertwee: The Biography, Bernard Bale, André Deutsch, 2000, p. 2</ref><ref>''An Hour with Jon Pertwee'', broadcast by BBC7 on 30 March 2009</ref> Jon was the son of screenwriter and actor [[Roland Pertwee]] and distant cousin of actor [[Bill Pertwee]].<ref name="screenonline.org.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/545943/|title=Pertwee, Jon (1919–1996)|publisher=BFI Screenonline Biography}}</ref> Pertwee's mother, Avice Scholtz, separated from his father Roland when Pertwee was young. His father remarried, and his mother found a new partner, Louis Auguste De La Garde, with whom Pertwee did not build a relationship; she died in 1951, leaving Pertwee's older brother Michael as her executor.<ref>Interview "Mind of Evil" DVD, released 2013.</ref> Avice's sister Daphne married Captain Philip Cecil Clowes<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.william1.co.uk/e11.htm|title=Essex 11|website=William1.co.uk}}</ref> and became the mother of Pertwee's cousin, the writer [[St John Legh Clowes]] (1907–1951). Actor [[Henry Ainley]], a close friend of his father, was his godfather. Coincidentally, Ainley's son [[Anthony Ainley|Anthony]] appeared as [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]] – a renegade Time Lord who was The Doctor's greatest enemy – alongside Pertwee in the ''Doctor Who'' anniversary story ''[[The Five Doctors]]'' (1983).

Pertwee was educated at [[Frensham Heights School]], an independent school in [[Rowledge]], near [[Farnham]] in Surrey, at [[Sherborne School]] in Dorset, and at some other schools from which he was expelled. After school, he was admitted to the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]] (RADA), graduating in 1939.<ref>{{cite web |title=John Pertwee — RADA Student & graduate profiles |url=https://www.rada.ac.uk/profiles/john-pertwee/ |website=www.rada.ac.uk |publisher=Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |access-date=10 November 2021 |language=en-gb}}</ref> He was accused of writing graffiti about the tutors on the lavatory walls.<ref>Tim Cooper, "Heart attack kills dandy Doctor Who", ''The Evening Standard'', 20 May 1996</ref>

===Early career===
While still at school, Pertwee worked as a circus performer riding the Wall of Death on a motorcycle with a toothless lion in the sidecar. He then worked in [[repertory theatre]] before being contracted with the [[BBC]] at 18 as an actor.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Foster |first1=Chuck |title=Jon Pertwee centenary celebration on BBC Radio 4 Extra |url=http://m.doctorwhonews.net/2019/06/jon-pertwee-celebration-290619184508.html |website=Doctor Who News |language=en |access-date=7 October 2019 |date=29 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Who's Talking: Jon Pertwee |url=http://www.dvillage.org/index.php/ktehsf/kteh-drwho-classic/kteh-whostalking/kteh-whostalking-jp |website=www.dvillage.org |access-date=7 October 2019 |date=1984 |archive-date=7 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707123304/http://www.dvillage.org/index.php/ktehsf/kteh-drwho-classic/kteh-whostalking/kteh-whostalking-jp |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cabell |first1=Craig |title=The Doctors Who's Who - The Story Behind Every Face of the Iconic Time Lord: Celebrating its 50th Year |date=4 November 2013 |publisher=John Blake |pages=Chapter 4 |isbn=9781782198246 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G1RlAgAAQBAJ |access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref>

During the [[Second World War]], Pertwee spent six years in the [[Royal Navy]].<ref>{{cite news| last=Smurthwaite| first=Nick| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-jon-pertwee-5615100.html| title=Obituary: Jon Pertwee|work=The Independent| date=20 May 1996| access-date=8 March 2016}}</ref> He was a crew member of {{HMS|Hood}} and was transferred off the ship for officer training shortly before she was sunk by the [[German battleship Bismarck|German battleship ''Bismarck'']],<ref name="screenonline.org.uk"/> losing all but three men in May 1941. Later, he was attached to the highly-secretive [[Naval Intelligence Division (United Kingdom)|Naval Intelligence Division]],<ref name="screenonline.org.uk"/> working alongside future [[James Bond]] author [[Ian Fleming]], and reporting directly to Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] and Deputy Prime Minister [[Clement Attlee]]. In an interview conducted in 1994 and published in 2013, he said, "I did all sorts. Teaching commandos how to use escapology equipment, compasses in brass buttons, secret maps in white cotton handkerchiefs, pipes you could smoke that also fired a .22 bullet. All sorts of incredible things."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pXNfDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT56|title=Operation Big Ben: The Anti-V2 Spitfire Missions|first=Craig|last=Cabell|date=17 March 2017|publisher=Fonthill Media|access-date=26 October 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref> During his time in the Navy, Pertwee woke up one morning after a drunken night out while in port to find a tattoo of a cobra on his right arm.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://shillpages.com/dw/story/d3/st--3a46.jpg |title=Archived copy |access-date=30 July 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051030012243/http://shillpages.com/dw/story/d3/st--3a46.jpg |archive-date=30 October 2005 }}</ref>

After the war, he began to work as a comedy actor on radio in ''Waterlogged Spa'', alongside [[Eric Barker]], and ''Puffney Post Office'' in which he played a hapless old postman with the catch-phrase "It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you tears them up." On 15 November 1948, at the Wood Green Empire, he was billed as "The Most Versatile Voice in Radio – Jon ('Tear 'em Up') Pertwee from the Radio Shows ''Merry-go-Round'' and ''Up the Pole''". From 1959 to 1977, he performed the  role of the conniving [[Chief Petty Officer]] Pertwee in ''[[The Navy Lark]]'' on [[BBC Radio]]. The fictional ship in the series HMS ''Troutbridge'' almost shared its name with the real HMS ''[[HMS Troubridge (R00)|Troubridge]]'' whose commanding officer was a relative of Pertwee's who wrote to the BBC to provide details of comic incidents on the ship which were then used in '' The Navy Lark's'' scripts.<ref name="MemoirNavylark1">{{cite book |last1=Pertwee |first1=Jon |last2=Howe |first2=David J. |title=I am the Doctor:Jon Pertwee's Final Memoir |date=1996 |publisher=Virgin Publishing |location=London |isbn=1-85227-621-5 |page=21}}</ref> After [[Ronnie Barker]] left the series Pertwee took on various additional roles in the series. These included a villainous character called the Master, whose voice Pertwee said was an impression of [[Herbert Beerbohm Tree]].<ref name="MemoirNavylark1"/> Pertwee did not appear in the [[The Navy Lark (film)|1959 film version of ''The Navy Lark'']]. In his 1996 memoir he attributed this to producer [[Herbert Wilcox]] refusing to employ his co-star [[Dennis Price]] on the grounds that "he was gay", a decision Pertwee made clear that he thought "was ridiculous". Shortly after voicing his support of Price he found out he had been dropped  from the film's cast and replaced by [[Ronald Shiner]].<ref name="MemoirNavylark2">{{cite book |last1=Pertwee |first1=Jon |last2=Howe |first2=David J. |title=I am the Doctor:Jon Pertwee's Final Memoir |date=1996 |publisher=Virgin Publishing |location=London |isbn=1-85227-621-5 |page=20}}</ref>

He was known as a [[Danny Kaye]] look-alike, and his impersonation of Kaye can be seen in the film ''[[Murder at the Windmill]]'' (1949).<ref>[[Windmill Theatre#Film depictions]] Windmill Theatre</ref> He played Charlie Sterling in ''[[Will Any Gentleman...?]]'' (1953). Future ''[[Doctor Who]]'' actor [[William Hartnell]] was also in the film; he played Inspector Martin.

On stage, he played the part of Lycus in the 1963 London production of ''[[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]]'' with [[Frankie Howerd]] and appeared in the smaller role of Crassus in the 1966 [[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (film)|film version]]. He appeared as Sidney Tait in the comedy film ''[[Ladies Who Do]]'' (1963). In 1966, Pertwee starred alongside [[Donald Sinden]] in the original [[West End theatre|West End]] production of the long-running comedy ''[[There's a Girl in My Soup (play)|There's a Girl in My Soup]]'' and in this period appeared in several [[Carry On (franchise)|''Carry On'' films]]: ''[[Carry On Cleo]]'' (1964), as the soothsayer; ''[[Carry On Cowboy]]'' (1965) as Sheriff Earp; and ''[[Carry On Screaming!]]'' (1966) as Dr. Fettle. (''[[Carry On Columbus]]'', with Pertwee in his fourth ''Carry On''  role, this time as the Duke of Costa Brava, was released in 1992). In 1967, he was chosen by ''[[Dad's Army]]'' producer David Croft for the role of [[Captain George Mainwaring]], but Pertwee turned it down – possibly because he preferred to extend his role on Broadway in ''There's a Girl in My Soup''.<ref>{{cite book |last=McCann |first=Graham|title=Dad's Army: The Story of a Classic Television Show|year=2001|publisher=4th Estate|isbn=9-781841-153094}}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2017}}

His television career had started off with small parts in children's shows featuring [[Richard Hearne]]'s Mr Pastry character. Later he made an appearance in ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'' episode "[[From Venus with Love (The Avengers)|From Venus With Love]]" (1967) as Brigadier Whitehead, and later, he guest-starred as a vicar in ''[[The Goodies (TV series)|The Goodies']]'' episode "[[Wacky Wales]]" (1975).

===''Doctor Who''===
[[File:Dr_Who,_John_Pertwee_(10842597324).jpg|thumb|Pertwee as the [[Third Doctor]]]]
In 1969, shortly before leaving the series, producer [[Peter Bryant]] cast Pertwee as the [[Third Doctor]] in ''[[Doctor Who]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/season7.shtml | title= Season 7 | work=BBC Online |access-date=28 July 2019}}</ref> Pertwee had asked his agent to apply for the role for him and was surprised to find he was already on the shortlist. He was the second choice for the role; [[Ron Moody]] was the first but was unavailable.<ref>''An Hour with Jon Pertwee'', BBC Radio 4</ref>

In a departure from the Doctor's first two incarnations, Pertwee's era was influenced by the [[James Bond in film|James Bond film series]].<ref>{{cite book |editor=Michele Brittany |title=James Bond and Popular Culture: Essays on the Influence of the Fictional Superspy|year=2014|page=121|publisher=McFarland & Co|isbn=978-0786477937}}</ref> He played the character as an active crusader with a penchant for action and fancy clothes, while the character was exiled to Earth by the [[Time Lord]]s for much of his tenure and serving as the scientific adviser to [[Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]] and [[UNIT]]. He played the Doctor for five seasons from early 1970 to mid-1974, a longer stint than either of his predecessors in the role, although he ultimately appeared in fewer episodes than [[William Hartnell]] as the BBC had reduced the production schedule. Pertwee credited his performance as the Doctor with helping him work out exactly who he really was when he was not resorting to comedic disguises or voices: a dapper, technologically oriented man of action. This was because the BBC's Head of Drama, [[Shaun Sutton]], had advised him to act the Doctor as himself: in effect, to "play Jon Pertwee".<ref name="screenonline.org.uk"/> On 14 April 1971, Pertwee was the subject of [[Thames Television]]'s ''[[This Is Your Life (UK TV series)|This Is Your Life]]''.

During his tenure as the Doctor, Pertwee appeared in the [[Amicus Productions|Amicus]] horror compendium ''[[The House That Dripped Blood]]'' (1971), which was filmed in the summer of 1970 between his first and second ''Doctor Who'' seasons. Pertwee played the lead in the last segment of the film as Paul Henderson, an arrogant horror film star who meets his doom thanks to a genuine vampire cloak. In 1973 Pertwee endorsed the [[The Co-operative Group|Co-op]]'s ''Baking Your Cake and Eating It'', a recipe book written by Sarah Charles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://braisedhearts.weebly.com/|title=Celebrating the Jon Pertwee Recipe Book|publisher=Braised Hearts }}</ref> It has been given the unofficial title of ''The Jon Pertwee Recipe Book''.

In early 1974, Pertwee announced he would step down as the Doctor to resume his stage career in ''The Bedwinner'', also citing potential typecasting in the role as the reason for leaving, though he later said that the catalyst for his departure was the death of his good friend and co-star [[Roger Delgado]] ([[The Master (Doctor Who)|The Master]]) and the departures of co-star [[Katy Manning]] and producer [[Barry Letts]].<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.cbr.com/doctor-who-why-jon-pertwee-left/ | title= Doctor Who: Why Third Doctor Jon Pertwee Left the Series | work=[[Comic Book Resources]] | first=E.L. | last=Meszaros | date=26 January 2021 | access-date=24 October 2021}}</ref> Also, according to [[Elisabeth Sladen]] in an interview on the DVD release of ''[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]],'' Pertwee asked for a substantially increased fee for another year on the series which was turned down and he subsequently resigned from the role. His last full-time appearance in the series was in the story ''[[Planet of the Spiders]]'' in June 1974, which finished with [[Tom Baker]] replacing him in the role.

Pertwee later reprised the role in the 20th anniversary story ''[[The Five Doctors]]'' and the [[Children in Need]] story ''[[Dimensions in Time]]'', in two radio adventures and on stage in ''[[Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure]]''.

===''Worzel Gummidge''===
{{main|Worzel Gummidge (TV series)}}

[[File:Day 139 - Worzel Gummage at Birmingham airport - 1982 (14515725233).jpg|thumb|Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge in 1982]]

After a stint between 1974 and 1978 as the host of the [[Thames Television]] murder-mystery game show ''[[Whodunnit? (U.K. TV series)|Whodunnit?]]'', Pertwee took the [[Worzel Gummidge|starring role]] in ''[[Worzel Gummidge (TV series)|Worzel Gummidge]]'', based on the books written by [[Barbara Euphan Todd]]. Produced by [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] franchise contractor [[Southern Television]] in the initial run, it was first transmitted on ITV from 1979. Pertwee had first been approached to play the part of  Worzel Gummidge in a film to be written by [[Keith Waterhouse]] and [[Willis Hall]]. When this project fell through Pertwee encouraged the writers to create a [[television pilot]] instead and via his [[Talent agent|agent]] pitched the idea to the [[BBC]] who turned it down and then Thames Television who likewise passed on the project. Pertwee later admitted that he "began to lose faith in the project", until Southern Television's Lewis Rudd heard about it and enthusiastically agreed that the company would make the series.<ref name="Memoir114">{{cite book |last1=Pertwee |first1=Jon |last2=Howe |first2=David J. |title=I am the Doctor:Jon Pertwee's Final Memoir |date=1996 |publisher=Virgin Publishing |location=London |isbn=1-85227-621-5 |page=114}}</ref> 

The series saw Pertwee as a [[scarecrow]], as well as using several comedic voices. The show was an immediate hit, with Pertwee describing it as "becoming something of a cult" after only four episodes had been broadcast.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} Press interest in the series was high, and it ran on the channel until 1981. Keen to continue beyond this, Pertwee campaigned for the series and it was picked up by a New Zealand network, [[TVNZ]], in 1987.<ref name="Memoir114"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-jon-pertwee-1348779.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220614/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-jon-pertwee-1348779.html |archive-date=14 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Obituary: Jon Pertwee|date=23 May 1996|website=The Independent|access-date=22 June 2019}}</ref> ''Worzel Gummidge Down Under'' aired for the next two years and was screened in the UK on [[Channel 4]]. In 1995, Pertwee played the role one last time in a one-off special for ITV, which celebrated 40 years of the channel. Pertwee played the title character in ''Worzel Gummidge, the Musical'', book and lyrics by [[Keith Waterhouse]] and [[Willis Hall]], music by [[Denis King]], which opened at London's [[Cambridge Theatre]] in December 1981, co-starring [[Una Stubbs]] and [[Geoffrey Bayldon]]. Pertwee also recorded an album, ''Worzel Gummidge Sings'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Jon-Pertwee-Featuring-Una-Stubbs-Geofrey-Bayldon-Worzel-Gummidge-Sings/release/2512483| title=Jon Pertwee Featuring Una Stubbs & Geofrey Bayldon – Worzel Gummidge Sings| website=Discogs.com}}</ref> as well as a Christmas single.

===Other roles===
Pertwee played the role of The Colonel in the [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]] children's film ''[[One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing]]'' (1975). The following year, he voiced and appeared in the television advertisement that promoted the [[Green Cross Code]] by use of the [[mnemonic]] "SPLINK". Also in 1976, Pertwee starred with Australian singer [[Julie Anthony (singer)|Julie Anthony]] in a West End production of the musical ''[[Irene (musical)|Irene]]'' (originally 1919, revived Broadway 1973), playing the camp fashion-designer Madame Lucy (originally Liam O'Dougherty). The production opened at the [[Adelphi Theatre]], London, and enjoyed a run of more than 900 performances: Pertwee features on the cast recording album, produced by [[Norman Newell]] for [[EMI Records]] (EMC3139). He also voiced the character of "[[SuperTed|Spotty]]" in the cartoon series ''[[SuperTed]]'' (1983–86) and, in 1985, starred in ''Do You Know The Milkyway?'', a television adaptation of Karl Wittlinger's stage play in which Pertwee played Dr. Neuross and another nine characters. In 1995, he also had the key voice of [[Death (Discworld)|Death]] and other voice characterisations in the PC and PlayStation renditions of "[[Discworld (video game)|Discworld]]". Also in 1995, he played General Von Kramer in the ''[[Young Indiana Jones Chronicles]]'' episode "Attack of the Hawkmen".

Writing shortly before his death in 1996, Pertwee stated that while he enjoyed his association with  ''Doctor Who'', he had perhaps spent too long in the title role. He believed that this led to the "ridiculous situation of people turning me down for parts because, they say, I am too well known as the Doctor."<ref name="Memoir123">{{cite book |last1=Pertwee |first1=Jon |last2=Howe |first2=David J. |title=I am the Doctor:Jon Pertwee's Final Memoir |date=1996 |publisher=Virgin Publishing |location=London |isbn=1-85227-621-5 |page=123}}</ref> He observed that after he left the show he only ever worked in a BBC drama on one occasion. This was his part of "an aging Basque arsonist and pornographer" in an episode of  ''[[Virtual Murder (TV series)|Virtual Murder]]'' entitled "A Torch for Silverado". He considered this to be one of "the best things I've ever done"<ref name="MemoirVM">{{cite book |last1=Pertwee |first1=Jon |last2=Howe |first2=David J. |title=I am the Doctor:Jon Pertwee's Final Memoir |date=1996 |publisher=Virgin Publishing |location=London |isbn=1-85227-621-5 |pages=123–124}}</ref>

===Later life===
He returned to the role of the Doctor in 1983 for the 20th-anniversary television special ''[[The Five Doctors]]'' and in the 1993 charity special ''[[Dimensions in Time]]'' for [[Children in Need]]. He also portrayed the Doctor in the stage play ''[[Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure]]'' which toured theatres in the United Kingdom from March to June 1989. During the 1990s, he made a guest appearance in the "Lords and Ladies" episode of the [[BBC Radio 4]] comedy series ''[[Harry Hill's Fruit Corner]]'', playing a [[Time Lord]] and also spoofed the role in the Radio 4 comedy ''The Skivers''. He also presented the ''Doctor Who'' video releases ''The Troughton Years'' (1991), showcasing selected [[Doctor Who missing episodes|surviving episodes]] of otherwise [[Lost television broadcast|lost]] stories, and ''The Pertwee Years'' (1992), the latter a look back at his time on the show, with his three selected episodes.

In 1993, Pertwee was featured in the unofficial 30th anniversary VHS release entitled ''30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond''. When asked in an interview for this documentary if the show should be brought back he simply replied with "No, no", but believed if it did come back a lot more money would need to be spent on the series along with a new production team. Pertwee would continue to act in films and television as well as make appearances worldwide in support of ''Doctor Who''. Ultimately, Pertwee was successful in seeing the Third Doctor return to the airwaves with two audio productions for [[BBC Radio]], ''[[The Paradise of Death]]'' and ''[[The Ghosts of N-Space]]''.

In April 1995, he appeared in ''[[Devious (Doctor Who)|Devious]]'', an amateur video drama set between the second Doctor's trial at the end of ''The War Games'' and before the start of ''Spearhead from Space''. It shows an interim Doctor (between second and third), played by Tony Garner, being told he was "never meant to be the Doctor" and that the third will complete him. Pertwee's scenes in that role were among the first pieces of the video that were released (on the DVD of ''The War Games''). In the same year, he starred in a one-man show called ''Who Is Jon Pertwee?''.<ref name="Cabell"/>

Pertwee's final film role was in a short film entitled ''Cloud Cuckoo'' for Scottish Screen, released on 18 June 1994. His last formal television appearance was on [[Cilla Black|Cilla]]'s ''[[Surprise, Surprise (TV series)|Surprise, Surprise]]'', broadcast on 21 April 1996 where he appeared as the Third Doctor. At the date of his death, Pertwee was regularly being seen in the closing moments of a UK TV commercial for mobile phone operator [[Vodafone]]: dressed in the style of his version of the Doctor. This character walked wordlessly across an alleyway in sight of a [[Liverpool]] landmark, and entered a garage evidently containing some kind of time machine.

==Personal life==
Pertwee married twice. His first marriage was in 1955, to [[Jean Marsh]],<ref>GRO Register of Marriages: JUN 1955 5f 63 MIDDLESEX S. – Jon D. R. Pertwee = Jeann L. T. Marsh</ref> whom he divorced in 1960; later that same year he married Ingeborg Rhoesa (born 1935).<ref>GRO Register of Marriages: SEP 1960 6a 1385 WYCOMBE – Jon D. R. Pertwee = Ingeborg R. Rhosa</ref> Together they had two children,<ref>{{cite web|author=Clyde McGarrigle |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/feb/12/sean-pertwee-my-family-values |title=Sean Pertwee: my family values |work=The Guardian |date=2016-02-12 |access-date=2020-07-12}}</ref> both of whom became actors: a daughter, Dariel, in 1961, and a son, [[Sean Pertwee|Sean]], in 1964.

Pertwee wrote two autobiographies: ''Moon Boots and Dinner Suits'' (published in 1984),<ref name="screenonline.org.uk"/> which primarily covers his life and career prior to ''Doctor Who'', and the posthumously published ''Doctor Who: I Am the Doctor – Jon Pertwee’s Final Memoir'', ({{ISBN|9781852276218}}, published in November 1996 by [[Virgin Publishing]] Ltd. under the ''Doctor Who Books'' imprint and co-written with [[David J. Howe]]), which covered his life during and after the series. In 2000, ''Jon Pertwee: The Biography'' by Bernard Bale ({{ISBN|0-233-99831-4}}) was published by [[André Deutsch]], and included a few chapters by Pertwee's widow Ingeborg.

===Death and legacy===
Pertwee continued on the ''Doctor Who'' convention circuit, and with his voice and television acting, until his death; he died in his sleep from a heart attack in [[Connecticut]] on 20 May 1996, at the age of 76. He was survived by his wife Ingeborg Rhoesa, and two children, [[Sean Pertwee]] and Dariel Pertwee. His immediate successor in the starring role of ''Doctor Who'', [[Tom Baker]], paid tribute, saying: "I am very sorry to hear the news. I was a great admirer of such a stylish actor."<ref name="Former Dr Who, actor Jon Pertwee dies">{{cite news |date=21 May 1996 |title=Former Dr Who, actor Jon Pertwee dies |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] }}</ref> Another of his successors in the role, [[Colin Baker]], said: "He was a man of such presence and stature. I can't believe he has gone – it is a great shock. Of all of the interpretations of the Doctors his was the most straight in terms of avoiding comedy."<ref name="Former Dr Who, actor Jon Pertwee dies"/> His body was [[Cremation|cremated]] at [[Putney Vale Crematorium]] with a toy [[Worzel Gummidge]] affixed to the coffin, following the instructions in his will.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hewitt |first=Nik |url=http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/pertwee/2561638 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804093108/http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/pertwee/2561638 |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 August 2012 |title=Jon Pertwee: Obituary – ThisIsAnnouncements |website=Lastingtribute.co.uk |access-date=22 April 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{IMDb name|nm0675727|Jon Pertwee }}</ref>

His death came six days after the American broadcast of the [[Doctor Who (film)|''Doctor Who'' television film]], which used in its opening credits a logo based on that from his era of the television series. The BBC broadcast of the film, on 27 May 1996, featured a dedication to Pertwee at its end.

==Legacy==
His last association with ''Doctor Who'' was posthumous. With the approval of his widow, Ingeborg, his voice was used as part of the plot of the [[Big Finish Productions]]' 40th Anniversary audio drama, ''[[Zagreus (Doctor Who audio)|Zagreus]]'', appearing as messages from the Doctor's [[TARDIS]] as it attempted to help the currently corrupted [[Eighth Doctor]] (voiced by [[Paul McGann]]). Pertwee's voice was culled from the fan-produced ''Doctor Who'' film ''[[Devious (Doctor Who)|Devious]]''.

Archival footage of Pertwee has been used several times in the revived ''Doctor Who''. Footage appears in "[[The Next Doctor]]" when the [[Tenth Doctor]] shows Jackson Lake an infostamp about himself, and in "[[The Eleventh Hour (Doctor Who)|The Eleventh Hour]]" when the [[Eleventh Doctor]] rhetorically asks the Atraxi how previous alien invasion attempts were stopped. Footage of Pertwee was used in "[[The Name of the Doctor]]" to depict his Doctor interacting with a version of [[Clara Oswald]], in "[[The_Lodger_(Doctor_Who)|The Lodger]]" in a montage of bits from the Doctor's past, and in "[[The Day of the Doctor]]" to depict the Third Doctor assisting his other incarnations in sending [[Gallifrey]] to a [[pocket universe]] to protect it from the [[Daleks]].

In 2016, his work was honoured with a [[blue plaque]] at the [[New Wimbledon Theatre]], which was arranged by the [[Doctor Who Appreciation Society|''Doctor Who'' Appreciation Society]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mulkern|first1=Patrick|title=Doctor Who's Jon Pertwee is honoured with a blue plaque|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-10-24/doctor-whos-jon-pertwee-is-honoured-with-a-blue-plaque|access-date=24 October 2016|work=RadioTimes|date=24 October 2016}}</ref>

==Discography==
[[File:Pertwee2.jpg|thumb|right|Cover of the 1972 "Who is the Doctor" single (1983 re-issue by the BBC)]]
*In 1962, Pertwee released an album entitled ''Jon Pertwee Sings Songs For Vulgar Boatmen''.
*In 1966, Pertwee contributed to the children's album ''Children's Favourites'' ([[Music for Pleasure (record label)|Music for Pleasure]], MDP 1175). Songs sung by him include "The Runaway Train", "[[Froggy Went A-Courtin']]", "[[My Grandfather's Clock]]", "Three Little Fishes" and "I Know An Old Lady". The recordings were produced by [[Norman Newell]], with a synopsis written on the back by Roger St. Pierre. On the front cover is the picture of a glove puppet by Carol Patmore & Rima Reed. At least one of the songs, "The Runaway Train" (b/w "The Ugly Duckling"), was released as a single on Music for Pleasure (catalogue FP 10).
*In 1972, he recorded with [[June Whitfield]], ''Wonderful Children's Songs'' on the Contour label (catalogue 2870191)
*In 1972, Pertwee performed a vocal narration over the [[Doctor Who theme music]] entitled "Who is the Doctor", on [[Purple Records]].
*In 1976, he starred in the EMI original cast recording (EMC 3139) of the West End musical ''[[Irene (musical)|Irene]]'', in which he had enjoyed a long run, playing 'Madame Lucy' at the Adelphi Theatre, London.
*In 1976, he recorded a promotional flexi-disc for [[H. J. Heinz Company|Heinz]] called "The Noodle Doodle Man", a song that accompanied a television commercial to which Pertwee contributed the vocal performance.<ref>[http://spicycauldron.com/2007/06/26/jon-pertwee-sings-noodle-doodle-man/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725103713/http://spicycauldron.com/2007/06/26/jon-pertwee-sings-noodle-doodle-man/|date=25 July 2011}}</ref>
*In 1980, he released "Worzel's Song", from the album ''Worzel Gummidge Sings''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|title=Worzel Gummidge|url=https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1980s/worzel-gummidge/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-09|website=Nostalgia Central|date=24 June 2014|language=en-US}}</ref> The single reached No.33 on the UK charts in March.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Worzel's Song|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/worzel%27s-song/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-09|website=[[Official Charts Company|Official Charts]]|language=en}}</ref> A second single was released in 1987 when the series was revived, but this met with less success. Also released in 1984 was a single entitled ''Jon Pertwee and Friends Sing the Beatles'' which comprised "[[Yesterday (Beatles song)|Yesterday]]", featuring a semi-spoken-word performance, and "[[When I'm 64]]", in the guise of Worzel Gummidge. This record was intended to aid the Liverpool Children's Hospital.
*In 1993, an audio release of the radio play ''[[The Paradise of Death]]'' reached No.48 in the album charts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/archive/official-albums-chart/|title=The Official Charts Company – BBC cast – Doctor Who the paradise of death<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=[[Official Charts Company]]}}</ref>
*In 1984, he featured in the computer game audio tape of ''[[Deus Ex Machina (video game)|Deus Ex Machina]]'' by [[Automata UK]], released for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum in 1984,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0001373|title=Deus Ex Machina|publisher=World of Spectrum}}</ref>  and later on the MSX and Commodore 64.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/deus_ex_machina |title=Media : Deus Ex Machina |publisher=SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia |access-date=2020-07-12}}</ref>

==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1938||''[[A Yank at Oxford]]''||Minor Role||Uncredited
|-
|1939||''[[The Four Just Men (1939 film)|The Four Just Men]]''||Rally Campaigner||Uncredited
|-
|rowspan=3|1948||''[[Trouble in the Air]]''||Truelove||
|-
|''[[William Comes to Town]]''||Circus Superintendent||
|-
|''[[A Piece of Cake (film)|A Piece of Cake]]''||Mr. Short||
|-
|rowspan=4|1949||''[[Murder at the Windmill]]''||Detective Sergeant||(as Jon Pertwer)
|-
|''[[Helter Skelter (1949 film)|Helter Skelter]]''||Headwaiter / [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]||
|-
|''[[Dear Mr. Prohack]]''||Plover||
|-
|''[[Miss Pilgrim's Progress]]''||Postman Perkins||
|-
|1950||''[[The Body Said No!]]''||Watchman||
|-
|1951||''[[Mister Drake's Duck]]''||Reuben||
|-
|1953||''[[Will Any Gentleman...?]]''||Charley Sterling||
|-
|1954||''[[The Gay Dog]]''||A Betting Man||
|-
|1955||''[[A Yank in Ermine]]''||Slowburn Jenks||
|-
|1956||''[[It's a Wonderful World (1956 film)|It's a Wonderful World]]''||Conductor||Uncredited
|-
|1959||''[[The Ugly Duckling (1959 film)|The Ugly Duckling]]''||Victor Jekyll||
|-
|rowspan=2|1960||''[[Just Joe]]''||Prendergast||
|-
|''Not a Hope in Hell''||Dan||
|-
|1961||''[[Nearly a Nasty Accident]]''||Gen. Birkinshaw||
|-
|1963||''[[Ladies Who Do]]''||Sidney Tait||
|-
|1964||''[[Carry On Cleo]]''||Soothsayer||
|-
|rowspan=4|1965||''[[How to Undress in Public Without Undue Embarrassment]]''|| || Uncredited
|-
|''[[I've Gotta Horse]]''||Costumier's assistant||
|-
|''[[You Must Be Joking! (1965 film)|You Must Be Joking!]]''||Storekeeper (Hare Factory)||
|-
|''[[Carry On Cowboy]]''||Sheriff Albert Earp||
|-
|rowspan=3|1966||''[[Carry On Screaming!]]''||Doctor Fettle||
|-
|''[[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (film)|A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]]''||Crassus||
|-
|''[[Runaway Railway]]''||Station Master||
|- 
|rowspan=2|1969||''Up in the Air''||Figworthy||
|-
|''Under the Table You Must Go''||Himself||Documentary
|-
|1970||''I Understand''||||Short, Uncredited
|-
|1971||''[[The House That Dripped Blood]]''||Paul Henderson||(Segment 4 "The Cloak")
|-
|1975||''[[One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing]]''||Colonel||
|-
|rowspan=2|1977||''[[Adventures of a Private Eye]]''||Judd Blake||
|-
|''[[No. 1 of the Secret Service]]''||The Rev. Walter Braithwaite||
|-
|rowspan=2|1978||''[[The Water Babies (film)|The Water Babies]]''||Salmon / Kraken||Voice
|-
|''[[Wombling Free]]''||Womble||Voice
|-
|1982||''[[The Boys in Blue]]''||Coastguard||
|-
|1992||''[[Carry On Columbus]]''||Duke of Costa Brava||
|-
|1994||''Cloud Cuckoo''||Grandfather||Short
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|rowspan=2|1947||''The Wandering Jew''||Boemond, Prince of Tarentum|||TV movie
|-
|''[[Toad of Toad Hall (1947)|Toad of Toad Hall]]''||The Judge||TV movie
|-
|1958||''[[Ivanhoe (1958 TV series)|Ivanhoe]]''||Peter the Peddler||Episode: "The Swindler"
|-
|1959||''[[Glencannon]]''||Champagne Charlie||Episode: "Champagne Charlie"
|-
|1963||''The [[Dickie Henderson]] Show''||Uncredited||Episode: "The Hypnotist"
|-
|rowspan=2|1965||''A Slight Case of...''||Uncredited||Episode: "The Enemy Within"
|-
|''Mother Goose''||The Squire||TV movie
|-
|1966||''[[David Nixon (magician)|David Nixon's]] Comedy Bandbox''||Guest||1 episode
|-
|1966-1967||''[[Jackanory]]''||Storyteller||[[List of Jackanory episodes|10 episodes]]
|-
|rowspan=2|1967||''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]''||Brigadier Whitehead||Episode: "From Venus with Love"
|-
|''[[Beggar My Neighbour (TV series)|Beggar My Neighbour]]''||Major Henley||1 episode
|-
|1970–1974||''[[Doctor Who]]''||[[Third Doctor]]||128 episodes
|-
|1974–1978||''[[Whodunnit? (UK TV series)|Whodunnit?]]''||Presenter||41 episodes 
|-
|1975||''[[The Goodies (TV series)|The Goodies]]''||Reverend Llewellyn<br>Llewellyn Llewellyn<br>Llewellyn||Episode: "Wacky Wales"
|-
|1977||''Four Against the Desert''||Staff||TV movie
|-
|1979–1981||''[[Worzel Gummidge (TV series)|Worzel Gummidge]]''||[[Worzel Gummidge]]||31 episodes
|-
|1982||''The Curious Case of Santa Claus''||Dr. Merryweather||
|-
|1983–1986||''[[Superted]]''||Spottyman||Voice; 36 episodes
|-
|1983||''[[Doctor Who]]''||Third Doctor||Episode: ''[[The Five Doctors]]''
|-
|1985||''Do You Know the Milkyway?''||Dr. Neuross||TV movie
|-
|1987–1989||''[[Worzel Gummidge Down Under]]''||[[Worzel Gummidge]]||22 episodes
|-
|1989||''[[The Further Adventures of SuperTed]]''||Spottyman||Voice; English version; 13 episodes
|-
|1991||''[[Doctor Who]]'': ''The Troughton Years''||Presenter||Video
|-
|rowspan=2|1992||''[[Virtual Murder (TV series)|Virtual Murder]]''||Luis Silverado||Episode: "A Torch for Silverado"
|-
|''[[Doctor Who]]'': ''The Pertwee Years''||Presenter||Video
|-
|rowspan=2|1993||''[[Dimensions in Time|Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time]]''||Third Doctor||2 mini episodes 
|-
|''[[The Airzone Solution]]''||Oliver Threthewey||Video
|-
|rowspan=2|1994||''[[The Zero Imperative]]''||Dr. Jeremiah O'Kane||Video
|-
|''Myth Makers Vol. 7: Wendy Padbury''||Spottyman||Video
|-
|1995||''[[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles]]''||General Von Kramer||Episode: "Attack of the Hawkmen"
|}

===Video games===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1984||''[[Deus Ex Machina (video game)|Deus Ex Machina]]''||The Storyteller||
|-
|1995||''[[Discworld]]''||Fool / Chucky / Windle Poons||
|-
|1997||''[[Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors]]''||[[Third Doctor]]||Archived recording sound
|-
|2015||''[[Lego Dimensions]]''||[[Third Doctor]]||Archived recording sound
|}

==Bibliography==
===As author===
* {{cite book|last=Pertwee|first=Jon|year=1984|title=Moon Boots and Dinner Suits|publisher=Elm Tree Books|isbn=0-241-11337-7}}
* {{cite book|last1=Pertwee|first1=Jon|year=1996|title=I Am The Doctor - Jon Pertwee's Final Memoir|first2=David J.|last2=Howe|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|isbn=1-85227-621-5}}

===As contributor===
* {{cite book|last1=Pertwee|first1=Jon|year=1978|title=The Jon Pertwee Book of Monsters|first2=George|last2=Evans|first3=Tim|last3=Stout|first4=Philip|last4=Welby|
first5=David|last5=Campton|first6=Guy|last6=Weiner|first7=Catherine|last7=Gleason|first8=Glenn|last8=Chandler|first9=Roger|last9=Malisson|first10=John|last10=Halkin|editor=Richard Davis|publisher=[[Methuen Publishing]]|isbn=0-416-87190-9}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0675727}}
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/545943/index.html Jon Pertwee Biography – British Film Institute]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090119012845/http://www.my-tardis.co.uk/interviews_jp.php |date=19 January 2009 |title=Interview with Jon Pertwee conducted in March 1996 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080621212141/http://www.kasterborous.com/articles.asp?id=176 Action Who – Jon Pertwee article at Kasterborous.com] 
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120306133153/http://www.kastria.net/pages/features/pertwee.htm Jon Pertwee's career including The Navy Lark at http://www.kastria.net]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pertwee, Jon}}
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