Saturday, April 06, 2013

The Daleks (aka The Dead Planet & The Mutants)

The iconic cliffhanger to episode one,
featuring Jacqueline Hill
Seven episodes (The Dead Planet, The Survivors, The Escape, The Ambush, The Expedition, The Ordeal, The Rescue)
First broadcast Dec 21 1963 to Feb 1 1964
Average audience for serial: 8.97m
REGULAR CAST

William Hartnell (The Doctor) Jan 8 1908 to Apr 23 1975 (heart failure after a series of strokes) For a full career biography for William Hartnell, click here.

William Russell (Ian Chesterton) Born Nov 19 1924 For a full career biography for William Russell (aka Russell Enoch), click here.

Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright) Dec 17 1929 to Feb 18 1993 (bone cancer) For a full career biography for Jacqueline Hill, click here.

Carole Ann Ford (Susan) Born Jun 16 1940 For a full career biography for Carole Ann Ford, click here.

CREDITED GUEST CAST

Philip Bond (Ganatus) Nov 1 1934 to Jan 17 2017
Career highlights
Philip's career began with Count Five and Die (1957), then The Voodoo Factor (1960), Walk a Crooked Mile (1961), Redcap (1965), The Avengers (1969), Jason King (1971), The Children of the New Forest (1977), The Sandbaggers (1980), Only Fools and Horses (1985), Lovejoy (1993), Fever Pitch (1997) and Midsomer Murders (2007). He also had a recurring role as Albert Frazer in The Onedin Line (1971-72) and Peter Findon in The Main Chance (1969-75).
Facts
Philip's daughter is actress Samantha Bond, best known as Miss Moneypenny in the Pierce Brosnan 007 films (1995-2002), as well as villainous Mrs Wormwood in The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007-08). He died while holidaying in Madeira.

Chris Browning (Thal) Mar 11 1939 to Aug 4 2019
His only acting credit. Chris was also the double for Alydon's hand in episode 2.
Facts
An October 1963 edition of The People claims that Chris, who it reported had also appeared in Z Cars and Compact by that time, was being sued for not going through with a marriage proposal to 19-year-old bank clerk, Jennifer Soul. With thanks to Toby Hadoke.

Katie Cashfield (Thal) Born Apr 6 1937
Career highlights
Katie's first role was in Nudist Paradise (1958), followed by Crying Down the Lane (1962) and Steptoe and Son (1964).

Jonathan Crane (Kristas)
His only acting credit.

Gerald Curtis (Elyon)
His only acting credit.

Vez Delahunt (Thal)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Thal in The Daleks (1963-64)
Played: Galley slave in The Romans (1965, uncredited)
Played: Dead centurion in The Romans (1965, uncredited)
Played: UNIT soldier in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970, uncredited)
Career highlights
Vez was also in Up the Junction (1965), Breaking Point (1966) and Sherlock Holmes (1968).

Kevin Glenny (Thal)
His only acting credit.

David Graham (Dalek voice) Born Jul 11 1925
Doctor Who credits
Played: Voice of the Daleks in The Daleks (1963-64), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Chase (1965), Dr Who and the Daleks (1965, film), Mission to the Unknown (1965), The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66), Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966, film)
Played: Voice of the Mechanoids in The Chase (1965)
Played: Charlie in The Gunfighters (1966)
Played: Professor Kerensky in City of Death (1979)
Career highlights
David's acting career began in 1952 with the TV movie Portrait of Peter Perowne, followed by roles in Dial 999 (1959), The Avengers (1963), Danger Man (1965), Late Night Horror (1968), Timeslip (1970-71), Supergirl (1984), Shadow of the Noose (1989), Casualty (2002) and The Fixer (2008). David has also given his vocal skills to many series over the years, including Four Feather Falls (1960, as Fernando and Grandpa Twink), Sara and Hoppity (1962), Supercar (1961-62, as Dr Horatio Beaker, Mitch the Monkey and Bill Gibson), Fireball XL5 (1962-63, as Prof Matthew Matic, Lieutenant Ninety and Zoonie the Lazoon), Stingray (1964-65), Thunderbirds (1965-66, as Gordon Tracy, Parker and Brains), The Secret Service (1969), Space Precinct (1995), Peppa Pig (2004-16, as Grandpa Pig), and the relaunched Thunderbirds Are Go (2015-18, as Parker). He also provided English voices for Moomin (1990) and had a recurring role in the sitcom So Haunt Me (1992-94) as Mr Bloom. In 2015, he wrote an episode of Thunderbirds Are Go called The Abominable Snowman.
In 2018 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with David here.

Marcus Hammond (Antodus) Born 1938
Career highlights
Further work includes No Cloak - No Dagger (1963), The Plague of the Zombies (1966), Kate (1970) and Paul Temple (1971), as well as a regular role as PC Taylor in Z Cars (1964-65).
Facts
Marcus ran an art gallery in Somerset in the 1990s under the name of John Hammond.

Ruth Harrison (Thal)
Career highlights
Also had roles in Doctor in the House and Up Pompeii (both 1969).

Peter Hawkins (Dalek voice) Apr 3 1924 to Jul 8 2006
Doctor Who credits
Played: Voice of the Daleks in The Daleks (1963-64), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Space Museum (1965), The Chase (1965), Dr Who and the Daleks (1965, film), Mission to the Unknown (1965), The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66), Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966, film), The Power of the Daleks (1966), The Evil of the Daleks (1967)
Played: Voice of the Cybermen in The Tenth Planet (1966), The Moonbase (1967), The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967), The Wheel in Space (1968)
Played: Voice of Marc Cory in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66)
Career highlights
Peter also provided memorable voices for series such as Whirligig (1950), The Flowerpot Men (1952), The Woodentops (1955), A Rubovian Legend (1955-56), Captain Pugwash (1957), Bleep and Booster (1963), Stories from ToyTown (1972), Rainbow (1972, as Zippy), The Perishers (1978), SuperTed (1982-84), The Family Ness (1984), Jimbo and the Jet-Set (1986) and Penny Crayon (1989-90), among others. He was also the legendary announcer for "Herge's Adventures of Tintin!" and the laughing Martian robots from the Smash adverts. Acting credits include The Machine Breakers (1957), Softly Softly (1966), A Family at War (1971), Dial M for Murder (1974) and The Four Corners of Nowhere (1995).
Facts
Peter was originally going to provide the voice of Gromit the dog of Wallace and Gromit fame (1989), but animator Nick Park decided he was more expressive without a voice. However, none of the legendary voices Peter created in his lifetime would have happened if he had not survived the sinking of HMS Limbourne in Canada in 1943. Ironically, Peter died on the same day Doctor Who's first ever Dalek/ Cyberman battle was broadcast in Doomsday (2006). He was married to actress Rosemary Miller.

Lesley Hill (Thal) Born Mar 26 1944
Career highlights
Lesley was born with the surname of Hill, but later changed it to Langley as it was more "artistic". As Lesley Hill, she also appeared in the 1964 Comedy Playhouse The Hen House, and after changing her name to Lesley Langley appeared uncredited as a flying circus pilot in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964), with later appearances in Juke Box Jury (1965), The Arthur Haynes Show (1965) and Hope and Keen (1966).
Facts
While Lesley's acting career may have been limited, she found much wider success and fame by winning both Miss United Kingdom, and then Miss World, in 1965 (the second Miss UK to win Miss World in a row). As a result of her wins, she posed for pictorials with the men's magazines Cavalcade, Cavalier and Escapade. Lesley was for a time married to jazz musician Alan Haven, who collaborated with John Barry on the score for the Bond films From Russia with Love and Goldfinger. In later life Lesley worked as a dentist's assistant.

Robert Jewell (Dalek operator) Jan 20 1920 to May 10 1998
Doctor Who credits
Played: Daleks in The Daleks (1963-64), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Chase (1965), Dr Who and the Daleks (1965, film), Mission to the Unknown (1965), The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66), Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966, film), The Power of the Daleks (1966), The Evil of the Daleks (1967), The War Games (1969)
Played: Zarbi in The Web Planet (1965)
Played: Clown in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66)
Played: Macra in The Macra Terror (1967)
Career highlights
His other credits include Consider Your Verdict (1962), The Terrornauts (1967), various roles in Prisoner: Cell Block H (1979-86) and The Flying Doctors (1987).

John Lee (Alydon) Mar 31 1928 to Dec 21 2000 (natural causes)
Career highlights
Australian John's debut came in Beyond the River (1956), then Adventures of the Sea Hawk (1958, as Peter Seaforth), The Net (1962, as Jim Haworth), Dr Crippen (1962), Paul Temple (1969), Marked Personal (1973), Cop Shop (1977), Mission: Impossible (1989), Blue Heelers (1997), Everybody Loves Raymond (1997) and Moby Dick (1998). He also had regular roles as Lieutenant Commander Kiley in Warship (1973-77), Christopher Bridgewater in The Wilde Alliance (1978), Andrew Reynolds in Prisoner: Cell Block H (1980), Philip Stewart in Return to Eden (1983/86) and perhaps most memorably as Len Mangel in Neighbours (1994).

Kevin Manser (Dalek operator) Feb 16 1929 to Dec 21 2001 (bowel cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Daleks in The Daleks (1963-64), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Chase (1965), Dr Who and the Daleks (1965, film), Mission to the Unknown (1965), The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66), The Power of the Daleks (1966)
Played: Zarbi in The Web Planet (1965)
Career highlights
Kevin was born in Australia and after emigrating to the UK in 1957, started his acting career in the 1960s in The Big Spender (1965) and A Countess from Hong Kong (1967). He returned Down Under in 1969 to continue in series such as Spyforce (1972), Shannon's Mob (1975), A Country Practice (1982), Prisoner: Cell Block H (1983-84), Richmond Hill (1988) and All Saints (2001).
Facts
He wrote his autobiography Memoirs of a Dalek in 2001, a copy of which is part of the Performing Arts Collection of South Australia in Adelaide.
In memoriam: Buried at Enfield Memorial Park Garden of Remembrance, Clearview, Adelaide, Australia (Wall CC C 19)

Peter Murphy (Dalek operator) Aug 16 1928 to May 5 1991
Doctor Who credits
Played:
 Daleks in The Daleks (1963-64, as Peter Murphy), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964, as Peter Murphy), The Space Museum (1965, as Murphy Grumbar), The Evil of the Daleks (1967, as Murphy Grumbar), Day of the Daleks (1972, as Murphy Grumbar), Frontier in Space (1973, as Murphy Grumbar), Planet of the Daleks (1973, as Murphy Grumbar), Death to the Daleks (1974, as Murphy Grumbar)
Played: Mechanoids in The Chase (1965, as Murphy Grumbar)
Played: Arcturus in The Curse of Peladon (1972, as Murphy Grumbar)
Career highlights
Other credits include Moody and Pegg (1974), Churchill's People (1975), Adventures of a Private Eye (1977) and Jack of Diamonds (1983).
Facts
Peter Stanley C Murphy performed as Peter Murphy until 1964, after which he changed his professional name to Murphy Grumbar for the next decade (no doubt influenced by his marriage to the actor Dorothy Grumbar in 1963). From 1974 on he went by the name Peter Bex.

Steve Pokol (Thal) Born Aug 28 1935
Doctor Who credits
Played: Thal in The Daleks (1963-64)
Played: Trojan soldier in The Myth Makers (1965, uncredited)
Played: Worker in The War Machines (1966, uncredited)
Played: Fleeing man in The War Machines (1966, uncredited)
Played: Alien technician in The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Played: Union recruit in The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Career highlights
Hungarian Steve's other acting credits include The Likely Lads (1966), Adam Adamant Lives (1967) and No Exit (1972), although he is credited as a costume assistant on The Madness of King George (1994) and Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee (2000).

Jeanette Rossini (Thal)
Career highlights
Her further work includes R3 (1965), The Oblong Box (1969), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969), Steptoe and Son (1970), Doctor in the House (1970), Cry of the Banshee (1970), Scott On... (1970), When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) and The Morecambe and Wise Show (1973).
Facts
Jan appeared on the cover of British Parade magazine (a men's title) in March 1967.

Eric Smith (Thal)
Career highlights
He was also in an episode of Softly Softly (1966).

Michael Summerton (Dalek operator) Dec 22 1943 to Jun 16 2009 (cancer)
Career highlights
Michael's only TV acting credit was operating a Dalek in this story. On stage he played Abanazer in a 1963 performance of Aladdin at the Royal Tunbridge Wells Opera House, which led to a 15-year legal battle with presiding agent Alan Gale over commission and the displacement of a large quantity of nose putty... There were also other uncredited TV roles in the 1960s, until he joined Hazel Malone's talent agency in the late 1960s where he met a pre-fame David Bowie (Michael didn't think much of his musical abilities at the time!). In 1970 he set up his own talent agency, representing Noele Gordon (of Crossroads fame - Michael is portrayed in Russell T Davies' 2022 drama Nolly), Top of the Pops dancers Hot Gossip, Birds of a Feather's Lesley Joseph, 1980s pop star Sinitta, one-time Doctor Who companion Bonnie Langford, and choreographers Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli.

Gerald Taylor (Dalek operator) Oct 11 1940 to Dec 4 1994
Doctor Who credits
Played: Daleks in The Daleks (1963-64), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Chase (1965), Dr Who and the Daleks (1965, film), Mission to the Unknown (1965), The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66), The Power of the Daleks (1966), The Evil of the Daleks (1967)
Played: Zarbi in The Web Planet (1965)
Played: Voice of WOTAN in The War Machines (1966)
Played: War Machines in The War Machines (1966)
Played: Damon's assistant in The Underwater Menace (1967)
Played: Baker's man in The Daemons (1971)
Played: Vega Nexos in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Career highlights
Gerald's acting career began in Thorndyke (1964), followed by St Ives (1967), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), The Sex Thief (1974) and Moody and Pegg (1974).
In memoriam: Buried at Rainham Jewish Cemetery, Havering, London (Plot N, 05 31)

Virginia Wetherell (Dyoni) Born May 9 1943
Career highlights
Virginia's first credit was in The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (1963), then Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968), Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Dracula (1973), The Gentle Touch (1983), Minder (1985) and Love is the Devil (1998). She also played Julie Serres in The Troubleshooters (1967).
Facts
Her husband between 1973-91 was actor Ralph Bates, with whom she had two children - William (who played Toby in Ralph's sitcom Dear John) and actress Daisy. Virginia is now a trustee of the Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund.
In 2018 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Virginia here.

Alan Wheatley (Temmosus) Apr 19 1907 to Aug 30 1991 (heart attack)
Career highlights
Alan's career began with Conquest of the Air in 1936, then roles in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), Brighton Rock (1947), Sherlock Holmes (1951, as Holmes), The Pickwick Papers (1952), Danger Man (1961), The Midnight Men (1964), The Avengers (1969) and Department S (1970). His greatest role was as the Sheriff of Nottingham in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-60).
Facts
Alan's Sheriff is the earliest TV interpretation of that character to survive to the present day - and he was also the first person ever to be exterminated by a Dalek on screen! He started as an industrial psychologist, then became a radio announcer in the 1930s for the BBC European Service before becoming a prolific pre- and post-war TV actor.

UNCREDITED GUEST CAST

Frans Van Nordo (Thal) Frans played a handful of small parts, most often Germans, between 1961-71. His partner was TV production designer Tom Lingwood (1927-2001). His actual name was Franz Van Norde.

CREW

Terry Nation (writer) Aug 6 1930 to Mar 9 1997 (emphysema)
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Daleks (1963-64), The Keys of Marinus (1964), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Chase (1965), Mission to the Unknown (1965), The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66), Planet of the Daleks (1973), Death to the Daleks (1974), Genesis of the Daleks (1975), The Android Invasion (1975), Destiny of the Daleks (1979)
Career highlights
Terry's writing career began in the 1950s writing radio scripts for comedians such as Spike Milligan, Frankie Howerd, Eric Sykes and Terry Scott, before working with legendary comic actor Tony Hancock in 1962. Terry turned down an initial offer to write for Doctor Who, but when he was sacked by Hancock he approached the production team and came up with the serial The Daleks. He also created the cult shows Survivors (1975-77 - in a British High Court of Justice case in the mid-1970s, which was abandoned by both sides due to escalating costs, writer Brian Clemens claimed he had told Nation the concept for Survivors in the late 1960s and had registered the idea with the Writers' Guild of Great Britain in 1965. Nation strenuously denied this) and Blake's 7 (1978-81), worked for a time on The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d (1956), The Ted Ray Show (1958-59), The Jimmy Logan Show (1959-60), What a Whopper (1961), Out of This World (1962), Out of the Unknown (1965), The Baron (1966-67), The Saint (1964-68), Department S (1969), The Avengers (1968-69), The Persuaders! (1971-72, which he also produced), The House in Nightmare Park (1973), The Protectors (1973-74), Thriller (1974) and A Fine Romance (1989), and toward the end of his career in the US, helped create the action series MacGyver (1985).
Awards
1975: Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Children's Drama Script (Season 11, shared with Robert Holmes, Malcolm Hulke, Brian Hayles and Robert Sloman)

Christopher Barry (director) Sep 20 1925 to Feb 7 2014 (following a fall)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Daleks (episodes 1-2 & 4-5, 1963-64), The Rescue (1965), The Romans (1965), The Savages (1966), The Power of the Daleks (1966), The Daemons (1971), The Mutants (1972), Robot (1974-75), The Brain of Morbius (1976), The Creature from the Pit (1979)
Career highlights
His directing career began on an episode of Starr and Company (1958) and through his long career he worked on series such as Private Investigator (1958-59), Take a Pair of Private Eyes (1966), Paul Temple (1970-71), Moonbase 3 (1973), Poldark (1975), Nicholas Nickleby (1977), The Onedin Line (1977), All Creatures Great and Small (1978-80), Juliet Bravo (1981-82) and The Tripods (1984-85). He was also producer on The Net (1962), No Cloak - No Dagger (1962), Broome Stages (1966) and Nanny (1981-83). His earliest TV work was as an uncredited third assistant director on A Run for Your Money (1949).
Facts
Christopher was also one of the many faces used during the mind battle sequence in The Brain of Morbius. In 1995 he directed the straight-to-video fan production Downtime. Christopher died following a fall down an escalator in a Banbury shopping centre.

Richard Martin (director) Born Jan 3 1935
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Daleks (episodes 3, 6-7, 1963-64), The Edge of Destruction (episode 1, 1964), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Web Planet (1965), The Chase (1965)
Career highlights
Richard's TV career began as an actor in the 1958 series Ivanhoe, and also appeared in Maigret (1961), but he soon went into directing, with Doctor Who among his earliest work. Richard also directed for Suspense (1962), Compact (1964), The Big Spender (1965-66), Ransom for a Pretty Girl (1966), The Newcomers (1966), Late Night Horror (1968), Elizabeth R (1971), Adam Smith (1972), Moody and Pegg (1974), Victorian Scandals (1976), Headmaster (1977), Crown Court (1978), The Mallens (1979), Take Three Women (1982), The Brief (1984), Capstick's Law (1989) and All Creatures Great and Small (1990). In the late 1960s and early 1970s he also worked on the current affairs series World in Action, as reporter, researcher and producer.
Facts
Richard's wife is actress Suzanne Neve.
In 2014 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Richard here.

Verity Lambert (producer) Nov 27 1935 to Nov 22 2007 (cancer) Click here for Verity Lambert's entry on An Unearthly Child

Mervyn Pinfield (associate producer) Feb 28 1912 to May 20 1966 Click here for Mervyn Pinfield's entry on An Unearthly Child

David Whitaker (story editor) Apr 18 1928 to Feb 4 1980 (cancer) Click here for David Whitaker's entry on An Unearthly Child

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