William Russell (English actor)
 | This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification, as its only attribution is to IMDb. (January 2010) |
William Russell | |
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| File:Williamrussellatbafta1998.jpg William Russell celebrating the 35th anniversary of Doctor Who, BAFTA London, 1998 | |
| Born | William Russell Enoch 19 November 1924 |
| Spouse(s) | Etheline Margareth Lewis Enoch Balbina Gutierrez |
| Children | Alfred Enoch |
William Russell (born William Russell Enoch;[1] 19 November 1924) is an English actor, mainly known for his television work. He was born in Sunderland, County Durham.
Doctor Who
His big break was the title role in The Adventures of Sir Lancelot on ITV in 1956, which for sale to the American NBC network became the first UK television series to be shot in colour. In 1963 he was cast in Doctor Who as one of the Doctor's companions, science teacher Ian Chesterton, appearing in most episodes of the first two seasons of the programme.
Russell was one of the four original cast members of Doctor Who, starring opposite William Hartnell as the Doctor, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright, Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman and later Maureen O'Brien as Vicki. His first involvement in the series took the form of the untransmitted pilot episode, which was eventually reshot and broadcast as "An Unearthly Child". He eventually departed, alongside Hill, in the penultimate story of the second season, The Chase.
Russell has continued his association with Doctor Who, having lent his voice as a narrator to several of the audio book releases of the lost 1960s episodes. He appeared in The Game, one of the continuing Doctor Who audio stories produced by Big Finish. He has also recorded readings for some of the CD audio adaptations of Doctor Who story novelisations originally published by Target Books.
In the late 1990s Russell returned to the role of Ian for the VHS release of the story The Crusade, of which the second and fourth episodes are lost. He recorded several in-character scenes to camera, which helped to bridge the gap between the existing episodes.
Russell has also contributed to the Doctor Who DVD range, having participated in several audio commentaries and on-screen interviews since 2002. In February 2012, he appeared at the Gallifrey One convention in Los Angeles, his second convention in the United States following an event in Chicago in 1993.
Film
Russell appeared in British films from 1950 onwards, appearing in well-known productions such as They Who Dare (1954), One Good Turn (1955), The Man Who Never Was (1956) and The Great Escape (1963). Later, he had minor roles in Superman: The Movie (1978) and Death Watch with Harvey Keitel and Harry Dean Stanton (1979).
Television
Russell has acted in many plays and TV series including Disraeli, Testament of Youth and the part of Ted Sullivan, the short-lived second husband of Rita Sullivan in Coronation Street. He also had a small part in an episode of The Black Adder, as a late replacement for Wilfrid Brambell, who had become impatient with delays to his scene and left the set before shooting it. Other roles include Lanscombe in an episode of the 2005 series of Agatha Christie's Poirot ("After the Funeral").
Theatre
Russell has played a number of roles in theatre with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and in the opening season of the Globe Theatre. In the 1980s, while a member of the Actors' Touring Company, he used the stage name Russell Enoch; on leaving the company he reverted to the name William Russell.
Family
Alfred Enoch, Russell's son from his marriage to Brazilian physician Balbina Gutierrez, played Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter film series.
References
- ^ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005.; at ancestry.com