Patrick Troughton: Movies & Box Office

Patrick George Troughton (born 25 March 1920 in Mill Hill, Middlesex, England) was an English actor whose versatile career spanned five decades of stage, film and television. After attending Mill Hill School he trained at the Embassy School of Acting and earned a scholarship to the Leighton Rallius Studios in New York, but returned to Britain at the outbreak of World War II where he served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, earning the Atlantic Star and being mentioned in dispatches for daring actions against enemy craft. Demobilised in 1945, Troughton resumed theatrical work with repertory companies before making his television debut in 1947 and his film debut in Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet (1948). He became the first actor to portray Robin Hood on BBC television in 1953 and appeared in notable films such as Richard III (1955) and Jason and the Argonauts (1963), establishing himself as a respected character actor. In 1966 producer Innes Lloyd chose him to succeed William Hartnell as the Doctor, and Troughton reinvented the role as a whimsical “cosmic hobo”, bringing a mischievous energy that would define the character for years to come. During his three‑year tenure he endured a grueling filming schedule, appeared in the iconic serial The Enemy of the World playing both the Doctor and his villainous double, and earned a reputation as a practical joker on set. He left the series in 1969 to avoid type‑casting but returned for the anniversary specials The Three Doctors (1972), The Five Doctors (1983) and The Two Doctors (1985), even advising Peter Davison on the length of his own term. After Doctor Who, Troughton continued to work in film and television, appearing in The Omen (1976), Scars of Dracula (1970), and the children’s classic The Box of Delights (1984). His personal life was complex; he married Margaret Dunlop in 1943, fathered three children with her, then lived with partner Ethel Nuens with whom he had three more children, and finally married Shelagh Holdup in 1976. A heavy smoker and drinker, Troughton suffered two heart attacks in 1979 and 1984, and despite medical advice died of a third heart attack on 28 March 1987 while attending a convention in Columbus, Georgia; his ashes were scattered in Bushy Park, fulfilling his wish for a peaceful resting place.