Patrick Troughton

Patrick Troughton was born on 25 March 1920 and grew up in North London, where he was educated at Mill Hill Public School. In his teens he attended the Embassy School of Acting at Swiss Cottage, under Eileen Thorndike. From there he won a scholarship to the Leighton Rallius Studios at the John Drew Memorial Theatre on Long Island in New York, USA. When the Second World War broke out, he returned to Britain on a Belgian ship. Just in sight of the coast it hit a mine and sank, but Troughton was fortunate enough to escape in a life boat. In 1939 he joined the Tonbridge Repertory Company before joining the Royal Navy in 1940, rising through the ranks to attain the captaincy of a motor gunboat on duty in the North Sea. When he was demobbed in 1945 he returned to the theatre, working with the Amersham Repertory Company, the Bristol Old Vic Company and the Pilgrim Players at the Mercury Theatre in Nottingham. He first broke into television, always to remain his favourite medium, in 1947. Notably early work included parts in "Robin Hood" (BBC 1953, title role), "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (ITC 1957, 1959), "Paul of Tarsus" (BBC 1960), title role), "Dr. Finlay's Casebook" (BBC 1962, semi-regular) and, perhaps best remembered of all, "The Old Curiosity Shop" (BBC 1962, as Quilp). His cinema debut came in 1948, with small roles in "Hamlet" and the TCF production "Escape" (one of the stars of which was William Hartnell).Patrick Troughton is best known for his portrayal of The Doctor in "Doctor Who" (1963), in (1966-69) replacing William Hartnell.
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