Line #1 Creator/JonPertwee


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jon_pertwee.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:When ''Series/DoctorWho'' needed a charismatic, Franchise/JamesBond-esque ActionHero, in stepped in Jon Pertwee.]]
3
4	->''"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. It suited me perfectly as I have always loved gadgets."''
5	-->-- Talking about ''his actual real life'' as a British spy
6
7	John Devon Roland "Jon" Pertwee (7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996) was an English actor best known as [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirdDoctor the Third Doctor]] in ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[TheDanza Pertwee]] from ''Radio/TheNavyLark'', the title character in ''Literature/WorzelGummidge'' and Captain Thrice in the first series of ''WesternAnimation/LavenderCastle''. He was also ''[[http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/tv-radio/379986/Jon-Pertwee-From-secret-agent-in-WWII-to-Dr-Who an actual spy]]'', working undercover for UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill and alongside Creator/IanFleming (thereby becoming one of the real life bases for ''[[Franchise/JamesBond James freakin' Bond]]'') a fact he managed to keep hidden all his life and which finally came to light in 2013. Like [[Creator/PatrickTroughton his predecessor as the Doctor]], Pertwee died of a heart attack while visiting the United States. His last TV appearance was in a Vodafone commercial for the UK, as a LawyerFriendlyCameo of the Doctor.
8
9	He was a ''huge'' fanboy of action movies and cool vehicles, which is why his tenure as the Doctor was essentially a serialised action movie. He eventually decided to leave the show after the departures of script editor Creator/TerranceDicks, producer Creator/BarryLetts, and Creator/KatyManning (Jo Grant), which happened around the same time as the death of Creator/RogerDelgado (The Master). He fulfilled the last year of his contract and developed a good working relationship with new companion Creator/ElisabethSladen (Sarah Jane), who reportedly ''cried inconsolably for weeks when he died'', and left at [[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E5PlanetOfTheSpiders the end of the show's eleventh season in 1974]]. At five seasons over four-and-a-half years in the role (1970-1974), he is currently the Doctor with the second-longest continuous televised tenure after Creator/TomBaker.
10
11	He also had ''a massive nose'', which is briefly parodied in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime The End of Time: Part 2]]" with the newly regenerated Eleventh Doctor noting that "[he's] had worse" in terms of nose sizes.
12
13	He was the only Doctor (so far) who came up with his own sung ThemeSong, titled "Who is the Doctor?". He also commissioned the {{Fan Nickname}}d "Whomobile", which was used in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E2InvasionOfTheDinosaurs two]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E5PlanetOfTheSpiders episodes]] and kept by Pertwee as his private ImprobablyCoolCar. After the classic series ended, he played the Doctor in the ''Radio/ThirdDoctorRadioDramas'' (one of which actually used the word "Whomobile" in-story). He appeared once more as the Doctor in a fan project called ''Devious'', which has inexplicably been in DevelopmentHell ''since 1995''.
14
15	His son, Creator/SeanPertwee, is also an actor and bears a [[http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article5908923.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/sean-pertwee-main.jpg strong resemblance]] [[GenerationXerox to his father]] to the point that many fans would love to see him reprise the role of the Third Doctor in the current iteration of ''Doctor Who'', but Sean has gone on record saying that he views his father's portrayal of the Doctor as sacred and believes he shouldn't touch it. Sean has also related a story about a visit to the set for the revived 2005 series, when he did briefly consider auditioning. When he told some staff members who he was, they responded with indifference, apparently not recognizing either the surname or physical resemblance to someone. He did make a cameo in the 50th Anniversary parody ''Recap/TheFiveishDoctorsReboot'', where he and Creator/OliviaColman wonder why they haven't been invited to be in the show's actual anniversary special.
16	----
17	!!Tropes associated with this actor's work include:
18
19	* CoolCar: The Whomobile. Unlike Bessie, the Whomobile was his (as in, Jon Pertwee, the actor) personally customized wheels. And ''it's actually licensed to drive.''
20	* IAmSong: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLXOO9PnnMQ Who is the Doctor?]]", which he performed in-character as the Third Doctor.
21	* LargeHam: Not so much as the Doctor (well, relatively speaking) or Worzel Gummidge, but his guest role on ''Series/TheGoodies'' shows he could munch scenery with the best of them. Chief Petty Officer Pertwee, on the other hand, was, like everyone else on ''Radio/TheNavyLark'', a gourmet diner of scenery.
22	* LookBothWays: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r1UiNZ3G4Y Did an advert for the Green Cross Code]], or "Splink".
23	* JustForFun/OneOfUs: Pertwee was a lifelong fan of animation, and even near the end of his life got into arguments with friend and fellow animation enthusiast Creator/SpikeMilligan over which of them was a bigger fan of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}''.
24	* StrongFamilyResemblance: As mentioned above, John's son Sean is the spitting image of him.
25	* VitriolicBestBuds: Both in- and out-of-universe, was this with Creator/PatrickTroughton-Pertwee was a consummate professional, while Troughton was [[ThrowItIn more relaxed and prone to joking around on set]]. This [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors bled over]] when they [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors worked together in character]]. However, they did become quite close, and often went to conventions together, where they played the trope to the hilt, joke-bickering whenever they were at a panel together and in one occasion a famous bit [[https://www.facebook.com/TheDoctorWhoHub/photos/patrick-troughton-running-away-from-jon-pertwee-during-a-water-fight-at-a-conven/4121246987908173/ where Pertwee chased Troughton with a pitcher of water in revenge for Troughton getting him with a water pistol]]!
26	** The reverse was true with Creator/RogerDelgado, who played The Master throughout Pertwee's tenure as Doctor Who; despite playing mortal enemies on screen, the two were close friends. Creator/KatyManning said later that watching them play enemies to the hilt, then ''immediately'' go back to laughing and joking with each other once the director called "Cut", was one of her formative experiences as an actor. (Another was Jon leaping to her defence when she injured herself on set on her first day of filming and someone joked that they could just re-cast her role - she was genuinely afraid she was about to get booted from her first big gig, and he was just not having that.)
27	* WagTheDirector: Positive example. He was a big fan of action movies and cool vehicles, hence why most of his ''Doctor Who'' episodes are coloured by his personal tastes. Neither the writers nor the fans had a problem with this, the former especially loving to indulge him. In fact, it can be argued that the almost completely gratuitous car/gyrocopter/Whomobile chase that took up nearly the entirety of the second episode of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E5PlanetOfTheSpiders his last serial]] was a "farewell present" to him from the writers, who knew of his love of fast vehicles and action-movie sequences. He was also surprisingly humble about his characterization as the Doctor, merely asking that the writers give him "a moment or two of charm".
28	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
29	** He was the initial choice for the part of Willy Wonka in ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' before the casting of Creator/GeneWilder. However, he turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Series/DoctorWho''.
30	** He was considered for the role of the titular tall-tale-telling baron in ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBaronMunchausen''.
31	** The role of Captain Mainwaring in ''Series/DadsArmy'' was created with Pertwee in mind (Creator/BillPertwee, his second cousin, would have a recurring role on the show as Chief Warden Hodges).
32	** The original stage version of ''Film/AFunnyThingHappenedOnTheWayToTheForum'' starred Pertwee as Lycus alongside Creator/ZeroMostel. When the movie was made, the producers decided Pertwee wasn't enough of a marquee name draw, and so they hired Creator/PhilSilvers instead. However, shortly after the shooting in Spain commenced, Silvers got into a snit when he found out that nobody in Spain had the slightest clue who he was, and had never heard of [[Series/ThePhilSilversShow Sergeant Bilko]]. He further butted heads with director Creator/RichardLester who kept making requests of him about his performance, including not wearing his trademark glasses to avoid AnachronismStew. According to Pertwee, he retreated to the room he was staying in at the producer's villa, and began jumping up and down on the bed repeatedly chanting The Lord's Prayer. Everyone was at a loss as filming couldn't proceed without him, and finally at their wit's end, they decided to contact Pertwee to take on the role after all. However, to Pertwee's chagrin, a production assistant then duly informed Silvers he was fired, at which point he stopped his tantrum and reported for work. Pertwee was compensated with the small role of Crassus.
33	----

Context Creator / JonPertwee