William Russell (English actor)
William Russell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Russell William Enoch |
| Spouse(s) | Balbina Gutierrez (divorced) Etheline Margareth Lewis Enoch |
William Russell (born Russell William Enoch on 19 November 1924 in Sunderland, England) is a British actor, mainly known for his television work.
Doctor Who
In 1963, Russell played the part of Ian Chesterton, one of the four original cast of Doctor Who, starring opposite William Hartnell as the Doctor, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright and Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman. His first involvement in the series took the form of the untransmitted pilot episode, which was eventually reshot and aired as 'An Unearthly Child'. He stayed with the series for the entirety of its first season and much of the second, departing alongside Hill in the penultimate story of the run, 'The Chase'.
Four decades on from his first appearance, Russell continues his involvement with Doctor Who, having lent his voice as a narrator to several of the audio book releases of the 'lost' 1960s episodes. He has also appeared in 'The Game', one of the continuing Doctor Who audio stories produced by Big Finish. More recently, Russell has recorded readings of some of the Target Novelisations of Doctor Who episodes, also for CD release.
In the late 1990s Russell returned to the role of Ian for the VHS release of the story 'The Crusade', of which episodes two and four are currently 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.
Movies
Russell appeared in British films from 1950 onwards, appearing in well-known productions such as They Who Dare (1954), The Man Who Never Was (1956) and The Great Escape (1963). He also later had a minor role in Superman: The Movie (1978) and Death Watch with Harvey Keitel and Harry Dean Stanton (1979).
His big break was the title role in The Adventures of Sir Lancelot on ITV in 1956, which for sale to the NBC network in the U.S. became the first British television series to be shot in colour. Following this, he won a role in Doctor Who as one of the Doctor's companions, science teacher Ian Chesterton, appearing in the bulk of the first two seasons of the programme.
Theatre
He has subsequently played a number of roles in theatre with The Royal Shakespeare Company, The National Theatre and the opening season of The Globe Theatre.
Television
On television he played in many plays and series including Disraeli, Testament of Youth and the part of Ted Sullivan, the short-lived second husband of Rita Sullivan in Coronation Street. (Ted already had a terminal illness when he married Rita in 1992, and died peacefully while watching a bowls match). He also had a small part in an episode of the first series of Blackadder (1983), as a late replacement for Wilfrid Brambell, who had become impatient with delays to his scene and left the set before shooting it.
In the 1980s, while being in the Actors Touring Company he used the name of Russell Enoch, professionally. However, when he left the Company he reverted to William Russell.
He continued to act in other roles on stage and television, the last being as the character of Lanscombe in an episode of the 2005 series of Agatha Christie's Poirot ("After the Funeral").
Family
From his first marriage to Balbnina Gutierrez a French actress, he has three children Vanessa, Laetitia and Robert and three grandchildren Elise, Amy and James. Alfred Enoch, his son from his second marriage to Brazilian physician Etheline Margareth Lewis Enoch, plays Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter films.