Yesterday, I learned of the sad passing of a Doctor Who original cast member, and it brought me back to 2019, when my wife and I attended the “Gallifrey One” Doctor Who convention in Los Angeles. Beyond being a Doctor Who fan, one of my motivations for attending was special guest, William Russell, the actor who played original companion “Ian Chesterton” on the very long running BBC series (1963-present). 

As one of the original ‘companions’ to the First Doctor (William Hartnell, 1908-1975), schoolteacher Ian was joined on the adventures with his colleague “Barbara Wright” (the late Jacqueline Hill, 1929-1993) and the Doctor’s own enigmatic granddaughter, “Susan” (Carole Ann Ford). It was out of concern for their mysterious student Susan that led Ian and Barbara to that famed junkyard at 76 Totter’s Lane, where they boarded the Doctor’s spacetime ship TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space) for the very first time (“An Unearthly Child,” 1963).

Ian was the younger man of action on the show, since the Doctor in those days was a curmudgeonly, often doddering older man who was conceived of as a wisened academic.  William Russell had solid acting chops for the part, and great chemistry with his costars as well.  Ian’s relationship with Barbara remained somewhat chaste (“Doctor Who” was children’s programming in those days), though actors Russell and the late Jacqueline Hill maintained enough chemistry between their characters to keep things interesting.  Ian and Barbara would depart the TARDIS after two years, with their characters disembarking in 1965 London (“The Chase”). We would later learn that Ian and Barbara married offscreen in the Doctor Who spinoff, “The Sarah Jane Adventures” (2007-2011), featuring the late Elisabeth Sladen (1946-2011).

Over the years, Ian would tackle with the Daleks (“The Mutants” 1964), and visit Imperial China (“Marco Polo”).  Russell’s costar William Hartnell would occasionally get tongue-tied over his companion’s last name (“Chesterson—er, Chesterton”), as many such mishaps slipped through during the rushed, low-budget production’s earlier years.  While the crude, videotaped series often showed many seams of its production, there was a charm, energy and magic that transcended its humble origins and eventually broadened Doctor Who far beyond its intended juvenile audience.

Most of the shows during the First Doctor’s early run were historical tales featuring cavemen, Ancient China, and even the American Old West, as the series attempted to be somewhat educational for its young target audience, while offering time-traveling adventure as well.  As a kid living in the United States, my first exposure to the show was in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with episodes airing on American PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). It would be decades after that before I would finally see the series’ earliest years, through collections of painstakingly restored DVDs. Today, this once-niche BBC series is completely mainstream, with new feature-quality episodes now available for streaming worldwide on DisneyPlus.

In addition to his role on “Doctor Who,” William Russell would also have roles in “The Great Escape” (with Steve McQueen, James Garner and Charles Bronson) as well as “Superman: The Movie” (1978), where he would play one of the ruling Kryptonian Council members, along with Marlon Brando, who find General Zod and his coconspirators all very “Guilty!”  In addition to his film work, Russell had a prolific and distinguished career onstage and in British television. Not resting on his laurels, William Russell was certainly a working actor; doing cameos well into his nineties.

For the 50th anniversary of “Doctor Who,” Russell would also have a small cameo in the BBC biopic, “An Adventure in Space and Time” (2013), which chronicled the difficult production of Doctor Who’s early years.  Russell played a BBC Television Centre security guard named “Harry”; a lovely nod to his own participation in the classic series’ origins. His Doctor Who connections continued with the Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramas, which allowed many past Doctor Who actors to revisit their classic roles.

William Russell is survived by his second wife, Etheline Lewis, along with his four children, including actor Alfred Enoch, who played Hogwarts student “Dean Thomas” in the “Harry Potter” films (2001-2011); another beloved fantasy franchise. Enoch certainly followed in his father’s footsteps.

Sadly, my meet-and-greet with Russell at Gallifrey One was a bit rushed, since hundreds of other fans were waiting behind me in the long queue. But I got my autograph, a smile, and a thank you before I left.  An important rule at conventions; if you’re one of many attendees waiting for the same actor’s autograph?  Be kind to others, and don’t overstay your turn.  That said, I’m glad I had even that brief memory of meeting one of the original Doctor Who actors (I was also fortunate enough to have met Carole Ann Ford at that same convention in 2015). 

Rushed or not, my encounter with the late William Russell remains a cherished one.

William Russell, November 19th, 1924-June 3rd, 2024