Jon Pertwee

Biography

7 July 1919, Chelsea, London, England, UK Date of Death 20 May 1996, Timber Lake, Connecticut, USA (heart attack) Birth Name John Devon Roland Pertwee Nickname The Tall Light Bulb (coined by Tom Baker ) Height 6' 3" (1.91 m) Mini Biography Jon Pertwee was born John (after the apostle and disciple) Devon (after the county) Roland (after his father) Pertwee (an Anglicised version of the true family name, Perthuis de Laillevault) on 7 July 1919 in the Chelsea area of London. He was the second son of famous playwright, painter and actor Roland Pertwee, and his actress wife Avice - his writer brother Michael Pertwee being three years his senior. The Pertwee family had a long connection with show business and the performing arts, and it was at Wellington House preparatory school in Westgate-On-Sea in Kent that Jon, as a small and rebellious child, was encouraged in that direction. Later, at Frensham Heights co-educational school, Jon had his first taste of "real" theatre with real women in the school stage productions of "Twelfth Night" and "Lady Princess Stream". In 1936 he auditioned for, and was accepted by, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). He was later kicked out for refusing to play the part of the wind in a play. Jon Pertwee is best known for his portrayal of the Doctor, on the BBC science fiction television series "Doctor Who" (1963). He portrayed the Doctor from 1970 to 1974.

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