Jon Pertwee died on this day 26 years ago, aged 76.
Pertwee first rose to stardom as the character of Chief Petty Officer Pertwee on the radio show The Navy Lark beginning in 1959 (he co-starred with longtime DeathList pick Leslie Phillips). Pertwee was also a stage actor, starring in productions of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and There's a Girl in my Soup. Pertwee appeared in three Carry On movies in the '60s- Carry On Cleo, Carry On Cowboy, and Carry On Screaming! Pertwee was initially chosen to be the role of Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army, but he turned it down, wanting to continue his stage career.
In 1970, Pertwee's began his most well-known role as the third incarnation of Doctor Who, starting with the episode "Spearhead from Space". Showrunner Peter Bryant originally wanted Ron Moody to play the character, but Moody was unavailable at the time- Pertwee was Bryant's second choice. During his tenure as the Doctor, the show was broadcast in color for the first time, and the character's personality was made similar to James Bond. Pertwee decided to step down from the role in 1974- once again, to continue his stage career. The final episode to star him was "Planet of the Spiders", and Tom Baker was his successor.
In 1979, Pertwee took the role as the title character of family sitcom Worzel Gummidge, a scarecrow who can magically come alive. The series was a massive success, and Pertwee even recorded a song as the character (it reached #33 on the charts in 1980):
Pertwee made his only DeathList appearance in 1989, despite still being quite active at the time. He appeared in the final Carry On film, Carry On Columbus, in 1992. He continued making cameos as the Third Doctor, which includes the fanmade Doctor Who episode "Devious" (filming began in 1991), and a series of commercials for the wireless company Vodafone. Pertwee died in his sleep of a heart attack.