Nicholas Courtney

Nicholas Courtney
Nicholas Courtney at The Television & Movie Store, Norwich, England, on 19 January 2008
Born	William Nicholas Stone Courtney (1929-12-16)16 December 1929 Cairo, Egypt
Died	22 February 2011(2011-02-22) (aged 81) London, England, UK
Cause of death	Cancer
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1957–2009
Spouse(s)	Karen
Children	2

William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was a British actor, most famous for playing Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.

Courtney was born in Cairo, Egypt, the son of a British diplomat, and was educated in France, Kenya and Egypt. On his maternal side, Courtney was descended from the New Zealand politician John Cuff. He did his national service in the British Army, leaving after 18 months as a private, not wanting to pursue a military career. He moved to England to join London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. After two years doing repertory theatre in Northampton, he became resident in London in 1961.

Courtney's first television work was in the 1957 series Escape. He made guest appearances in several cult television series, including The Avengers (1962, 1967), The Champions (1968), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969) and as a racing driver in Riviera Police (1965), and briefly appeared as a TV panel chairman in the film Take a Girl Like You (1970), hosting a debate between John Bird and John Fortune.

Director Douglas Camfield originally considered Courtney for the role of Richard the Lionheart in the Doctor Who serial "The Crusade" (1965), a role that ultimately went to Julian Glover. Camfield made sure to keep Courtney in mind for future casting, however. Courtney would make his first appearance in the series, when Camfield cast him in the 1965 serial "The Daleks' Master Plan", where he played Space Security Agent Bret Vyon opposite William Hartnell as the Doctor.