Jon Pertwee

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John Devon Roland "Jon" Pertwee (1919-1996) was an English actor best known as the Third Doctor in Doctor Who and as the title character in Worzel Gummidge. Like his predecessor as the Doctor, Pertwee died of a heart attack while visiting the United States.

He was a huge fanboy of action movies and cool vehicles, hence why his tenure as the Doctor was essentially a serialized action movie. He eventually asked to leave the show after the death of Roger Delgado, the actor who played his rival (The Master), who in real life was a personal friend.

He also was the only Doctor (so far) who came up with his own sung Theme Song, titled, "I Am The Doctor"

Jon Pertwee provides examples of the following tropes:


  • Actor On Board: Positive example. He was a big fan of action movies tropes and cool vehicles, hence why most of his Doctor Who episodes are colored by his personal tastes, and neither the writers nor the fans had a problem with this, the former especially loving to indulge him (in fact, it can be argued that the almost completely gratuitous car/gyrocopter/Whomobile chase that took up nearly the entirety of the second episode of his last serial was a "farewell present" to him from the writers, who knew of his love of fast vehicles and action-movie sequences). He was also surprisingly humble about his characterization as the Doctor, merely asking that the writers give him "a moment or two of charm".
  • Cool Car: The Whomobile. Unlike Bessie, the Whomobile was his (as in, Jon Pertwee, the actor) personally customized wheels.
  • One of Us: Always took a chance to show up in public as The Doctor for the fans, as well as his fanboyism of action movies and cool vehicles.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Patrick Troughton were actually close friends, but played up this trope in public appearances because Doctor Who fans enjoyed the dynamic.