space
head
head head head
Home Contact RSS Feed
COMICS   •   MOVIES   •   MUSIC   •   TELEVISION   •   GAMES   •   BOOKS
‘Doctor Who’ Legend Nicholas Courtney aka The Brigadier Has Died
space
cGt2099   |  

The BrigadierToday marks a sad day around the universe for Doctor Who fans. Long-time cast member Nicholas Courtney has passed away at the age of 81. Courtney portrayed the famous Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, otherwise referred to as the Brigadier, alongside eight of the eleven Doctors. His first role as Lethbridge-Stewart was in The Web of Fear opposite Patrick Troughton‘s Second Doctor, and his final role in the Doctor Who universe was along with Elisabeth Sladen in a 2008 episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures entitled Enemy of the Bane.

Aside from Doctor Who, Courtney has made his mark in other television series over the years, including Escape, The Avengers, All Creatures Great and Small, and Yes Prime Minister. Despite his acting in other shows, he is forever known as the Brigadier, an aspect of his career Courtney was openly proud of.

Courtney was born in Egypt, and eventually entered the Webber Douglas School of Singing And Dramatic Art in 1950. He eventually moved to London where he would receive his first role in television media acting as a Warrant Officer in Escape. His initial role in Doctor Who wasn’t actually The Brigadier — he was cast as Space Security Agent Bret Vyon in the William Hartnell First Doctor adventure, The Daleks’ Master Plan.

While his first portrayal of the Brigadier was next to Patrick Troughton, the character would long be associated with Jon Pertwee‘s Third Doctor era. The Doctor, having been exiled on Earth by the Time Lords, decides to work alongside the Brigadier in U.N.I.T., in an effort to defend the Earth against threats from enemies such as the Daleks, the Master, and giant maggots!

Doctor Who

Courtney would continue to reprise his role as The Brigadier with Tom Baker in a few episodes, and later with Peter Davison in Mawdryn Undead. He would later work with Sylvester McCoy‘s Seventh Doctor in Battlefield, and eventually crossed paths with Colin Baker‘s Sixth Doctor in the fundraising TV special Dimensions in Time.

Nicholas Courtney’s contribution to the Doctor Who mythos was of major significance to the evolution of the series, and is looked upon fondly by fans around the world. While he did have the opportunity to work on The Sarah Jane Adventures, it’s a pity he never got to bring the Brig back with Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, or Matt Smith. He will be missed immensely, but never forgotten.

I’ve worked with eight Doctors, one way or another. The first time the Brig saw one change to another he was nonplussed, but after a while he got used to it. At least that’s how I played it. I developed the Brig’s incredulity. Like when he first goes inside the TARDIS and says, ‘So this is what you’ve been spending all U.N.I.T.’s funds on.’ Horrified!

– Nicholas Courtney

RIP Brigadier…
Nicholas Courtney
December 16, 1929 – February 22, 2011

Video Tribute

[Sources: The Register | The Doctor Who News Page]

1 Comment »

  1. It was great to see him one more time as the Bigadier in one of the Sarah Jane Adventures episodes… Shame that it will be the last time unfortunately. You’re right: he will definitely be missed but never forgotten.
    RIP Nicholas Courtney aka The Brigadier.

    Comment by Loup Dargent — February 24, 2011 @ 9:29 am

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

space
Topics: News, Obit, Television
space
Previous Article
space
Next Article
«
»
space
space
space
Amazon.com
space
You may have noticed that we're now AD FREE! Please support Geeks of Doom by using the Amazon Affiliate link above. All of our proceeds from the program go toward maintaining this site.
space
Geeks of Doom on Twitter Geeks of Doom on Facebook Geeks of Doom on Instagram Follow Geeks of Doom on Tumblr Geeks of Doom on YouTube Geeks of Doom Email Digest Geeks of Doom RSS Feed
space
space
space
space
The Drill Down Podcast TARDISblend Podcast Westworld Podcast
2023  ·   2022  ·   2021  ·   2020  ·   2019  ·   2018  ·   2017  ·   2016  ·   2015  ·   2014  ·  
2013  ·   2012  ·   2011  ·   2010  ·   2009  ·   2008  ·   2007  ·   2006  ·   2005
space
Geeks of Doom is proudly powered by WordPress.

Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press

Geeks of Doom is designed and maintained by our geeky webmaster
All original content copyright ©2005-2023 Geeks of Doom
All external content copyright of its respective owner, except where noted
space
Creative Commons License
This website is licensed under
a Creative Commons License.
space
About | Privacy Policy | Contact
space