As we near the end of the Third Doctor's run on Twitch, I thought I'd share some memories of Jon Pertwee.
You might be wondering what the title of this blog refers to - it's taken from a story Jon told of his time at Sherborne School. The boys would go to the tuck shop and ask the lady in charge (Mrs Thompson) for "one long bun, one short bun and a cup of Tizer please" to which she would politely, but in vain, strive to remember the boy's name and just come up with "Thank you Mr nmmm nmmm nmmm, next?".
Sherborne was one of the schools that Jon was expelled from or 'superannuated' as the phrase goes.
Another was RADA, where the teachers told him he had no talent and made him leave after he had refused to be a Greek wind.
He was at least allowed to perform at the traditional end-of-term play. It was a murder mystery and he played both the victim and detective who found the killer.
The headmaster of RADA asked Noel Coward (who was judging the play) if he thought that any of the people taking part had any talent. Mr Coward replied that he thought that the two actors who played the victim and detective were worth watching. Jon promptly kissed him.
Jon's family name is actually Perthuis de Laillevault and his ancestors were Huguenots (French Protestants) who fled France to escape the Catholic purges of the late 16th / early 17th Century (see the William Hartnell story 'The Massacre', or at least the surviving audio copy).
I feel I have something in common with Jon here, as I recently found out that my own ancestors came originally from Western Europe and I wonder if we too were Huguenots forced to flee.
Now the only problem with his name is that not a lot of people in this country could pronounce it and it was decided long before Jon came along just to call themselves Pertwee.
This still proved a problem as some people could not get their tongue and teeth around it, hence some of the odder names that Jon claimed to have been called.
Tom Peetweet, Jon Peterwee, Jon Peartree, Mr Twee, Bert Wee, Joan Pestwick and best of all Jan Putrid. The last one by a stage door keeper on Broadway.
Now if you are of a certain age and have been to one or more conventions that Jon attended you wil have heard all of these stories and more and if not I advise you to seek out his One Man Show if possible as he is always interesting to listen to. Or you could read his autobiography 'Moon Boots And Dinner Suits' which is available to buy from Fantom Publishing.
Or if you have Amazon Prime then seek out 'Tell Me Another' which features well-known stars of 70s stage and screen (including Jon) tell tales of their careers.
It gives you a very interesting idea of the world that Jon started his acting life into.
If like us you love Jon's acting, there are many more things you can see him in such series as 'Whodunnit', 'Worzel Gummidge', of course, and as a guest start in 'The Goodies' or the 90's series 'Virtual Murder', in which he stars as a Spanish ex brothel keeper and arsonist.
Jon Pertwee was The Doctor and for that I will be forever grateful.
I'm off for me long bun, short bun and a cup of Tizer.
(Please)
(By Lisa Parker)
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