Patrick Troughton

Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor best known for his roles in television and film. He played the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who from 1966 to 1969; he reprised the role in 1972–1973, 1983 and 1985. His other work includes appearances in several fantasy, science fiction and horror productions including The Omen (1976) and The Box of Delights (1984). Early life Troughton was born on 25 March 1920 in Mill Hill, Middlesex, England, to Alec George Troughton (1887–1953), a solicitor, and Dorothy Evelyn Offord (1886–1979), who married in 1914 in Edmonton. Patrick had an elder brother, Alec Robert (1915–1994), and a younger sister, Mary Edith (1923–2005). Troughton attended Mill Hill School and continued to live in Mill Hill for most of his life. While at Mill Hill School, he acted in a production of J. B. Priestley's Bees on the Boat Deck in March 1937. Troughton studied at the Embassy School of Acting at Swiss Cottage, being tutored by Eileen Thorndike. He was later awarded an acting scholarship at the Leighton Rallius Studios at the John Drew Memorial Theatre on Long Island, New York, in the United States. When the Second World War broke out, he abandoned his studies in the U.S. and returned to Great Britain to enlist. During the passage across the North Atlantic Ocean, the ship carrying him struck a sea mine off the coast of Britain, from which he escaped in a lifeboat as the vessel foundered. On arrival back in England, whilst waiting to join the Armed Forces, he briefly worked with the Tonbridge Repertory Company.