Jon Pertwee Jon Pertwee played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974 . Outside of " Doctor Who " , he was well - known for three major roles . His longest - running role — lasting from 1959 to 1977 — was that of the conniving CPO Pertwee in the popular radio series , . He was also host of the ITV murder mystery quiz programme from his final year as the Doctor until 1978 . His next — and last — major role was that of in the ITV series of the same name . Despite his serious take on the Doctor , Pertwee was mainly a comic actor . Not only did he enjoy a reputation for funny voices on radio — he had regular roles in World War II - era comedies " Waterlogged Spa " and " Up the Pole " that preceded " The Navy Lark " — but he generally played lighter roles on stage and screen . He was , for instance , " Lycus " in the 1963 London stage production of and " Crassus " in the . Like his " Doctor Who " predecessor , William Hartnell , he was also found significant employment in the franchise , appearing in three films during the 1960s : , , and . Indeed , he helped end that franchise by appearing in in 1992 . He was also a minor recording artist , trading on his fame in his two most popular franchises . In 1972 he released a vocal version of the programme ' s celebrated theme tune entitled " Who is the Doctor " , and in 1980 released a novelty track based on " Worzel Gummidge " entitled " Worzel ' s Song " . Before " Doctor Who " . Pertwee was an officer in the Royal Navy , working in naval intelligence during the Second World War . He was a crew member of " HMS Hood " and was transferred off the ship shortly before it was sunk , losing all but three men . Pertwee enrolled in RADA , but was expelled for , as he put it , " lack of seriousness . " He was married twice , first to Jean Marsh ( 1955 - 1960 ) , whom he divorced , and then , on 13 August 1960 , to Ingeborg Rhoesha , by whom he had two children , Sean and Dariel . He was the cousin of actor Bill Pertwee ( a regular in " Dad ' s Army " ) . As the Doctor . As he did not really know who he was outside of comedic roles , Pertwee also insisted that despite his reputation as a comic actor , he wanted to play the Doctor more seriously and heroically , as a man of action — and a technologically - oriented one at that . These details of his approach helped him to appreciate his own true personality . Pertwee was vocal about the Doctor being given what he termed " moments of charm " , small dialogue sequences with other characters where there was no plot exposition , but mutual character development . Often these sequences would consist of the Doctor dispensing advice or instilling courage . Pertwee discussed his decision to leave " Doctor Who " in 1974 on several occasions , such as the PBS documentary " Doctor Who ' s Who ' s Who " and the " Myth Makers " video series . He cited two catalysts in his decision : the departure of Barry Letts as series producer and the 1973 death of close friend Roger Delgado , who had played the Master . Why that fancy - pants get - up ? By Pertwee ' s own account , he conceived the first outfit that the Third Doctor wore as a joke . Retrieving an old velvet smoking jacket , ruffled shirt , and opera cape from storage , he decided that it was the most ridiculous outfit he had ever seen , most of all that he had ever worn . He wore it to an appointment at the producer ' s office . Far from laughing him out of that office , the production team loved the idea . From that day , elaborate , dandy - esque clothes became a crucial part of the Third Doctor ' s character . It ' s worth noting , however , that a 2013 interview with costume designer , Christine Rawlins , was at variance with Pertwee ' s recollection . Details of the Third Doctor ' s outfits . As the Third Doctor , Pertwee frequently wore velvet smoking coats in various solid colours , usually with colour - co - ordinated trousers , as " dinner suits . " With these dinner suits , he wore frilled shirts in lighter colours , some of which had darker - coloured contrast trim on their frills . These frilled shirts also tended to have bow ties knotted , frequently in artist ' s style , around the closed shirt collars ; their solid colours were often identical to , or darker than , the dominant solid colours of the smoking coats . Sometimes the Third Doctor would wear an Inverness cape over his outfits . The very first time he did so , in " Spearhead from Space " , the story with which Pertwee actually began his tenure in the role , his Inverness cape was black in colour , its lining was bright red in colour , and he had " borrowed " ( read : stolen ) it , and indeed all the other articles of his clothes , from the hospital from which he had escaped . ( The Third Doctor obtained duplicates of all of those for himself from UNIT after he had returned the originals to their rightful owners . ) Sometimes , his Inverness cape would be lined in blue , purple , or violet colours , or its outer shell would have some sort of colour pattern , usually an obvious plaid in such cases . Some of the Third Doctor ' s Inverness capes , when he wore them , would have only cape - like sleeves , as did the very first one he ever wore ; others would have full capelettes that would be distinct from the main " frock " of the Inverness . In toto , the Third Doctor ' s outfits were typical of the dapper , technologically - oriented man of action as Pertwee played him , and who Pertwee came to realise that he himself was outside of his comedic characters . Later years . Outside acting , Pertwee was an avid sportsman . He was especially fond of water - skiing . A favourite ring of his , which became his trademark , was retrieved from a shipwreck whilst he was scuba diving , which had a coin mounted on . Pertwee would continue to act in films and television and make appearances world - wide in support of " Doctor Who . " Eventually , he became more aggressive in boosting projects that he favoured . Early success in persuading " Doctor Who " actors such as Patrick Troughton to appear as guests at American science fiction conventions inspired Pertwee to lobby for a radio version of the series after it was put on hiatus . Additionally , in the 1980s he vigorously canvassed British producers on behalf of " Worzel Gummidge . " Ultimately , Pertwee was successful in seeing the Third Doctor return to the airwaves with two audio productions for BBC Radio , " The Paradise of Death " and " The Ghosts of N - Space " . " Worzel Gummidge " was picked up for production by a New Zealand TV company which produced two series of " Worzel Gummidge Down Under " ( 1987 & 1989 ) . Near the end of his life , Pertwee also appeared in several semi - professional independent productions by BBV Productions ; although his was not the role of the Doctor , he did play " a " doctor in " The Zero Imperative " , the premiere release of the " P . R . O . B . E . " series which starred Pertwee ' s former " Doctor Who " co - star Caroline John , who reprised her role of Liz Shaw . He also made a cameo appearance in the BBV - produced film " The Airzone Solution " . Whilst it was unrelated to " Doctor Who " , it featured appearances by , at the time of production , all the surviving actors who had played incarnations of the Doctor except Tom Baker . Death . Pertwee continued on the convention circuit and with his voice and television acting until his death ; he died in his sleep at the age of 76 from a heart attack whilst on holiday in the American state of Connecticut on 20 May 1996 . ( Some reports place the location of his death in New York . ) He died only days after the American broadcast of the " Doctor Who " television movie , which had used , in its opening credits , a logo based on the one from his era of the television series . The BBC broadcast of the television movie featured a dedication to Pertwee at its conclusion . Just before his death , Pertwee played the Doctor for a Vodafone commercial . 21 April 1996 was his last television appearance : " Surprise Surprise " , where he ( as the Doctor ) met young " Who " fan David Petter and presented him with a real Dalek . The latest known surviving footage of Jon Pertwee before his death was filmed during his final trip to the Isle of Wight on 2 May 1996 , merely 18 days before his heart attack . Pertwee had travelled there to visit the Medina Theatre in Newport during the tour of his one - man show . While he stayed at the Isle of Wight , a few local fans were given the chance to meet him . The footage of their meeting was recorded on a videocassette and exists online under the name , " Jon Pertwee ' s last visit to the Isle of Wight 2 May 1996 " . It was made available by an individual using the pseudonym 20mbPodcast . His last association with the series was posthumous . With the approval of his widow , Ingeborg , his voice was used as part of the plot of the Big Finish Productions 40th - Anniversary " Doctor Who " audio drama , " Zagreus " . Pertwee ' s voice was culled from the fan - produced " Doctor Who " film " Devious " , portions of which were recorded prior to his death ; he filmed his scenes for the production in April 1995 . Although the production was not authorised or commissioned by the BBC , a 12 - minute excerpt from the still - unfinished " Devious " was nonetheless included as a bonus feature on the BBC Video 2009 DVD release of " The War Games " . He was a lifelong fan of cartoons and a self - proclaimed expert in animation . His godson , Adam James , appeared in " Planet of the Dead " . In an interview conducted for " 30 Years in the TARDIS " , Jon Pertwee cited the Draconians as his favourite " Doctor Who " monsters . The costumes allowed the actors playing them to express themselves more fully than a Dalek or Cyberman .