Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton ( 25 March 1920 - 28 March 1987 ) played the Second Doctor from 1966 until 1969 . Life and career . Career overview . Making his film debut in 1947 , he appeared as the Player King in Laurence Oliver ' s film adaptation of " Hamlet " ( 1948 ) . He also appeared as Roach in Disney ' s " Treasure Island " ( 1950 ) . One of his first TV roles was playing Alan Breck in a 1952 adaptation of " Kidnapped " . In 1953 , he became the first actor to play the famous folk hero Robin Hood on television , starring in six half - hour episodes broadcast from 17 March to 21 April on the BBC , and titled simply " Robin Hood " ( Vahimagi , 42 ) . In homage to this , an image of Troughton as Robin Hood appeared in the 2014 " Doctor Who " episode " Robot of Sherwood " as part of a computer database detailing the legend of the hero . He also played Sir Andrew Ffoulkes in ITC ' s " The Scarlet Pimpernel " ( 1956 ) , and returned to the role of Alan Breck in another adaptation of " Kidnapped " ( 1956 ) , as well as playing Paul in " Paul of Tarsus " ( 1960 ) , Daniel Quilp in " The Old Curiosity Shop " ( 1963 ) and Ratsey in " Smuggler ' s Bay " ( which also starred Frazer Hines ) . During the 60s and 70s , he had guest appearances on " The Adventures of Robin Hood " , " Danger Man " , " The Saint " , " Adam Adamant Lives ! " , " Paul Temple " , " Doomwatch " , " The Persuaders ! " , " The Goodies " , " Survivors " , " " and " Minder " . He also played the Duke of Norfolk in two episodes of the 1970s miniseries , " The Six Wives of Henry VIII " , and he featured in the 1974 11 - part radio adaptation of Evelyn Waugh ' s " Sword of Honour " . In 1986 he appeared in the ITV sitcom " The Two of Us " . His final television appearance was as a guest star on " Supergran " in 1987 . He played Cole Hawlings in a BBC television dramatisation of the John Masefield children ' s book ( 1984 ) , in which he played the very Doctor - like role of a mysterious but benevolent old man with magical powers who has the power to travel through time . Troughton ' s notable film roles include the Rat Catcher in " The Phantom of the Opera " , Phineas in " Jason & the Argonauts " ( 1963 ) , Tristram in " The Viking Queen " ( 1967 ) , Clove in " Scars of Dracula " ( 1970 ) , Father Brennan in " The Omen " ( 1976 ) and Melanthius in " Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger " ( 1977 ) . " Doctor Who " . Adopting the role . In 1966 , " Doctor Who " producer Innes Lloyd decided to replace William Hartnell in the series ' lead role . Lloyd later stated that Hartnell had approved of the choice , saying , " There ' s only one man in England who can take over , and that ' s Patrick Troughton " ( Howe , Stammers and Walker , 68 ) . Lloyd chose Troughton because of his extensive and versatile experience as a character actor . After he was cast , Troughton considered various ways to approach the role , to differentiate his portrayal from Hartnell ' s amiable - yet - tetchy patriarch . Troughton ' s early thoughts about how he might play the Doctor included a " tough sea captain " and a piratical " Arabian Knight " figure with a blackface , a grey beard , brass eye - rings and a turban . On " Pebble Mill at One " , Troughton stated that this way , when his work on " Doctor Who " finished he could wash the blackface makeup off , shave his beard , remove the turban and eye - rings and then he would not get typecast because no one would recognise him . Of course this idea was rejected for obvious reasons . " Doctor Who " co - creator Sydney Newman suggested that the Doctor could be a " cosmic hobo " in the mould of Charlie Chaplin . This was the interpretation eventually chosen ( Howe , Stammers and Walker , 68 – 69 ) . When the First Doctor , played by Hartnell , died at the end of episode 4 of " The Tenth Planet " , he regenerated ( using the word " renewal " ) into the Second Doctor , played by Patrick Troughton . Era as the Doctor . During his time on the series , Troughton tended to shun publicity . As he famously told one interviewer , " I think acting is magic . If I tell you all about myself it will spoil it " ( Howe , Stammers and Walker , 72 ) . Years later , he told another interviewer that his greatest concern was that too much publicity would limit his opportunities as a character actor after he left the role ( KTEH interview ) . Troughton was popular with both the production team and his co - stars . Producer Lloyd credited Troughton with a " leading actor ' s temperament . He was a father figure to the whole company and hence could embrace it and sweep it along with him . " Troughton also gained a reputation on set as a practical joker ( Howe , Stammers and Walker , 68 , 74 ) , often assisted by co - star Frazer Hines , who played Jamie McCrimmon . Troughton and Hines were especially notorious for " de - bagging " fellow cast member Deborah Watling ( Victoria Waterfield ) , even during the filming of " Fury from the Deep " tossing her into ice cold sea foam . Regrettably , many of the early episodes in which Troughton appeared were disposed of by the BBC ; a full list of " Doctor Who " episodes missing in the BBC Archives is available here . Troughton found " Doctor Who " s schedule ( at this time , forty to forty - four episodes per season ) gruelling , and decided to leave the series in 1969 , after three years in the role . This decision was also motivated in part by fear of typecasting ( Howe , Stammers and Walker , 75 ; KTEH interview ) . Although he died more than 30 years before the announcement of the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor , he was quoted as to approving the idea of a woman playing the role . Returns to the role . Troughton returned to " Doctor Who " three times after he originally left the programme , first in " The Three Doctors " , a 1973 serial celebrating the programme ' s tenth anniversary . Ten years later , Troughton overcame some reluctance to appear again as the Second Doctor and agreed to appear in the twentieth anniversary special " The Five Doctors " at the request of series producer John Nathan - Turner . He also agreed to attend " Doctor Who " conventions around the world with Nathan - Turner and to make the occasional television appearance as himself . Troughton enjoyed the return to the programme so much that , with Frazer Hines as Jamie , he readily agreed to appear one more time alongside Colin Baker ' s Sixth Doctor in " The Two Doctors " ( 1985 ) . Archive footage . As with several other actors to have portrayed the Doctor , archive footage of his appearances were used in later episodes , most notably " The Day of the Doctor " . The Eighth series episode " Robot of Sherwood " also featured an image of Troughton , one of several images illustrating the legend of Robin Hood . Although this image was obviously chosen due to Troughton ' s associations with the series , these are not mentioned , nor is he even named , due to it being an in - universe appearance . Death . Troughton ' s health was never entirely robust . Stress , a heavy smoking habit ( he quit smoking in the ' 60s ) , a drinking problem — like William Hartnell , Troughton was a heavy drinker — and a heavy television and film workload did not help . His heavy smoking eventually led to an operation to remove one of his lungs ( " Who And Me " , autobiography of Barry Letts ) . He refused to accept his doctor ' s advice to live a more healthy lifestyle and to adopt a physical exercise regimen . He suffered two major heart attacks , one in 1978 and the other in 1984 , which prevented him from working for several months . His doctor ' s warnings were again ignored . On the weekend of 27 March 1987 , Troughton was a guest at the Magnum Opus Con II media fan convention in Columbus , Georgia . He was in good spirits throughout the day ' s panels and looked forward to a belated birthday celebration which was planned for the coming Saturday evening and a showing of " The Dominators " which Troughton had requested , on the Saturday afternoon . Videotape footage purported to be of Troughton speaking to fans at this convention , exists and has been posted to YouTube . In this final recorded piece of the actor during his life , Troughton is shown playing his trademark recorder for the last time . Unfortunately , discerning viewers may notice that he is in physical distress . Troughton can be seen in unusual discomfort throughout his session with his fans , clearing his throat repeatedly . This was a warning sign of what would result in his demise . Troughton suffered his third and final heart attack at 7 : 25 AM the next day ( 28 March 1987 ) just after he had ordered his breakfast from the hotel staff . According to the paramedics who were called , Troughton had died instantly . He was 67 . Descendants . Troughton was the father of actors David and Michael Troughton . He was the grandfather of Warwickshire cricket er , and actors and . The latter is most known for playing Dudley Dursley in the " Harry Potter " franchise , and the former for playing Much in the 2006 " Robin Hood " BBC series .