Derek Martinus (born Derek Buitenhuis; 4 April 1931 – 27 March 2014)Michael Billington and Toby Hadok
Obituary: Derek Martinus
''The Guardian'', 1 April 2014 was a British television and theatre director. Originally an actor, he directed episodes of ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...

'' and '' Doctor Who'', for which he was best known. He also had a long career directing stage productions.

Early life and acting career

Born in Ilford, Essex, the son of Jack and Irene Buitenhuis, Martinus used his Rotterdam-born grandfather's middle name for his professional name. Martinus was educated at Brentwood School, Essex. After

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, he studied directing and acting at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

and

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

. After running out of money, he returned to the UK in the mid-1950s and worked as an actor for the Library Theatre, Manchester and other repertory theatres. He played at the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

and on tour, with among others, Sir

Donald Wolfit Sir Donald Wolfit, KBE (born Donald Woolfitt; Harwood, Ronald"Wolfit, Sir Donald (1902–1968)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008; accessed 14 July 2009 20 April 1902 ...

. He subsequently joined the Arena Theatre Company, where he worked as both an actor and director. In 1959 he did a study tour of Scandinavian theatre and met his future wife, Eivor – who was only sixteen at the time – in Gothenburg. He directed some 20 plays at The Pembroke Theatre-in-the-round from 1959 until the theatre closed because of road widening. His two best received parts were Monsewer in

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English an ...

's '' The Hostage'' and Malvolio in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

'' which he played on several occasions. Between jobs in the theatre he did several productions at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

and the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

Directing career and later life

For BBC he directed several '' Doctor Who'' serials, ''

Galaxy 4 ''Galaxy 4'' is the first serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by William Emms and directed by Derek Martinus, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 11 Septem ...

'' (1965), ''

Mission to the Unknown "Mission to the Unknown" is the second serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Derek Martinus, the single episode was broadcast on BBC1 on 9 October 19 ...

'' (1965), ''

The Tenth Planet ''The Tenth Planet'' is the partly missing second serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 8 to 29 October 1966. It was William Hartnell ...

'' (1966), ''

The Evil of the Daleks ''The Evil of the Daleks'' is the mostly-missing ninth and final serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. In this seri ...

'' (1967), and ''

The Ice Warriors ''The Ice Warriors'' is the partly missing third serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 11 November to 16 December 1967. In this serial, th ...

'' (also 1967). His final serial for the programme, ''

Spearhead from Space ''Spearhead from Space'' is the first serial of the seventh season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 January 1970. It was the first ''Doctor Who'' ...

'' (1970), was also the first to be made in colour. His period working on the programme spanned the eras of the first three actors to play the lead role. Martinus believed the

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...

s had to be shot "very carefully and from exactly the right angle". "If you shoot them without care they do look rather tame and ordinary," he explained in an interview for a series fan site. "You had to build up a Dalek's entrance. I used to make them lurk in the shadows." Martinus also directed the ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first ...

'' episodes "Trial" and "The Keeper" (both 1979) and over 50 episodes of ''

''. He worked on classic serials too, '' What Maisie Knew'' (1968), ''The Black Tulip'' (1970), ''A Little Princess'', (1973) and ''A Legacy'' (1975), plus the dramatisation of a 1970s historical fiction best seller, ''Penmarric''. For ITV he directed '' The Paper Lads'' in 1977, winner of the Pye Award for best children's drama. In addition, Martinus directed the army drama series ''Spearhead'', and several series of the children's drama ''Dodger, Bonzo and the rest'' in 1985 which also won the Pye Award. For Swedish television he directed a two-hour political thriller by

Jan Guillou Jan Oskar Sverre Lucien Henri Guillou (, ; born 17 January 1944) is a French-Swedish author and journalist. Guillou's fame in Sweden was established during his time as an investigative journalist, most notably in 1973 when he and co-reporter Pe ...

, ''The Wolf''. After having learnt Swedish, he directed several plays in civic theatres in Sweden, many of them translated or adapted by his wife. Among others: ''The Homecoming'' by Harold Pinter, ''

Volpone ''Volpone'' (, Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-perfor ...

'' by

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

, '' The Shoemaker's Holiday'' by Thomas Dekker, ''

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists ''The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists'' (1914) is a semi-autobiographical novel by Irish house painter and sign writer Robert Noonan, who wrote the book in his spare time under the pen name Robert Tressell. Published after Tressell's death f ...

'' (the version by Stephen Lowe) and '' Mad Forest'' by Caryl Churchill. At the Gate Theatre London he directed the British premieres of some rarely performed

Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

plays, translated from the Swedish by his wife Eivor.

Death

Derek Martinus died on 27 March 2014 at the age of 82 from complications arising from Alzheimer's disease, from which he had suffered for many years. He was survived by his wife Eivor Martinus, their two daughters, Charlotta and Pia, and three grandchildren.Maane Khatchatouria
"'Doctor Who' Director Derek Martinus Dies at 82"
''Variety'',

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinus, Derek 1931 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel British people of Dutch descent British television directors British theatre directors Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Deaths from dementia in the United Kingdom People educated at Brentwood School, Essex People from Ilford Place of death missing University of Oklahoma alumni Yale School of Drama alumni