Ian Marter
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Ian Don Marter (28 October 194428 October 1986) was an English actor and writer known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
science-fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...
television series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' from December 1974 to September 1975, with a non-regular, one-serial return in November and December 1975. He sometimes used the pseudonym Ian Don.


Early life

Born in
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
, the son of Donald Marter and his wife Helen Donaldson, Marter attended Beckenham and Penge Grammar School and was awarded a scholarship to
St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the las ...
where he read English language and literature and was involved in the college's drama society. Marter graduated from St Edmund Hall in 1966 and started work at the
Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...
theatre, where he served as a
stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...
in addition to acting in stage roles.


''Doctor Who''


Actor

In 1971, Marter auditioned for the regular role of Captain Mike Yates in the eighth season of ''Doctor Who''. He was offered the part, but was unable to accept due to a prior commitment. The production team were sufficiently impressed that they kept him in mind and cast him in a supporting role in the 1973 story '' Carnival of Monsters'', broadcast as part of the tenth season of the programme. The following year, Marter was cast in the role of Harry Sullivan, a character developed by the production team on the basis that the incoming
Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from ...
could be portrayed by an older actor who would not be able to handle the more physical action scenes. After 40-year-old
Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...
was cast, such concerns were allayed and Harry was written out after only one season. Television appearances *'' Carnival of Monsters'' (as John Andrews) *''
Robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...
'' (as Harry Sullivan) *''
The Ark in Space ''The Ark in Space'' is the second serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created ...
'' (as Harry Sullivan) *'' The Sontaran Experiment'' (as Harry Sullivan) *''
Genesis of the Daleks ''Genesis of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the twelfth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was written by Terry Nation and directed by David Maloney, and originally broadcast in six weekly parts fr ...
'' (as Harry Sullivan) *''
Revenge of the Cybermen ''Revenge of the Cybermen'' is the fifth and final serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 19 April to 10 May 1975. It was the first ...
'' (as Harry Sullivan) *'' Terror of the Zygons'' (as Harry Sullivan) *''
The Android Invasion ''The Android Invasion'' is the fourth serial of the thirteenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 22 November to 13 December 1975. The serial is ...
'' (episodes 2–4 as an Android impersonating Harry Sullivan, episode 4 as Harry Sullivan.)


Author

Marter remained involved with ''Doctor Who'' after his departure from the regular cast. He co-wrote the script for a feature film version, provisionally titled ''
Doctor Who Meets Scratchman During the long history of the British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', a number of stories were proposed but never fully produced. Below is a list of unmade serials submitted by recognized professionals. Although the BBC inte ...
'' (also known as ''Doctor Who and the Big Game''), in collaboration with Baker and director James Hill; due to a lack of funding, the project was ultimately abandoned. Marter's plot concerned Baker's
Doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...
coming face to face with Scratchman (an ancient term for the
Devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...
); the finale was to have been acted out on a colossal pinball table, with the holes in the table being portals to other dimensions. Eventually, in 2019, a novelization of this story by Baker and James Goss, simply titled ''Scratchman'', was released by BBC Books, dedicated to Marter (). Marter later became involved with the writing of
novelisation A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book, or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
s of ''Doctor Who'' TV serials for
Target Books Target Books is a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became wel ...
, penning nine such adaptations in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Marter's novelisations were somewhat controversial, most notably when the word "bastard" appeared in his novelisation of the 1967 story ''
The Enemy of the World ''The Enemy of the World'' is the fourth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 23 December 1967 to 27 January 1968. The serial is set in Aust ...
''. The last of Marter's ''Doctor Who'' novelisations was '' The Rescue'', which had to be completed by range editor Nigel Robinson due to Marter's unexpected death. Marter was one of a small group of ''Doctor Who'' actors to write licensed fiction based on the series. Marter also wrote an original
spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...
novel for Target, '' Harry Sullivan's War'', featuring the return of his character, which was published in 1986 and was one of the earliest original ''Doctor Who''-related novels to be released. Marter had been planning both a sequel to this novel and an adaptation of his unused ''Doctor Who Meets Scratchman'' script at the time of his death. Books * '' Doctor Who and the Ark in Space'' * '' Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment'' * '' Doctor Who and the Ribos Operation'' * '' Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World'' * '' Doctor Who - Earthshock'' * '' Doctor Who - The Dominators'' * '' Doctor Who - The Invasion'' * '' Doctor Who - The Reign of Terror'' * '' Doctor Who - The Rescue'' * '' The Companions of Doctor Who - Harry Sullivan's War''


Later career


Actor

Marter's acting career beyond ''Doctor Who'' comprised mainly roles in episodes of series such as the BBC's '' The Brothers'' (1972), ''
Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...
'', '' Bergerac'' (1981) and
Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
's '' The Return of Sherlock Holmes'' (1986). He also had minor roles in several films, such as '' Doctor Faustus'' (1967), '' The Abominable Dr. Phibes'' (1971), ''North and South'', '' The Medusa Touch'' (1978), and the comedy short ''The Waterloo Bridge Handicap'' (1978). Marter lived and worked in New Zealand in the early 1980s, appearing in the soap opera '' Close to Home'' from 1982.


Author

In addition to his ''Doctor Who'' novelisations, Marter wrote adaptations of several 1980s American films such as '' Splash'' and ''
Down and Out in Beverly Hills ''Down and Out in Beverly Hills'' is a 1986 American comedy film co-written and directed by Paul Mazursky, based on the 1919 French play ''Boudu sauvé des eaux'', which was later adapted into the 1932 film '' Boudu sauvé des eaux'' by Jean ...
'' for Target and its imprint, Star Books. Some of these books were published under the pen name Ian Don. Other novelizations: *''Splash'' (as Ian Don, Touchstone, Star Books, 1984) *''Baby'' (as Ian Don, Disney, Star Books, 1985) *''My Science Project'' (as Ian Don, Touchstone, Target Books, 1985) *''Down and Out in Beverly Hills'' (as Ian Marter, Touchstone, Star Books, 1986) *''Tough Guys'' (as Ian Don, Touchstone, Star Books, 1986) Gummi Bears Picture Books: *''Book 1 Disney's Gummi Bears: Zummi Makes It Hot'' (as Ian Don, Disney, Target Books, 1986) *''Book 2 Disney's Gummi Bears: Gummi In A Gilded Cage'' (as Ian Don, Disney, Target Books, 1986) *''Book 3 Disney's Gummi Bears: The Secret of the Juice'' (as Ian Don, Disney, Target Books, 1986) *''Book 4 Disney's Gummi Bears: Light Makes Right'' (as Ian Don, Disney, Target Books, 1986)


Personal life

According to ''Doctor Who'' co-star
Nicholas Courtney William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was best known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. ...
, Marter had come out to him as
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
. He and his wife divorced. Marter died in 1986, on his 42nd birthday, from a heart attack associated with diabetes-related cardiovascular disease.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marter, Ian 1944 births 1986 deaths 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English non-fiction writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English LGBTQ people 20th-century pseudonymous writers Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Alumni of the University of Oxford British expatriate actors British expatriates in New Zealand Deaths from diabetes in the United Kingdom English bisexual male actors English bisexual writers English male film actors English male non-fiction writers English male screenwriters English male soap opera actors English science fiction writers Male actors from Coventry Writers from London