August 29, 2011

Elisabeth Sladen, Longtime "Doctor Who" Co-Star

The British actress portrayed the iconic character Sarah Jane Smith in several permutations of the long-running sci-fi saga.

Elisabeth Sladen, an actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith, the time-traveling companion of the title character of the British sci-fi television series Doctor Who, died April 19, 2011, in Southall, England. She was 63.

Doctor Who, which has been running for nearly 50 years, has featured a number of characters along the way, and several actors in the title role. Sladen’s Sarah Jane Smith first appeared in 1973, when Jon Pertwee was playing the Doctor. In contrast to her female predecessors, who tended to serve as attractive window-dressing, Sladen was involved in the show’s adventures more actively and equally than before. Sladen remained with the show for two years after Tom Baker replaced Pertwee, and returned for the 20th anniversary reunion show The Five Doctors and a short-lived spin-off, K-9 and Company. Years later, in 2006, when Doctor Who was relaunched, Sladen returned yet again, and made such an impression that she went on to star in her own spin-off program for youngsters, The Sarah Jane Adventures. In that show, she guided a band of local children (including her own, adopted clone son) in a weapon-free fight against aliens.

Born February 1, 1946, in Liverpool, England, Sladen began her career in a repertory theatre in her hometown. During her first production there she met actor Brian Miller, whom she married in 1968. That same year she played a hotel maid in the British series ITV Playhouse, followed soon afterward by a recurring role in the popular TV drama Coronation Street. Other projects of note included Doomwatch, Z Cars and Take My Wife. After Doctor Who, she had roles in such series as The Bill, Peak Practice and Faith in the Future.

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