Elisabeth Sladen

Elisabeth Sladen, the Liverpool-born actress who played journalist Sarah Jane Smith on the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who, has died yesterday of cancer at age 63.

Ms. Sladen played the companion of both Jon Pertwee's and Tom Baker's Doctor from 1973 to 1976. She reprised the role in the Doctor Who 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors; in a 1979 pilot show K-9 and Company; in several appearances during the second Doctor Who series, with David Tennant as the Doctor; and in her own series for children. Ms. Sladen's role become as iconic of the series as the Doctor himself.

Ms. Sladen was born Elisabeth Claira Heath-Sladen in Liverpool on 1 February 1948. She developed a knack for dance and acting, but emphasized the latter when she found herself cast in minor dance roles. After two years of drama school Ms. Sladen began work at the Liverpool Playhouse — but not as a performer.

Sladen began her career as an assistant stage manager at the Liverpool playhouse.

Her first role on stage was playing a corpse, and she made her screen debut in the 1965 film Ferry Cross the Mersey as an extra.

Her first role leading role was Desdemona in Othello, before the actress landed the role of a barmaid in Coronation Street for six episodes.

She has also appeared in several other hit TV shows, including Z-Cars, Public Eye, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and Special Branch.

But it was her role in Doctor Who that gained her the most recognition.

Omitted from the text above are that Ms. Sladen's was such a good stage manager that she had to botch the job several times to get what passes for suits in the British theater to give her acting jobs; that she was scolded for giggling on stage, thanks to a young actor, Brian Miller, whispering the words, Respiration nil, Aston Villa two in her ear while he was playing a doctor; and that she won the part of Sarah Jane Smith without at first realizing it: As she chatted with [Barry Letts, Doctor Who producer] and [Jon] Pertwee, each time she turned to look at one of them the other would signal a thumbs-up.

Ms. Sladen returned to the theater after her stint in Doctor Who, and mostly stayed there for the next three decades. But she also did occasional work in television episodes and commercials, including the female lead in the BBC play Gulliver in Lilliput. Ms. Sladen also attended Doctor Who conventions, including in the United States, where she was the most popular companion among that country's small Whovian community.

Ms. Sladen was remarkably well-preseved physically, remaining young-looking and beautiful well into her forties and even her fifties. It is regretable that she only had the one child, actress Sadie Miller, to preserve such superior genes. It is also regretable that someone as lovely and vivacious as Ms. Sladen should pass away; but then, even by Boomer standards, having past age 60 (past age 58 if you are a Brit), she is old; and her passing should not be a surprise, especially as it is now known that she been fighting cancer for years.