Derek Martinus, early 'Doctor Who' director, dies at 82

Derek Martinus, who helmed many early Doctor Who episodes, passed away Thursday at the age of 82.

According to BBC News, he died from Alzehimer's. "He was a legend, just an absolute legend," Charlotta Martinus, his daughter, said. "He taught me how to love, live and laugh."

Martinus directed episodes of Who from 1965 to 1970. During his time with the series, Martinus directed three different Doctors. He helmed "The Tenth Planet," which saw the Cybermen introduced into the series.

The first Who episodes produced in color, "Spearhead from Space," were directed by Martinus.

He said when he first arrived to work on Who, first Doctor, William Hartnell, "regarded me with great suspicion when I arrived."

Martinus added, "He knew I was the new boy and he wasn't slow to remind me how many hundreds of films he'd done and how many directors he'd advised on how to get the shots."

Deadline reports the British director also worked on several other series, including Blakes 7, Black Tulip, Z Cars and others.

Martinus started out in theater, BBC notes. He directed several stage plays, including Ben Jonson's Volpone, Stephen Lowe's The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists and others. They were also translated for Sweden by his wife Eivor.

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