David Graham (born 11 July 1925) is an English retired actor. He is best known for voicing 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 in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'',

Gordon Tracy Gordon Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show '' Thunderbirds'', the subsequent films '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' and '' Thunderbird 6'' as well as the remake TV series '' Thunderbirds Are Go''. The c ...

Brains A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ i ...

Aloysius Parker Aloysius "Nosey" Parker is a fictional character introduced in the British 1960s Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'', who also appears in the film sequels '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' (1966) and ''Thunderbird 6'' (1968) and the 2004 ...

and Kyrano in '' Thunderbirds'' and Grandpa Pig in ''

Peppa Pig ''Peppa Pig'' is a British preschool animated television series by Astley Baker Davies. The show follows Peppa, an anthropomorphic female piglet, and her family, as well as her peers portrayed as other animals. The show first aired on 31 Ma ...

''. He played the role of Big Brother in the "

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

" television Super Bowl advert to introduce the

Apple Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software ...

computer.

Life and career

Graham was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in July 1925 and trained as an actor in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

following service 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 ...

as a radar mechanic. He played several characters in the science-fiction TV series ''

'' during the 1960s and 1970s, most notably

voices in the serials ''

The Daleks ''The Daleks'' (also known as ''The Mutants'' and ''The Dead Planet'') is the second serial in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC TV in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to 1 ...

'' (1963–1964), ''

The Dalek Invasion of Earth ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' is the second Serial (radio and television), serial of the Doctor Who (season 2), second season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Richard Ma ...

'' (1964), '' The Chase'' (1965; in which he also provided Mechanoid voices) and ''

The Daleks' Master Plan ''The Daleks' Master Plan'' is the mostly missing third serial of the third season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in twelve weekly parts from 13 November 1965 to 29 January 1966. Thi ...

'' (1965–1966). He performed in person as barman Charlie in ''

The Gunfighters ''The Gunfighters'' is the seventh serial of the third season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 April to 21 May 1966. The serial is set in and around the tow ...

'' (1966) and as time-travel scientist Professor Kerensky in ''

City of Death ''City of Death'' is the second serial of the seventeenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor. It was produced by the BBC ...

'' (1979). In 2017, Graham voiced the character Percy Till in the Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' audio story ''Static''. Graham provided the regular voices of

, Parker and Kyrano for the Supermarionation TV series '' Thunderbirds'' (1965–66), as well as its film sequels: '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' (1966) and ''

Thunderbird 6 ''Thunderbird 6'' is a 1968 British science fiction puppet film based on '' Thunderbirds'', a Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions. Written by ...

'' (1968). In the same franchise, he also voiced Brains's robot assistant, Braman (a minor recurring character). Other credits from his association with ''Thunderbirds'' producer

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...

include ''

Four Feather Falls ''Four Feather Falls'' is a British television programme, the third puppet TV show produced by Gerry Anderson for ITV Granada, Granada Television (now ITV Granada). It was based on an idea by Barry Gray, who also wrote the show's music. The ser ...

'' (1960), ''

Supercar A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

'' (1961–62), ''

Fireball XL5 ''Fireball XL5'' is a 1960s British children's science-fiction puppet television series about the missions of ''Fireball XL5'', a vessel of the World Space Patrol that polices the cosmos in the year 2062. Commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac, ''XL5' ...

'' (1962–63), ''

Stingray Stingrays are a group of sea rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae ...

'' (1964–65) and ''

The Secret Service ''The Secret Service'' is a 1969 British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company, Century 21, for ITC Entertainment. It follows the exploits of Father Stanley Unwin, a pup ...

'' (1969). He also appeared in ''

Callan Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...

'', ''

Timeslip ''Timeslip'' is a British children's science fiction television series made by ATV for the ITV network and broadcast between 1970 and 1971. It was first broadcast on Friday evenings at around 5:10-5:15pm in the ATV region with the other ITV ...

'', '' So Haunt Me'', ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'', '' The Saint'', ''

Howards' Way ''Howards' Way'' is a television drama series produced by BBC Birmingham and transmitted on BBC1 between 1 September 1985 and 25 November 1990. The series deals with the personal and professional lives of the wealthy yachting and business comm ...

'', '' Softly, Softly'', ''

Armchair Thriller ''Armchair Thriller'' is a British television drama series broadcast on ITV in 1978 and 1980 in two seasons. Taking the form of a sequence of unconnected serials, scripts for ''Armchair Thriller'' were adaptations of published novels and storie ...

'', '' Ace of Wands'', ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

'', ''

The Regiment The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

'', ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...

'', '' The Fixer'', '' The Sentimental Agent'' and '' The Avengers'' (in the 1963 episode "

Man in the Mirror "Man in the Mirror" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released on February 6, 1988, as the fourth single from Jackso ...

"). He contributed puppet voices to two episodes of ''

The Tomorrow People ''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction television series created by Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV Network, the series first ran from 30 April 1973 to 19 February 1979. The theme music was ...

''. He also guest starred in the second series of the 1970s drama ''

When the Boat Comes In ''When the Boat Comes In'' is a British television period drama produced by the BBC between 1976 and 1981. The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken (fictional) town of Gallowshi ...

'' and later had a recurring role in the fourth series of the show as "Morty Black", the American Businessman and friend of the main character Jack Ford, played by James Bolam. In the "

" television Super Bowl advert, filmed in 1983 to introduce the

computer, Graham played the role of Big Brother. His other voice work includes the animated children's TV series ''

Moomin The Moomins ( sv, Mumintroll) are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, and a comic strip by Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Schildts in Finland. They are a family of white ...

'' and '' Dominion: Tank Police''. More recently, Graham provided the voices of Grandpa in ''

'' and Wise Old Elf in ''

Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom ''Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom'' is a British preschool animated television series. The show was created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker, and produced by Astley Baker Davies and Entertainment One (the companies responsible for ''Peppa Pig' ...

''. He reprised the voices of Parker and (later) Braman in '' Thunderbirds Are Go'', the 2015

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the sam ...

of ''Thunderbirds'', which was broadcast early 2015 in the UK. In February 2013, Graham was interviewed by

Paddy O'Connell Guy Patrick O'Connell (born 11 March 1966 in Guildford, Surrey) is an English television and radio presenter, working mainly for the BBC. He presents BBC Radio 4's ''Broadcasting House'' programme each Sunday morning. He is also an occasional ...

for

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

about his role as one of the early voices of the Daleks, following the death of the Dalek designer

Raymond Cusick Raymond Patrick Cusick (28 April 1928 – 21 February 2013) was a designer for the BBC. He is best known for designing the Daleks, a race of aliens who move around in tank-like travel machines, for the science fiction television series ''Doctor ...

. In April 2021, Graham announced his retirement as an actor and voice artist. In December, actor

George Layton George Layton (born 2 March 1943) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and author best known for three television roles – junior doctor Paul Collier in the comedy series '' Doctor in the House'' and its sequels '' Doctor at Large'', '' ...

, a longtime friend of Graham's, announced on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that Graham had suffered a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

six months earlier and was unable to leave his home in London. However, Layton stated that Graham was recovering by performing voice-overs of his characters.

Selected TV and filmography

* '' Danger Within'' (1959) – Lt. Moxhay * ''

Trouble with Eve ''Trouble with Eve'' is a low budget 1960 British comedy film directed by Francis Searle and starring Hy Hazell, Sally Smith, Robert Urquhart and Garry Marsh. It was based on the play ''Widows are Dangerous'' by June Garland. It was shot at W ...

'' (1960) – Car Driver (uncredited) * '' Crossroads to Crime'' (1960) – Johnny * ''K.I.L. 1'' (1962) – Alvero Belda * '' Thunderbirds'' (1965–1966) –

/ Parker / Kyrano (voice) * ''

'' (1963–1979) – Daleks / Charlie / Kerensky * '' Dr. Who and the Daleks'' (1965) – Daleks (voice, uncredited) * ''

The Pleasure Girls ''The Pleasure Girls'' is a 1965 British drama film directed by Gerry O'Hara and starring Francesca Annis, Ian McShane and Klaus Kinski. Plot When a beautiful young woman, Sally (Francesca Annis), moves to London to pursue a modelling career, ...

'' (1965) – 1st Gambler * '' Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.'' (1966) – Daleks (voice, uncredited) * '' Thunderbirds Are GO'' (1966) – Gordon Tracy / Brains / Aloysius Parker (voice) * ''

'' (1968) – Gordon Tracy / Brains / Aloysius Parker / Kyrano / Indian Stall-Keeper (voice) * ''

Freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance ...

'' (1971) – General * ''

'' (1974) – Wireless operator * '' Tenebrae'' (1982) – Det. Germani (English version, voice, uncredited) * ''

Terrahawks ''Gerry Anderson & Christopher Burr's Terrahawks'', usually referred to simply as ''Terrahawks'', is a 1980s British science fiction television series produced by Anderson Burr Pictures for London Weekend Television and created by the product ...

'' (1983) – Professor Otto Mattix / Elias Crick (voice) * ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'' (1984) – Party Guest * ''

King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

'' (1985) – Ephraimite Elder * ''

'' (1990–1991) – Snork (English version, voice) * ''

Leon the Pig Farmer ''Leon the Pig Farmer'' is a 1992 United Kingdom, British comedy about a Jewish estate agent in London who discovers that thanks to an artificial insemination mishap, his real father owns a pig farm in Yorkshire. It was directed by Vadim Jean an ...

'' (1992) – The Chef * ''

Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar ''Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar'' (french: Astérix & Obélix contre César) is a 1999 feature film directed by Claude Zidi, the first installment in the ''Asterix'' film series based on Goscinny and Uderzo's Astérix comics. The film combines ...

'' (1999) – (voice, uncredited) * ''

Wild Flowers A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...

'' (1999) – Trip * ''

'' (2004–2021) – Grandpa Pig / Mr. Zebra the Postman (voice) * ''Peppa Pig: Flying a Kite and Other Stories'' (2005) – Grandpa Pig * ''

'' (2009–2013) – Wise Old Elf / The Gnome (voice) * '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' (2015–2020) – Parker (voice) / Braman (voice)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, David 1925 births Living people Apple Inc. advertising British expatriates in the United States English male film actors English male television actors English male voice actors Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel