Anthony Ainley - The Wig Discussion.

[davethesailor]

Hi Everyone,

I wont mention any names, but a certain cheeky scamp tried to tell me recently that Anthony Ainley wore a wig when he was playing the part of the Master.

I really don;t believe this, I met him many a few times and never noticed any wig action going on.

So what's the truth? Was the Masters hair his own?

[Rob McCow]

This is a tricky old one. A lot of actors will wear wigs some of the time, especially if they've been in another role that demands a different haircut. Paul McGann is a famous example of someone who had a dead angora rabbit pulled out of a rubbish dump and stapled to his head during filming of Doctor Who.

But as for Ainley - It looks like a wig on the location scenes of Planet of Fire, that's for certain.

[Andrew Curnow]

I can't vouch for Planet of Fire, as I haven't seen it for a while, but I certainly don't remember ever thinking it looked like a wig in any of his stories. I presume the John Scott Martin look as Tremas was a wig, but apart from that I always took it to be his own hair, slicked back.

[Captain Tancredi]

Paul McGann's was a case of his previous role having been a closely-cropped SAS officer, so to go from that to his long-haired Doctor required artificial assistance.

As far as Ainley is concerned, I can't remember which story it was for the life of me, but in some of his stories it's quite noticeable that part of his hair has a distinct russet tinge which the rest doesn't. On the other hand, the beard was definitely not his own and it may have been a case of make-up artists trying to blend the colour of the beard with his natural hair colour and occasionally getting it wrong.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Well I remember reading quite definitively that he wore a wig, that he was quite sensitive about it, and always had his makeup sessions done in private. I read this ages ago and I can only presume I read it in DWM since that was about my only source of Who stuff. Or was it a dream? This thread would seem to verify it wasn't a dream.

[Pip Madeley]

I think he wore a wig, if he was a keen cricketer then he'd probably prefer to keep it as short as possible.

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

Well, I'm a huge fan of Ainley's Master and this is the first I've heard of it.

Thinking about it though; I think I know the bit in 'Planet of Fire' that Steve is referring to (where he's out on the hills and catches up with Peri). There's a distinct flap of hair that seems to have a life of its own.

[Rob McCow]

It's simple! Ainley didn't wear a wig, but Kamelion did.

[davethesailor]

Well, I'm a huge fan of Ainley's Master and this is the first I've heard of it.
.

Ainley's Master? You make it sound like there was another Master?

[Simon R]

Well I remember reading quite definitively that he wore a wig, that he was quite sensitive about it, and always had his makeup sessions done in private. I read this ages ago and I can only presume I read it in DWM

I've read this too but I can't remember where. Might have been the JNT Memoirs or an interview with someone.

On a releated note it's a fact that Matthew Waterhouse wore a wig for his first few stories.

[SiHart]

Wasn't it Colin or someone like that who said they never saw him until he'd been in make up and appeared as The Master?

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

I've actually set about listening to all 4 CD's of "The JNT Memoirs" to re-discover this fact - because it was me that made the claim, and I'm SURE it was on something like this that I heard it.

It's never a chore to run through JNT's memoirs of course, filled as they are with such nuggets as "Why have a dog and bark yourself!" and "It was soon forgotton.... BY SOME!" and his anecdote about Jackie Pearce flashing the barman to get served. Anyway, I'm already on Season 24 and no wig anecdote as yet, so it looks as though I read it somewhere else.

Si.

[Simon R]

We'll have to read every interview with anyone that ever worked with Ainley then.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

This is shockingly lax for a Doctor Who forum

You'd think that an anecdote about one of the most frequent guest stars in the series wearing a wig would stick in a lot of people's minds. Rather than being vaguely remembered by 3 people.

[Logo Polish]

Tom Baker claims that Anthony Ainley was "as bald as a kneecap" in the Logopolis commentary.

[Jeff]

I'm surprised no one has brought it up on the RT forum...

[Dirk Gently]

...and the subject of Ainley's wig.

[Simon R]

I wonder if Nicola Bryant wore a merkin in that infamous Leopard print bikini shot?

[Dirk Gently]

I'll volunteer to find out!

[Simon R]

Some men like a few Spider's legs poking out...

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Just been looking at Anthony's wiki entry ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Ainley

He was also one of the Hong Kong policemen who discover James Bond's supposed corpse in the opening sequence of You Only Live Twice.

Just looked at my copy of the film - is he the one who said "At least he died on the job"? Hard to tell as he's turned from the camera.

Oh and there used to be a comment on the wiki "he despised cheeses of all kinds". Was this true?

[Pip Madeley]

Are we still waiting for a definitive answer on this wig business?

[Si Hunt]

Oh, come ON! Watch "Survival"!

Si.

[Rob McCow]

Are you saying that the real reason the Master was able to teleport at the end is that he secretly had a kitling on his head?

[Zbigniev Hamson]

To be fair to him, the Master did have a hairstyle that would only look good whilst not moving very much in a studio. Long slicked back locks would tend to fall out of place and flap around the minute he had to do some action or step into a slight breeze, even if it were real hair. It would require a very firm hold