Sergeant At Arms

Publication: Starlog
Date: number 165 (April 1991)
Author: Teresa Murray & Karen Funk Blocher
Page: 17
Language: English

He was born in England as John Anthony Woods, but to Doctor Who fans, he's John Levene, the man who played the trusty Sergeant Benton for seven years opposite three different Doctors. Now a California resident known as John Anthony Blake, Levene settles in to explore his past with Doctor Who and his uncertain future.

Levene made his Doctor Who debut as an extra, portraying a Yeti with a speaking part in "The Web of Fear" with Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines (Jamie). "They wanted somebody 6' 1", so five 6' 1" extras were sent along and got the parts." Levene also played a Cyberman in "The Wheel in Space."

After these two appearances, he was cast as Corporal Benton in "The Invasion." "Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines had always liked me as a person and I had always liked them. I was given a seven-second close-up looking through a pair of binoculars in 'Invasion.' I also had to do a voice-over on the two-way talk system to the Doctor."

His character was reintroduced as Sergeant Benton in "The Ambassadors of Death," appearing with the recently regenerated third Doctor (Jon Pertwee). Benton soon became an integral part of the U.N.I.T. family. "I think what happened is it clicked. The Brigadier [Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. played by Nicholas Courtney] and I got on very well. Then, of course, it's easy once the part's made.

"My children were very proud. My daughter used to say to me, 'Dad, you're not a star, but you're with stars.'"

Levene's favorite episode is "The Daemons." He explains, " 'The Daemons' was great because I enjoyed the plain clothes, being a bit forceful and the shooting thing. 'The Three Doctors' is my second favorite. That was my biggest part. At the time, I didn't think I was going to be able to do it, but Pat Troughton was so helpful. He said, 'John, you're a fine actor. Just do it as it comes.' And I did."

Benton was never developed as a romantic lead on the series. "The funny thing is, I always dreaded getting any scenes like that. Benton was never going to get the woman. He wasn't that kind of character. In fact, it wasn't a show where anybody got the woman. We were too busy fighting Daleks. I got a Dalek once."

By the end of his tenure with U.N.I.T., Benton had been promoted to RSM Benton. "Regimental Sergeant-Major," Levene explains. "It was a way of making a non-commissioned officer up to someone the rest of the troops would admire. I was the sort of guy they would listen to, because I was tall and a bit brave."

Names have been a tricky question for both the character and the actor. Benton was referred to as Corporal or Sergeant Benton. and in later episodes as simply Mr. Benton. But, as Levene reveals, Benton does have a first name. "In the middle of my tenure, I found out that my name was John Benton. That was because my real name was John. It was in a story where I was supposed to be going dancing with my girl friend. That's when the name John came out. It suited him very well."

About Face

If Benton seems to have had a shortage of names, the actor playing him has had the opposite problem. "OK. John Anthony Woods was my born name. Jonathan Blake was my radio name. And John Levene was my acting name.

"I then went on the ships as an entertainer and bingo caller, where I became known as Johnny Bingo and Johnny Redboots. I'm now John Anthony Blake. That's the name I have now in Hollywood. I don't know whether it's going to be good for me. I have a feeling it will. John Anthony Blake has a nice ring to it. It's my mother's maiden 'name and my first two. I'm very happy with it."

The name Levene was chosen in a hurry on the day the actor, then John Woods, applied for his Actor's Equity card in England. "Equity, like SAG, the Screen Actors Guild over here, is a closed shop. You're not going to get in unless some producer or West End theater house gives you a contract.

"In my particular case, I had half an hour to woo a secretary in Equity. She said, 'The boss is coming back in an hour. It's a closed shop, and I don't think I can get you in. But look, get your form filled out, and I'll put you on the immediate standby list of actors. What's your name?'

"I said, 'John Woods.'

"She looked through the files, and she said, 'No, there's already a John Wood, a very famous Shakespearean actor [seen in WarGames and Ladyhawke]. You can't have Woods.'

"And so I said, 'John Anthony.' No, there's already a John—'

'Anthony John.' 'No, there's already— "I had about five minutes left. I looked out the window in desperation. Across the road, it said, 'Harry Levene, Boxing Promoter.' And I said, 'John Levene.' And so, I ended up, by pure accident, and against my will, with the name of John Levene. Now, there's nothing wrong with John Levene, but I didn't like it. It didn't fit nicely on my shoulders."

Levene's acting career came about almost as much by chance as his name. "I was working in a men's wear shop at age 22 in Regent Street in London, having left Jersey and the Channel Islands and my hometown. I served Telly Savalas and sold him a Burbury raincoat for 110 pounds. I said, 'I would like to be an actor.' I only said it because he was an actor. If he had been a brain surgeon, I would have most likely said, 'I want to be a brain surgeon.' He was making The Dirty Dozen at the time, and he offered me a part. I couldn't get the part, because I didn't have an Equity ticket. I couldn't get an Equity ticket. because I didn't have a contract.

"Later, a comedian, Joe Baker. suggested which walk-on agency I should belong to to get lots of work as a walk-on. which is where I got the Yeti and the Cyberman in Doctor Who. That's what started my whole career off.

"I did very well as Benton. I got a lot of fan mail—not as much as the Doctors and the Brig, but I never expected that. I answer everyone personally. It would be a disgrace if I didn't write back. Pertwee's the same. Pertwee insists that they get their letters back. I would love a Sergeant Benton fan club. It is the fans who make me proud to be myself."

RSM Benton made his final appearance in "The Android Invasion." Levene stopped acting shortly thereafter. "I left acting because I thought it was a waste of my time sitting in studios for hours and hours and hours for just two minutes on screen. So, I formed my own audio-visual and video company. It didn't do too well, but I had a wonderful time. We did laser shows all over Europe and America."

For the 20th anniversary episode of Doctor Who, "The Five Doctors," Levene was asked to reprise his role as Benton. He declined. "I turned down 'The Five Doctors' because it made Benton look a fool. I had a scene in there where I was out of sight, talking to Pat Troughton, not letting him in and not recognizing him. I said, 'You want me to come along and do two lines behind a closed door saying, "You can't go in there"? You really believe I'm going to come in and do that?'

"Jon Pertwee and Nick Courtney phoned me up and said, 'Do it, because we're all doing it.' But my daughter said to me, 'Don't you dare do it, Daddy!' Anyway, they revised the script a second time and it was just as bad. So, I sent it back. I'm worth a bit more than that.

"So, I wasn't in 'The Five Doctors.' Peter Moffatt, the director, phoned me up. I thought he was going to lambast me for not being in it. He said, 'John, I just called to tell you, I bow to your integrity. Wonderful. If you feel that it's not right, don't do it.' That's what made me admire Peter Moffatt."

Years later, Levene had another chance to portray Benton in the made-for-video production War Time. He accepted. "War Time was conceived by Keith Bonfather, the producer and owner of Reel Time Pictures. That's the banner under which Myth Makers [a series of Doctor Who-related interview videos] comes out. Somebody had written a reasonable script for War Time, and Keith asked me if I would come out of retirement and do it. I didn't want to act any more, but I decided to do it because it was about U.N.I.T. It gives the fans something. Now, I've seen it, and there's enough good stuff in it to make it worth the bother. It's a fascinating piece of work."

Levene went on to direct his own Myth Makers video, an interview with himself about his Whovian experiences.

Due to his Dr. Who identity, Levene received a personal invitation from Patrick Stewart to visit the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Forward March

Shortly after making the two Myth Makers videos, Levene left England. "Two-and-a-half years ago, when I had lost my own company, Genesis Communications, I joined the ships and became an entertainer on the cruise liners. I visited 38 countries, and escaped and lived through two hurricanes."

Levene moved to the Los Angeles area in early 1990. "I was doing a show in Sacramento and Richard Chaves, who has become a very close friend of mine, and Kim Bailey, who did special FX for Star Trek, both saw me perform on stage. They both came up and said, 'You should come to Hollywood.' Two weeks later, I met Jenny, a lady whom I'm living with now, and we moved to Hollywood. I got an apartment in Burbank and within three weeks, I'm working with Robert Wagner for a tennis tournament with Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert."

The actor hosted the tennis tournament as John Anthony Blake, but because of Doctor Who, he hasn't entirely abandoned the Levene name. It was as John Levene. for example, that he was invited to visit the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation late last summer, an invitation he was to learn came from Patrick Stewart.

"So, I drove down Melrose Avenue and I drew up to the famous arch of Paramount Studios. And I remembered things like Marilyn Monroe and her innocence and her beauty, all the stars like Bette Davis. There was I going up, albeit a minor star. I was taken to the special FX department, and then to the Star Trek studios. I saw every set, went through every door, sat in the captain's chair, looked at the monitor, put my hands on the 'Beam me up, Scotty' apparatus, and I couldn't believe it.

"I went down and walked on the set where the story [of "Family"] is set, the villa where Jean-Luc Picard goes back to his past in France. And there were Jeremy Kemp and Samantha Eggar, two very chichi English actors, and Patrick Stewart. He was in the chateau having dinner with his older brother, played by Kemp. I was talking to the sound man. Suddenly, a voice said. 'Hello. John. It's nice to meet you.' And it was Patrick Stewart.

"'Patrick,' I said. 'Well, it's very nice to see you.' And I felt very equal. We're within one year of age, and he's as modest as can be. He was shaking my hand, and I felt very proud and pleased. I said, 'Well, Patrick, you've got a part that's the envy of many actors, and you handle it beautifully. How is it that I became a guest of yours?'

As Levene discovered, "He had to see a Myth Makers, because he had been approached to do one [due out shortly]. And he said, 'Show me a good one, so I can gauge it.' And of course, they showed him Sergeant Benton's Myth Makers. That's how he got to know me. Patrick enjoyed it very much. And so, that was my connection with Star Trek. That looks like all my connection will be. But it was a wonderful visit, an extraordinary opportunity."

The actor has also appeared on PBS pledge drives as Levene. "I did a live show on KCET, raising a fortune, thanks to the Whovians of LA. I was the only artist who went on without an auto-cue.

"I did 24 appearances in front of the camera, and I loved it. Lynn Redgrave was on the next day, and Tom Selleck. This is just to show you the names I've come up against. They make no difference, of course, in my day-to-day living, because I haven't got my green card, so therefore I cannot be offered any part. I lost the biggest part of my life last week, which I'm not allowed to divulge, because I didn't have a green card."

Levene isn't the first Whovian actor to have this problem. "Nick Courtney tried two years ago," Levene says, "and he couldn't make it." Now Levene is in a similar situation. "I was asked to leave the country. But I found out that I could put in a plea for reopen and reconsider, plus another heap of money. I'm just standing here on tenterhooks now, although I have two alternatives: Marriage—or to leave.

"Let me just get this on record now. For me to get my green card, I must be accused of and possess 'distinguished merit and ability.' I have to be in the minds and hearts of the minimum of a million people. What the INS doesn't know at the moment, is that I, along with the other characters on Doctor Who, am in the hearts and minds of more than 4.5 million people. And that's growing by about 10,000 a year, by the power of our innocent, wonderful, well-written, intelligent, science fiction show Doctor Who. I am in awe of the fact that I am a part of it."

So far, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has been less than welcoming. This is where fans can help Levene. "To get the green card, we need to get the weight of letters, but intelligent, nice letters. Don't make me sound like anything more than I am, really just a personality that can do Hollywood no harm and can only enhance it in terms of one's connection with Doctor Who. Write to Mrs. Pat Walmisley, c/o Congressman Carlos J. Moorehead Office, 301 Colorado Boulevard, Room 681, Pasadena, CA 91101.

"And all a letter needs to say is, 'I am a fan of an English show called Doctor Who. One of the characters I'm a fan of is Sergeant Benton, played by John Levene, also known as (this is important) John Anthony Blake. John is a resident of Burbank, California, and has been for one year as a resident, three years as a visiting alien.' And I don't want any ha-ha-ha's after the word 'alien.'

"In terms of Hollywood, Benton doesn't even rate one decibel. Your writing means that they'll then see and hear that I am a man, and I didn't make the words myself, 'of distinguished merit and ability.' In other words, readers, viewers, fans, I just need to prove I don't take any work away from an American. So, please write. I thank you."

At Ease

Recently, Levene has shared conventions with Jon Pertwee, Nicholas Courtney and Colin Baker. "Nick has mellowed, and has come out of his shell a lot from his usual semi-Brigadier kind of reserve," Levene says. "I remember many years ago when he used to say to me, 'How is it that you're so talkative in front of an audience? How did you get like that?'

"I said, 'Well, Nick, it's called being a big mouth, and deciding not to be reticent, because the fans want to hear about you. Why be shy and inward, when these people want to know who you are?' He said, 'Oh, but it's hardly British.' I said, 'Stop it, Brigadier.'

"And Colin Baker has such a brain. He's so erudite, so witty and clever, that man. Colin loves my humor. He had a badge made—'This is a joke-free zone'—and awarded me that. At one panel, I covered up my badge, and I said, 'Colin, I feel a joke coming on.' Colin laughed uncontrollably, and I told the gag, and it was an uproar. Colin and Nick and I jelled beautifully. They came out of their shells more, and appreciated my little bit of exhibitionism. They played off it nicely."

Until the issue of his legal status is settled, Levene has been told by the government to seek work in other areas. "I'm working in a men's wear shop, which I'm hating. But I've just done a convention in Minneapolis, which went down well, and got on two chat shows, which went down well. Really, I'm just waiting to see what happens."

Despite the uncertainties of his future, the former Sergeant Benton is philosophical about his Hollywood experience. "I'm on a new life," says John Levene. "I'm now coming up on 49. Whatever comes along now, I shall do with equanimity. If it's entertaining people, I think that's the area I should focus on. So, what I'm going to do is whatever God sends me next. I'm ready for a new life."

Captions:

The made-for-video production War Time explores Benton's background.

Levene would like to draft Dr. Who fans into his service.

"It is the fans who make me proud to be myself," admits the actor. However, his profession has prompted his adoption of other names like the current John Anthony Blake.

If Levene is given his green card, he'll continue the good fight--acting in America.

Sergeant At Arms

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