SCULPTOR: JOHN FRIEDLANDER

Many of classic Doctor Who’s iconic monsters can be traced back to one person, John Friedlander. You name them, he did them. The Sea Devils, the Ogrons, the Zygons, Davros, the Draconians, the Exxilons, and so many more contributions. Working as a visual effects designer and sculptor on the show, John Friedlander’s contributions to the show is both astonishing and resounding that so many details are missing from internet bases. He was a talent man probably responsible for sending many younger viewers diving behind the sofa on Saturday evenings.

                His career on Doctor Who began back in 1966  with The Ark where he created the giant statue that was to be finished with the head of a human, but instead it was completed with the head of the Monoid. He worked as a sculptor on the serial, but he didn’t return until 1971 with Colony in Space where Friedlander helped craft the masks worn by the Alien Priests and the Guardians, based on a design by Ian Scoones.

His first proper ‘stab’ at creating iconic monsters came with the dim-witted apes, the Ogrons from Day of the Daleks. Designed as half-mask and made out of latex, it was during production that the masks were too big for the big, hulking actors who played them. Adjustments were made, for a better look. Although fine tweaks

had to be carried out, Jon Pertwee was impressed with the authentic look of the ape creatures, and enjoyed working with them; unlike the pepper-pot Daleks, whom Pertwee didn’t like at all.

The Sea Devils one of John Friedlander's many creations. His original design was adopted and adapted for future Sea Devil appearances.

Up next for the talented sculptor were the deep-dwelling-diving aquatic turtles, the Sea Devils from The Sea Devils. The Sea Devils were designed by two different people: Friedlander (masks), and Maggie Fletcher (costumes). Crafting a total of six masks for the serial, the Sea Devil’s head were designed in a similar to hats, with the artistes wearing them over their heads. To improve visibility for the actors inside, Friedlander added two tiny slits in the necks that are barely noticeable on-screen. As a added bonus, Friedlander added webbing to the masks, each one of a different design, so all Sea Devils had a different look to them; a nice touch and subtle way of distinguishing Sea Devil from Sea Devil. Director Michael Briant was hoping for something a bit more bigger; but one can’t deny that the Sea Devils sent ice-cold water shills down the spines.

Jon Pertwee's personal favorite monsters as he liked how the masks allowed for realistic facial expressions.

His next assignment saw Friedlander work on the monsters that would go down as Jon Pertwee’s personal favourite, the Draconians. Once again designed as half-masks, the appliances  were made from latex rubber and silica. Each mask  was left with tiny air pockets which made him the dimples running down each side of the mask. This meant the masks were easier and comfortable to wear for all artistes involved. The half-masks also allowed for realistic jaw movements from the actors, along with the wispy beards and green face masks applied to them. The Draconians as mentioned before were Pertwee’s personal favourite. The actor liked how the masks allowed for expressive facial gestures, until other monsters Pertwee battled before during his time as the Third Doctor.  

The barbaric Exxilons. Death to the Daleks was the second time John Friedlander received a 'Masks' special credit.

Working on another Third Doctor serial came with Death to the Daleks were Friedlander handled the masks of the Exxilons. For both Frontier in Space and Death to the Daleks, Friedlander received a special credit as ‘Masks’ for the programme. Unofficial, Friedlander is the show’s first credited person in the field of prosthetics, a department and credited role that would be adopted when the show resumed airing in 2005. Friedlander continued working in the Fourth Doctor era.

He received his first credited role as visual effects designer for The Ark in Space. Friedlander handled the model work for the serial, which included the Space Station Nerva prop seen orbiting the Earth in parts one and four. He was responsible for creating the full-grown Wirrn costumes for the episodes. Constructed over a bamboo frame, the costumes consisted of a fibreglass head and latex abdomen. The Wirrn have causing nightmares ever since. For The Sontaran Experiment, Friedlander created a new mask for Styre, which was lighter than Linx’s and much easier for actor Kevin Lindsay to wear. The lower lip was still braced to the actor’s mouth however.

The original Davros mask and design; again one that would utilized for all future appearances.

Friedlander would go on to create the mask for Davros, a design that stood the tests of time, and one that provided the template for future Davros appearances. A cast taken of actor Michael Wisher’s face provided the mould from which Davros’ iconic look emerged. Producer Philip Hinchcliffe even suggested crafting Davros’ look on The Mekon a character who appeared in Dan Dare comics. The costume was difficult for Michael Wisher to wear, with his eyes and ears covered totally up, making it difficult for him to hit his cues during recording and rehearsal sessions. A less known race of monsters that appeared in Doctor Who that John Friedlander managed to get his hands into were the Vogans. The inhabitants of the planet of God, whose planet faced certain destruction by the Cybermen. For Revenge of the Cybermen Friedlander once again once again designed half-masks which were they attired with whisps of long white hair. The masks themselves were sculpted from a cast taken of Rhys Jones who worked on the show as an visual effects assistants. The masks unfortunately were not what producer Philip Hinchcliffe nor Michael B Briant were hoping for, however. Moving on from the slightly disappointing reception of his previous creation, Friedlander found himself working on the Zygons for Terror of the Zygons where he was responsible for designing the heads and cranium of the creatures.

Friedlander’s penultimate serial for Doctor Who saw him work on the highly popular Pyramids of Mars. He helped design the look and costumes for the Mummies. He sculpted a fibreglass head and chest shell, which then covered with elasticated fabric bandages. The arms and legs were constructed from thick cotton, but still covered in bandages. He also constructed the helmet which was worn by the Servant of Sutekh (Marcus Scarman), and also the jackal-head of Sutekh, based on designs drawn up by Ian Scoones, and the fibreglass Sutekh head. Freidlander’s final credit for the show was with The Android Invasion where he made the mask worn by the fake android copy of Sarah Jane Smith. Although not the most-liked serial, the cliffhanger where the mask fell off ‘Sarah Jane’ bore itself into the mind of young viewers, and still remains there today.

Other credits that John Friedlander picked up included being a puppet maker for a few episodes of Jackanory (1967), and visual effects credits on Dad’s Army (1970), Dead of Night (1972), Tomorrow’s People (1975), I, Claudius (1976) and The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to Galaxy (1981); although he was uncredited on all six episodes. A major scandal if there ever was one.

                John Friedlander sadly died on 5 March 2023.