John Nathan-Turner died on Wednesday
May 1, 2002, at
Brighton's
Hove Hospital following a "short illness" (terminally short).
Known to his fans as JNT, Nathan-Turner was the longest-serving producer of the
sci-fi/
cult series
Doctor Who. He was 54.
He began working on the programme as a floor assistant in 1969 when
Patrick Troughton was the second
Doctor, and became producer at the end of
Tom Baker's reign as the fourth incarnation of the
Time Lord.
Mr Nathan-Turner produced a total of 130 episodes of the show and was responsible for casting
Peter Davison,
Colin Baker and
Sylvester McCoy as the fifth, sixth and seventh Doctors.
He also produced
All Creatures Great and Small, and
Nicholas Nickleby.
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/new_media/newsid_1965000/1965981.stm