Richard Davies (Welsh actor)
Richard Davies | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dennis Wilfred Davies 25 January 1926 |
| Died | 8 October 2015 (aged 89) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouses | Beryl Armstrong
(m. 1944, divorced)Jill Britton (m. 1955) |
| Children | 3 |
Dennis Wilfred Davies, known professionally as Richard Davies (25 January 1926 – 8 October 2015), was a Welsh actor.[1] He was probably best known for his performance as the exasperated schoolmaster Mr. Price in the popular LWT situation comedy Please Sir!.[2] He used a broad Welsh accent for much of his work, but had used other accents to play a wide range of characters, in addition to several Welsh stereotypes.[3]
Biography
Davies was born in Dowlais, near Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, the son of a railway guard.[2] He played Idris Hopkins in Coronation Street between 1974 and 1975, and appeared in several science-fiction series, among them Robert's Robots, Out of the Unknown, and a well-received performance as Burton in the 1987 Doctor Who story Delta and the Bannermen.[2][4][5][6] He played Mr. White in the Fawlty Towers episode "The Kipper and the Corpse" and also appeared in Yes Minister, Wyatt's Watchdogs, May to December, Whoops Apocalypse, 2point4 Children and One Foot in the Grave.[7] In 1970, he appeared in an episode of Two in Clover as Victor Spinetti's character's brother when Spinetti was unavailable.[8] His other main role was in the comedy series Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt where he played Clive.[2]
Davies had a recurring role as Jim Sloan in Z-Cars between 1962 and 1965, returning to the series playing different characters in 1968 and in its spin-off Softly, Softly.[1] He also appeared in Dixon of Dock Green, The Sweeney and Van der Valk. He impersonated Clive Jenkins in a spoof edition of Question Time in a sketch on Not the Nine O'Clock News.[9] He appeared in the Please Sir! spin-off series The Fenn Street Gang. In 1951, he made an uncredited appearance in the Ealing Studios comedy The Lavender Hill Mob.[2] He had appeared in films such as Zulu (1964), the film adaptation of Please Sir! (1971), and Under Milk Wood (1972).[10] In 1988, he played the schoolteacher in Queen Sacrifice.[11] He died on 8 October 2015 at the age of 89, survived by his wife and two children, and a son from his first marriage[3] after a battle against Alzheimer's disease.[12]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Roles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | A Run for Your Money | Rugby Fan | Uncredited |
| 1951 | The Lavender Hill Mob | Police Driver | Uncredited |
| 1955 | The Night My Number Came Up | Wireless Operator | |
| 1956 | The Long Arm | Detective | Uncredited |
| 1961 | A Fever in the Blood | Bates | Uncredited |
| 1962 | Some People | Harper | |
| 1963 | Critic's Choice | Spectator | Uncredited |
| 1964 | Zulu | Private 593 Jones | |
| 1966 | Sky West and Crooked | Rick | |
| 1968 | Twisted Nerve | 'Taffy' Evans | |
| 1968 | The Fiction Makers | Reporter | |
| 1969 | Oh! What a Lovely War | Sergeant in Burial Party | Uncredited |
| 1971 | Please Sir! | Mr. Price | |
| 1972 | Under Milk Wood | Mr. Pritchard | |
| 1973 | Steptoe and Son Ride Again | Butcher | |
| 1974 | The Mutations | Doctor | |
| 1974 | Blue Blood | Jones | |
| 1988 | Queen Sacrifice | Wil Bevan | Short |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | The Secret Kingdom | Rigby | |
| 1962–1965 | Z-Cars | Jim Sloan | |
| 1968 | Softly, Softly | ||
| 1968–1972 | Please Sir! | Mr. Price | |
| 1970 | Two in Clover | David Evans | |
| 1974–1975 | Coronation Street | Idris Hopkins | |
| 1974–1977 | Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt | Clive Meredith | 21 episodes |
| 1977 | Van der Valk | Sgt Lloyd | S3E8 Dead on Arrival |
| 1979 | Fawlty Towers | Mr. White | |
| 1980 | Yes Minister | Joe Morgan | |
| 1982 | Whoops Apocalypse | Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| 1983 | Give Us a Break | Taffy | |
| 1984 | Bottle Boys | Stan Evans | |
| 1985 | Big Deal | Dai Phillips | |
| 1986 | That Uncertain Feeling | Mr. Davis | |
| 1987 | Doctor Who | Burton | |
| 1988 | Wyatt's Watchdogs | ||
| 1989 | EastEnders | Ted | |
| 1992 | One Foot in the Grave | Billy Whitney | |
| 1992-1993 | 2point4 Children | Gareth | |
| 1993 | The Bill | Caretaker | |
| 1996 | And the Beat Goes On | Father Hopkins | |
| 1998 | 2point4 Children | Jack |
References
- ^ a b "Richard Davies, actor – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. London. 15 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Richard Davies: Character actor best known as Mr Price in 'Please Sir!". The Independent. 23 October 2015.
- ^ a b Anthony Hayward (15 October 2015). "Richard Davies obituary". The Guardian. London.
- ^ "Follow That Robot (1973)". BFI. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019.
- ^ "The Midas Plague (1965)". BFI. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019.
- ^ "BBC – Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide – Delta and the Bannermen – Details". BBC.
- ^ "Richard Davies". aveleyman.com.
- ^ "Two in Clover[26/02/70] (1970)". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018.
- ^ Houghton, Tom (27 October 2015). "Zulu actor Richard Davies dies aged 89". Wales Online.
- ^ "Richard Davies". BFI. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017.
- ^ "Queen Sacrifice (1988)". BFI. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019.
- ^ "Richard Davies – Welsh Character Actor – RIP 1926–2015". Toby Hadoke – Comedian, actor, Writer (quite likes Doctor Who). 13 October 2015.