Richard Davies
Born
Dennis Wilfred Davies

(1926-01-25)25 January 1926
Died8 October 2015(2015-10-08) (aged 89)
Conford, Hampshire, England
OccupationActor
Spouses
Beryl Armstrong
(m. 1944, divorced)
    Jill Britton
    (m. 1955)
    Children3

    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] He had Alzheimer's disease.[12]

    Filmography

    Film

    YearTitleRolesNotes
    1949A Run for Your MoneyRugby FanUncredited
    1951The Lavender Hill MobPolice DriverUncredited
    1955The Night My Number Came UpWireless Operator
    1956The Long ArmDetectiveUncredited
    1961A Fever in the BloodBatesUncredited
    1962Some PeopleHarper
    1963Critic's ChoiceSpectatorUncredited
    1964ZuluPrivate 593 Jones
    1966Sky West and CrookedRick
    1968Twisted Nerve'Taffy' Evans
    1968The Fiction MakersReporter
    1969Oh! What a Lovely WarSergeant in Burial PartyUncredited
    1971Please Sir!Mr. Price
    1972Under Milk WoodMr. Pritchard
    1973Steptoe and Son Ride AgainButcher
    1974The MutationsDoctor
    1974Blue BloodJones
    1988Queen SacrificeWil BevanShort

    Television

    YearTitleRoleNotes
    1960The Secret KingdomRigby
    19621965Z-CarsJim Sloan
    1968Softly, Softly
    1962Z-Cars
    19681972Please Sir!Mr. Price
    1970Two in CloverDavid Evans
    19741975Coronation StreetIdris Hopkins
    19741977Oh No It's Selwyn FroggittClive
    1977Van der ValkSgt LloydS3E8 Dead On Arrival
    1979Fawlty TowersMr. White
    1980Yes, MinisterJoe Morgan
    1982Whoops ApocalypseChancellor of the Exchequer
    1983Give Us a BreakTaffy
    1984Bottle BoysStan Evans
    1985Big DealDai Phillips
    1986That Uncertain FeelingMr. Davis
    1987Doctor WhoBurton
    1988Wyatt's Watchdogs
    1989EastEndersTed
    1992One Foot in the GraveBilly Whitney
    1992-19932point4 ChildrenGareth
    1993The BillCaretaker
    1996And the Beat Goes OnFather Hopkins
    19982point4 ChildrenJack

    References

    1. 1 2 "Richard Davies, actor - obituary". 15 October 2015 via www.telegraph.co.uk.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Richard Davies: Character actor best known as Mr Price in 'Please Sir!". The Independent. 23 October 2015.
    3. 1 2 Anthony Hayward. "Richard Davies obituary". The Guardian.
    4. "Follow That Robot (1973)". BFI. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019.
    5. "The Midas Plague (1965)". BFI. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019.
    6. "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - Delta and the Bannermen - Details". www.bbc.co.uk.
    7. "Richard Davies". www.aveleyman.com.
    8. "Two in Clover[26/02/70] (1970)". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018.
    9. Houghton, Tom (27 October 2015). "Zulu actor Richard Davies dies aged 89". walesonline.
    10. "Richard Davies". BFI. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017.
    11. "Queen Sacrifice (1988)". BFI. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019.
    12. "Richard Davies – Welsh Character Actor – RIP 1926–2015". Toby Hadoke – Comedian, actor, Writer (quite likes Doctor Who).
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.