John Howard Davies

John Howard Davies
Born (1939-03-09)9 March 1939
Paddington, London, England
Died 22 August 2011(2011-08-22) (aged 72)
Blewbury, Oxfordshire, England
Occupation Actor, director, producer
Spouse(s) Leonie (Unknown)
Linda (2005–2011, his death)
Children Son and daughter

John Howard Davies (9 March 1939 – 22 August 2011)[1] was an English child actor who later became a television director and producer.

Biography

Davies was born in Paddington, London, the son of Jack Davies, a film critic and prolific scriptwriter for mainly Gainsborough and Elstree studios, and the novelist Dorothy Davies.[2] A keen Fullbore rifle shooter in his spare time, John represented Wales in numerous events and regularly competed in the Imperial Meeting, held annually over a two week period in July.

Child actor

Known to his friends as JHD, his credits as a child actor include the title role at the age of nine in David Lean's production Oliver Twist (1948), followed by The Rocking Horse Winner (1949), Tom Brown's Schooldays (1951) and a few episodes of the TV series William Tell (1958).[3]

After a basic education at Haileybury School,[2] he gained further education in Grenoble, France, followed by national service in the Navy.[4]

Adult career

On de-mob, Davies worked in the City of London financial sector, and then as a carpet salesman. Ending up in Melbourne, Australia, he returned to acting and met his first wife Leonie when they both appeared in The Sound of Music. He was Stage Manager for The Sound Of Music for two years touring Australia and New Zealand.[5] Back in Britain he tried selling oil to industry in Wembley.

He is best known for his adult career as a director and producer of several highly successful British sitcoms. Returning to the UK, Davies became a BBC production assistant during 1966, being promoted to producer in 1968.[6] During this early period Davies worked on sketch shows such as The World of Beachcomber (1968), the earliest episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969) and The Goodies (1970–72). He also directed the young Anthony Hopkins in the first episode of the Biography series in "Danton", written by Arden Winch. He also worked on All Gas and Gaiters (1969–70) and the seventh series of Steptoe and Son in 1972.

He briefly left the BBC to become managing director of EMI Television Productions in 1973,[1] but soon returned to the corporation.[6] From this time came Fawlty Towers (1975). The actress the writers wished to cast as Sybil was uninterested, and casting Prunella Scales was Davies's idea.[1] Davies was producer for all four series of The Good Life (1975–78).[7]

He was the BBC's Head of Comedy from 1977–82, then Head of Light Entertainment, before joining Thames Television in 1985. Thames was then an ITV contractor, for which Davies was head of light entertainment from 1988.[5] During the last role he was cited by the popular press as the man who sacked comedian Benny Hill when the company decided not to renew his contract[2] after a connection lasting 20 years. He told Hill's biographer Mark Lewisohn, "It's very dangerous to have a show on ITV that doesn't appeal to women, because they hold the purse strings, in a sense."[5] He was later appointed a controller of BBC.

During this period he worked on No Job for a Lady (1990–92) and Mr. Bean (1990), returning to the BBC later in the 1990s.[8]

Death

Davies died from cancer[9] on 22 August 2011 at his home in Blewbury, Oxfordshire, with his third wife Linda,[1] whom he married in 2005, son William and daughter Georgina at his bedside.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleRef.
1948Oliver TwistOliver Twist[2]
1949The Rocking Horse WinnerPaul Grahame[2]
1951 Tom Brown's SchooldaysTom Brown[2]
The Magic BoxMaurice Freise-Greene[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Obituary: John Howard Davies, Daily Telegraph, 23 August 2011
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Matthew Sweet Obituary: John Howard Davies, The Guardian, 24 August 2011
  3. ↑ ""JUNIOR ANGEL" AS FILM OLIVER TWIST". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 30 January 1949. p. 5 Supplement: Magazine Section. Retrieved 7 July 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "John Howard Davies". The Daily Telegraph. 24 August 2011. pp. 29 (Obituaries). |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. 1 2 3 Gavin Gaughan Obituary: John Howard Davies, The Independent, 25 August 2011
  6. 1 2 John Oliver "Davies, John Howard (1939-)", BFI screenonline page
  7. ↑ Christopher Webber (Jan 2015). "Davies, John Howard (1939–2011)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/104018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. ↑ "Fawlty Towers producer John Howard Davies dies at 72", BBC News, 23 August 2011
  9. ↑ "TV Comedy Producer John Howard Davies Dies At 72", NPR citing the Associated Press, 23 August 2011

Further reading

  • John Holmstrom, The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 211.
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