David Dixon (born 28 October 1947) is an English actor and screenwriter. His credits include ''

A Family at War ''A Family at War'' is a British drama series that aired on ITV from 14 April 1970 to 16 February 1972. It was created by John Finch and made by Granada Television for ITV. The original producer was Richard Doubleday, and with 13 directors dur ...

'' (1970), '' Escort Girls'' (1974), ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a British police drama television series focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective ...

'' (episode "Big Brother", 1975), '' The Legend of Robin Hood'' (1975), ''

Rock Follies ''Rock Follies'' (together with its sequel, ''Rock Follies of '77'') is a musical drama that was shown on British television in the 1970s. The storyline follows the ups and downs of a fictional female rock band called the Little Ladies, as the ...

'' (1976), '' A Horseman Riding By'' (1978), '' Lillie'' (1978), ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' (1980), '' The Missionary'' (1982), '' Cold Warrior'' (1984), '' Tutti Frutti'' (1987), '' Circles of Deceit: Dark Secret'' (1995), '' A Touch of Frost: Fun Times for Swingers '' (1996), and ''

Original Sin Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image ...

'' (1996). However, his most notable role was starring as

Ford Prefect The Ford Prefect is a line of British cars which was produced by Ford UK between 1938 and 1961 as an upmarket version of the Ford Popular and Ford Anglia small family cars. It was introduced in October 1938 and remained in production until ...

in the 1981

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

TV series ''

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a Science fiction comedy, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), radio sitcom broadcast over two series on BBC ...

'' (1981).

Early life

David Dixon was born 28 October 1947, in and lived in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, until the family moved to Normanton in 1959.

Career

In 1975, he starred as Prince John in the

serial '' The Legend of Robin Hood'', alongside Diane Keen and

Paul Darrow Paul Darrow (born Paul Valentine Birkby; 2 May 1941 – 3 June 2019) was an English actor and writer. He became best known for playing Kerr Avon in the BBC science fiction television series ''Blake's 7'' between 1978 and 1981. His many te ...

. He played

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki *, a Russian film directed by Yevgeni Kotov * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', a 1989 and 1991 ...

in the 1980

version of ''

'', directed by John Gorrie). His most notable role was in the 1981

TV series ''

'', based on the book of the same name by

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...

, in which Dixon starred as

, alongside Simon Jones, who played Arthur Dent, and Sandra Dickinson who played Trillian. He later rejoined the ''Hitchhiker's Guide'' by lending his voice to the "Ecological Man" and the "Zirzla Leader" in Fit the Twentieth of the radio series, while

Geoffrey McGivern Geoffrey M. McGivern is a British actor in film, television, radio and stage, as well as a comedian. He is best known for originating the role of Ford Prefect in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Career He played Ford Prefect in the ...

, who had originally played the character on radio, returned to the role of Ford. In 1982, he starred in the British comedy film '' The Missionary'' (1982), alongside

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. He received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, BAFTA Fellowship in 2013 and was knig ...

, Michael Horden,

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, and

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. In 1987, he appeared in the episode "Love Hurts" of the

Bafta The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

award winning show '' Tutti Frutti'' (1987), alongside

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...

and

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...

. In 2010, he was a contestant on ''

Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay Entertainment subsidiary Remarkable Entertainment for the BBC and hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode, four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but ob ...

''. In 2016, he was in the BBC documentary ''Living in 66'' talking to former drama student colleague Robert Lyndsay. Dixon has over the years acquired a loyal fan following online who call themselves "Dixonites".

Filmography

* ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'' (1969) - Rob (2 episodes) * ''

'' (1970) (TV series) – Robert Ashton (7 episodes) * '' On the House'' (1971) Ronald * '' Escort Girls'' (1974) – Hugh Lloyd * ''

'' (episode "Big Brother", 1975) (TV) - Andy Deacon * ''Jumping Bean Bag'' (1976, in (BBC TV ''

Play For Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'') – Ozymandias Freemantle * '' The Legend of Robin Hood'' (1975) (miniseries) – Prince John * ''

'' (1976) (TV series) - PR Man * '' A Horseman Riding By'' (1978) (miniseries) – Keith Horsey * '' Lillie'' (1978) (miniseries) – Prince Leopold * ''A Family Affair'' (1979) (miniseries) – Clifford * ''

'' (1980) (TV) – Ariel * ''

'' (1981) (miniseries) – Ford Prefect * '' The Missionary'' (1982) – Young Man * '' Cold Warrior'' (1984) (miniseries) * '' Tutti Frutti'' (1987), (TV) – Stuart Gordon Inverarrity * '' Circles of Deceit: Dark Secret'' (1995) (TV) – DI Ransome * '' A Touch of Frost: Fun Times for Swingers '' (1996) (TV) – Barry Curzon * ''

'' (1996) (TV) – Dr Wardle * ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' (1997), series 13 episode 77 "Too Much to Lose" - Brian Vaughan

References

External links

The Dixionary
David Dixon fanpage
Dixonites Livejournal communityDixon talks to Robert Lyndsay - BBC
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, David 1947 births Living people English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Derby People from Normanton, Derby Writers from Derby