Dennis Wilfred Davies, known professionally as Richard Davies (25 January 1926 – 8 October 2015), was a Welsh actor. He was probably best known for his performance as the exasperated schoolmaster Mr. Price in the popular LWT situation comedy '' Please Sir!''. 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.

Biography

Davies was born in Dowlais, near

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, the son of a railway guard. He played Idris Hopkins in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' 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 ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' story '' Delta and the Bannermen''. He played Mr. White in the ''

Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...

'' episode " The Kipper and the Corpse" and also appeared in ''

Yes Minister ''Yes Minister'' is a British political satire sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode series, it was first transmitted on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister'', ran for 16 episodes f ...

'', '' Wyatt's Watchdogs'', '' May to December'', '' Whoops Apocalypse'', '' 2point4 Children'' and ''

One Foot in the Grave ''One Foot in the Grave'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series (each consisting of six half-hour episodes) and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late ...

''. In 1970, he appeared in an episode of '' Two in Clover'' as Victor Spinetti's character's brother when Spinetti was unavailable. His other main role was in the comedy series '' Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt'' where he played Clive. Davies had a recurring role as Jim Sloan in ''

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 ...

'' between 1962 and 1965, returning to the series playing different characters in 1968 and in its spin-off '' Softly, Softly''. He also appeared in ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

'', '' 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 ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' is a British television sketch comedy show that was broadcast on BBC2 from 16 October 1979 to 8 March 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the '' Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1, the show features satirical ...

''. He appeared in the ''Please Sir!'' spin-off series '' The Fenn Street Gang''. In 1951, he made an uncredited appearance in the

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...

comedy ''

The Lavender Hill Mob ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 British comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers ...

''. He had appeared in films such as '' Zulu'' (1964), the film adaptation of '' Please Sir!'' (1971), and ''

Under Milk Wood ''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh people, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. The BBC commissioned the play, which was later adapted for the stage. The first public reading was in New York City in 1953. A Under Milk Wood (1972 film), f ...

'' (1972). In 1988, he played the schoolteacher in '' Queen Sacrifice''. 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 after a battle against Alzheimer's disease.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Richard Welsh male stage actors Welsh male film actors Welsh male television actors Welsh male soap opera actors 1926 births 2015 deaths People from Dowlais Deaths from dementia in England Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in England Male actors from Merthyr Tydfil County Borough