Ryan Davies (22 January 1937 – 22 April 1977) was a Welsh comedian, actor, musician, singer, and songwriter. Though his career lasted just 11 years, he became widely known in Wales through his work with Ronnie Williams as the comedic double act Ryan and Ronnie.

Early life

Davies was born in Glanamman on 22 January 1937. He was educated in Bangor and at

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career

Davies' first professional appearance was in the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

in Aberavon in 1966. His talents were quickly recognised by

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

, and he made his name on Welsh-language television shows such as the sitcom ''Fo a Fe''. Meredydd Edwards, the head of Light Entertainment, brought Davies and Ronnie Williams together as a double act and the pair had immediate success, first in their Welsh-language television show '' Ryan a Ronnie''. This also launched them onto the concert and cabaret circuit across Wales. The duo's show became so popular that it was moved to

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

and broadcast in English, winning them a much wider audience, and three series were shown between 1971 and 1973. Davies' speciality was dressing up as a "typical" Welsh housewife for a weekly sketch on the show known as "Our House", in which he played "Mam" and Williams played Will, the father. The two were hugely popular in Wales, and were the first comedians to make TV series in both Welsh and English. They were often thought of fondly as the Welsh answer to Morecambe and Wise. Davies had a simultaneous solo career as an actor, singer, pianist, and songwriter. He had a role in the 1972 film ''

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 ...

''. His best known compositions are "Hen Geiliog y Gwynt", "Nadolig Pwy a Wyr", and "Blodwen a Meri". Other songs written by Davies and performed with Williams in their television series have been covered by other artists, including "Ti a dy ddoniau" being covered by Jodie Marie and "Yn y bore" being covered by Emyr Wyn Gibson and Steve Pablo Jones. Davies and Williams split in 1975, citing Williams' ill health as the official reason, though Williams would ultimately outlive Davies by 20 years. Following Williams' decision to stop performing, Davies pursued a solo career, with a live show at the Swansea Top Rank nightclub. The evening saw Davies give a notable performance of '' Myfanwy'', a song he described as "The greatest love song ever written". The live recording of this version was included on Davies' album ''Ryan at the Rank'', with the song quickly became one of Davies' most notable and familiar performances. The album itself is now regarded as a classic. Davies continued to appear extensively on television and in traditional Christmas

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

appearances in at the

Swansea Grand Theatre Swansea Grand Theatre is a performing arts venue in the centre of Swansea, Wales. The theatre stages plays, pantomimes and touring theatrical acts visiting Swansea. Swansea Grand Theatre was the base for the UK's only Russian ballet company, ...

Personal life

Ryan married his childhood sweetheart Irene; they had a daughter named Bethan and a son named Arwyn, the latter of whom also became an actor.

Death

On 22 April 1977, Davies died suddenly of an

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

attack while visiting American friends in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. He was 40 years old. One of his own songs, "Pan Fo'r Nos yn Hir", was performed at his funeral. It has since been covered by other performers, including Rhydian Roberts and the Whitland Male Voice Choir.

Filmography

*''

'' (1972) – Second Man

References

External links

TV Heroes: Ryan Davies
Nigel Stapley, Transdiffusion Broadcasting System. Retrieved 24 June 2008. * Clip of one of Ryan Davies's first television appearances, on the comedy series Noson Lawen in 1965 *
How Green Was My Father: A Welsh Odyssey for 1976
'

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 ...

clip from 1976 featuring Ryan Davies playing multiple roles. *
Ryan Davies biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Ryan 1937 births 1977 deaths Welsh male television actors Welsh male comedians 20th-century Welsh male singers Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama People from Glanamman Welsh-language singers Welsh-speaking actors 20th-century Welsh male actors Respiratory disease deaths in New York (state) Deaths from asthma 20th-century British comedians