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{{short description|Welsh actor (1930–2019)}}
{{short description|British actor (1930–2019)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
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| caption = Davies during filming of ''[[Never the Twain]]''
| caption = Davies during filming of ''[[Never the Twain]]''
| birth_date = 28 August 1930
| birth_date = 28 August 1930
| birth_place = [[Canning Town]], [[Essex]] (now London), England<ref name="ukbmd.org.uk">https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/west%20ham.html {{bare URL inline|date=April 2023}}</ref>
| birth_place = [[Canning Town]], [[Essex]] (now [[London]]), England<ref name="ukbmd.org.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/west%20ham.html |access-date=2023-10-08| title=WEST HAM REGISTRATION DISTRICT}}</ref>
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|1|17|1930|8|28|df=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|1|17|1930|8|28|df=y}}
| death_place = [[France]]<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46931129 | title=Windsor Davies: It Ain't Half Hot Mum actor dies aged 88 | work=BBC News | date=19 January 2019 }}</ref>
| death_place = [[France]]<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46931129 | title=Windsor Davies: It Ain't Half Hot Mum actor dies aged 88 | work=BBC News | date=19 January 2019 }}</ref>
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| children = 5
| children = 5
}}
}}
'''Windsor Davies''' (28 August 1930 – 17 January 2019)<ref name="BBC Arts">{{cite web|title = Stage and screen: Windsor Davies|publisher=BBC WalesArts|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/sites/windsor-davies/|access-date=4 July 2012}}</ref> was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing [[Company sergeant major|Battery Sergeant Major]] Williams in the sitcom ''[[It Ain't Half Hot Mum]]'' (1974–1981) over its entire run. The show's popularity resulted in Davies and his co-star [[Don Estelle]] achieving a UK [[chart-topper|number-one]] hit with a version of "[[Whispering Grass]]" in 1975. He later starred with [[Donald Sinden]] in ''[[Never the Twain]]'' (1981–1991), and his deep [[Welsh English|Welsh-accented]] voice was heard extensively in advertising voice-overs.
'''Windsor Davies''' (28 August 1930 – 17 January 2019)<ref name="BBC Arts">{{cite web|title = Stage and screen: Windsor Davies|publisher=BBC WalesArts|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/sites/windsor-davies/|access-date=4 July 2012}}</ref> was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing [[Company sergeant major|Battery Sergeant Major]] Williams in the sitcom ''[[It Ain't Half Hot Mum]]'' (1974–1981) over its entire run. The show's popularity resulted in Davies and his co-star [[Don Estelle]] achieving a UK [[chart-topper|number-one]] hit with a version of "[[Whispering Grass#Windsor Davies and Don Estelle version|Whispering Grass]]" in 1975. He later starred with [[Donald Sinden]] in ''[[Never the Twain]]'' (1981–1991), and his deep [[Welsh English|Welsh-accented]] voice was heard extensively in advertising voice-overs.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Davies was born on 28 August 1930 in [[Canning Town]], [[East London]],<ref name="ukbmd.org.uk">https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/west%20ham.html {{bare URL inline|date=April 2023}}</ref> to Welsh parents. In 1940 they returned to their native village of [[Nant-y-moel]], [[Bridgend County Borough|Bridgend]].<ref name="Gdn20190120">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jan/20/windsor-davies-obituary|title=Windsor Davies obituary|first=Meic|last=Stephens|date=20 January 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=12 June 2020}}</ref> Davies studied at [[Ogmore School|Ogmore Grammar School]] and worked as a coal miner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/windsor-davies-one-greatest-living-10955253|title=Why Windsor Davies is a Welsh icon (even if he's really English)|first=Nathan|last=Bevan|date=27 February 2016|website=Walesonline.co.uk|access-date=26 October 2018}}</ref> He performed his [[Conscription in the United Kingdom#After 1945|National Service]] in Libya and Egypt, with the [[East Surrey Regiment]], between 1950 and 1952.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pratt |first=Vic |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/479696/ |title=Davies, Windsor (1930-) Biography|work=BFI Screenonline|date=2003–14|access-date=29 October 2016}}</ref> Following teacher training at [[Bangor Normal College|Bangor Teacher Training College]],<ref name="BBC Arts" /> he taught English and Maths at [[Leek, Staffordshire|Leek]] in [[Staffordshire]],<ref name="BBC20190119">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-38497286|title=Comedy actor Windsor Davies dies|date=19 January 2019|work=BBC News}}</ref> and at a school in [[Elephant and Castle]], south London.<ref name="Timesobit" />
Davies was born on 28 August 1930 in [[Canning Town]], [[East London]],<ref name="ukbmd.org.uk"/> to Welsh parents. In 1940 they returned to their native village of [[Nant-y-moel]], [[Glamorgan]].<ref name="Gdn20190120">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jan/20/windsor-davies-obituary|title=Windsor Davies obituary|first=Meic|last=Stephens|date=20 January 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=12 June 2020}}</ref> Davies studied at [[Ogmore School|Ogmore Grammar School]] and worked as a coal miner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/windsor-davies-one-greatest-living-10955253|title=Why Windsor Davies is a Welsh icon (even if he's really English)|first=Nathan|last=Bevan|date=27 February 2016|website=Walesonline.co.uk|access-date=26 October 2018}}</ref> He performed his [[Conscription in the United Kingdom#After 1945|National Service]] in Libya and Egypt, with the [[East Surrey Regiment]], between 1950 and 1952.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pratt |first=Vic |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/479696/ |title=Davies, Windsor (1930-) Biography|work=BFI Screenonline|date=2003–14|access-date=29 October 2016}}</ref> Following teacher training at [[Bangor Normal College|Bangor Teacher Training College]],<ref name="BBC Arts" /> he taught English and Maths at [[Leek, Staffordshire|Leek]] in [[Staffordshire]],<ref name="BBC20190119">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-38497286|title=Comedy actor Windsor Davies dies|date=19 January 2019|work=BBC News}}</ref> and at a school in [[Elephant and Castle]], south London.<ref name="Timesobit" />


Davies had become active in amateur dramatics, including the [[Bromley Little Theatre]], and took a short drama course with a [[Kew]] theatre company.<ref name="BBC20190119" /> He became a professional actor at the age of 31 and began working at the [[Cheltenham]] [[repertory theatre]] in 1961.<ref name="Timesobit" />
Davies had become active in amateur dramatics, including the [[Bromley Little Theatre]], and took a short drama course with a [[Kew]] theatre company.<ref name="BBC20190119" /> He became a professional actor at the age of 31 and began working at the [[Cheltenham]] [[repertory theatre]] in 1961.<ref name="Timesobit" />
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==Career==
==Career==
=== Television ===
=== Television ===
Davies' best known role was as Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the [[British sitcom]], ''[[It Ain't Half Hot Mum]]'' (1974–1981).<ref name="BBC Arts" /> who was modelled on similar individuals Davies had met as a soldier during his national service. "Bastards, real bastards some of them were. They knew it, too, and took pride in it," he once said.<ref name="Timesobit" /> Among his character's catchphrases was "Shut Up!!", delivered as an [[eardrum]]-shattering military scream.<ref>{{cite web|title=It Ain't Half Hot Mum|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/itainthalfhotmum/ |access-date=5 August 2011|publisher=BBC }}</ref> Another phrase was "Oh dear, how sad, never mind", delivered in a dry, ironic manner, and used when others around him had problems. Davies and co-star [[Don Estelle]] had a number-one hit in the UK with a semicomic version of "[[Whispering Grass]]" in 1975.<ref name="BBC Arts" /> Journalist Neil Clark, contributing to ''[[The Times]]'' in 2005, described his performance as the "definitive portrayal of a bullying and uneducated sergeant-major" and reported [[Spike Milligan]] was of the opinion that Davies' role was "the funniest comic performance he had ever" watched.<ref>{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Neil|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/listen-and-repeat-after-me-ncjlj2rpbcr|title=Listen and repeat after me . . .|work=The Times|date=1 September 2005|access-date=14 October 2018}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
Davies' best known role was as Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the [[British sitcom]] ''[[It Ain't Half Hot Mum]]'' (1974–1981),<ref name="BBC Arts" /> who was modelled on similar individuals Davies had met as a soldier during his national service. "Bastards, real bastards some of them were. They knew it, too, and took pride in it," he once said.<ref name="Timesobit" /> Among his character's catchphrases was "Shut Up!!", delivered as an [[eardrum]]-shattering military scream.<ref>{{cite web|title=It Ain't Half Hot Mum|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/itainthalfhotmum/ |access-date=5 August 2011|publisher=BBC }}</ref> Another phrase was "Oh dear, how sad, never mind", delivered in a dry, ironic manner, and used when others around him had problems. Journalist Neil Clark, contributing to ''[[The Times]]'' in 2005, described his performance as the "definitive portrayal of a bullying and uneducated sergeant-major" and reported [[Spike Milligan]] was of the opinion that Davies' role was "the funniest comic performance he had ever" watched.<ref>{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Neil|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/listen-and-repeat-after-me-ncjlj2rpbcr|title=Listen and repeat after me . . .|work=The Times|date=1 September 2005|access-date=14 October 2018}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Davies and co-star [[Don Estelle]] had a number-one hit in the UK with a semicomic version of "[[Whispering Grass#Windsor Davies and Don Estelle version|Whispering Grass]]" in 1975.<ref name="BBC Arts" />


His other television roles included the sailor Taffy in the first of the BBC series ''[[The Onedin Line]]'' (1971), a boat captain in an episode of ''[[Special Branch (TV series)|Special Branch]],'' a special branch detective in ''[[Callan (TV series)|Callan]]'' (1972), and the [[antique]] dealer Oliver Smallbridge in ''[[Never the Twain]]'' (1981–1991), with [[Donald Sinden]].<ref name="BFI">{{cite web |title=Windsor Davies |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba02da5eb |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> In the field of science fiction television, Davies appeared in the 1967 ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story "[[The Evil of the Daleks]]" as Toby;<ref name=who>{{cite web |title=The Evil of the Daleks |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/evildaleks/detail.shtml |publisher=BBC |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> and was the voice of Sergeant Major Zero (a spherical robotic soldier in charge of 100 other spherical robotic soldiers) in the 1983 Gerry Anderson-Christopher Burr production ''[[Terrahawks]]''.<ref name="BBC Arts" />
His other television roles included the sailor Taffy in the first of the BBC series ''[[The Onedin Line]]'' (1971), a boat captain in an episode of ''[[Special Branch (TV series)|Special Branch]],'' a special branch detective in ''[[Callan (TV series)|Callan]]'' (1972), and the [[antique]] dealer Oliver Smallbridge in ''[[Never the Twain]]'' (1981–1991), with [[Donald Sinden]].<ref name="BFI">{{cite web |title=Windsor Davies |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba02da5eb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203001433/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba02da5eb |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 February 2018 |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> In the field of science fiction television, Davies appeared in the 1967 ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story "[[The Evil of the Daleks]]" as Toby;<ref name=who>{{cite web |title=The Evil of the Daleks |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/evildaleks/detail.shtml |publisher=BBC |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> and was the voice of Sergeant Major Zero (a spherical robotic soldier in charge of 100 other spherical robotic soldiers) in the 1983 Gerry Anderson-Christopher Burr production ''[[Terrahawks]]''.<ref name="BBC Arts" />


He was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in 1976 when he was surprised by [[Eamonn Andrews]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b821f19f1|title=Windsor Davies (1976)|website=BFI}}</ref>
He was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in 1976 when he was surprised by [[Eamonn Andrews]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b821f19f1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223191012/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b821f19f1|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 February 2022|title=Windsor Davies (1976)|website=BFI}}</ref>


In September–October 1985, Davies played the lead role of George Vance, a museum custodian elevated to the peerage, in the six-part [[BBC Two]] comedy series ''[[The New Statesman (1984 TV series)|The New Statesman]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02zy165|title=The New Statesman|publisher=BBC | access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref> This was based on the play by [[Douglas Watkinson]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b74c45011|title=The New Statesman (1985)|publisher=BFI | access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref> and is not to be confused with [[The New Statesman (1987 TV series)|the later sitcom of the same name]]. ([[Colin Blakely]] played the role of Vance in a pilot episode transmitted on BBC2 in December 1984.)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/8459b66a95e94f37a261237788abaf12|title=The New Statesman|publisher=BBC Genome | access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref>
In September–October 1985, Davies played the lead role of George Vance, a museum custodian elevated to the peerage, in the six-part [[BBC Two]] comedy series ''[[The New Statesman (1984 TV series)|The New Statesman]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02zy165|title=The New Statesman|publisher=BBC | access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref> This was based on the play by [[Douglas Watkinson]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b74c45011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126080208/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b74c45011|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 January 2020|title=The New Statesman (1985)|publisher=BFI | access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref> and is not to be confused with [[The New Statesman (1987 TV series)|the later sitcom of the same name]]. ([[Colin Blakely]] played the role of Vance in a pilot episode transmitted on BBC2 in December 1984.)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/8459b66a95e94f37a261237788abaf12|title=The New Statesman|publisher=BBC Genome | access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref>


Davies also featured in the BBC comedy sitcom ''[[Oh, Doctor Beeching!]]'', written by [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]] and [[Richard Spendlove]], as the Lord Mayor in an episode broadcast in 1997.
Davies also featured in the BBC comedy sitcom ''[[Oh, Doctor Beeching!]]'', written by [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]] and [[Richard Spendlove]], as the Lord Mayor in an episode broadcast in 1997. He also featured in an episode of [[2point4 Children|2 Point 4 Children]] in 1999, as Ben's long-lost Uncle Ion.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0blpxny/2-point-4-children-series-8-5-carry-on-screaming |title=2 Point 4 Children - Series 8: 5. Carry On Screaming |language=en-GB |access-date=2024-04-17 |via=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>


===Films===
===Films===
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Davies' distinctive voice was heard in commercials for New Zealand's Pink Batts house insulations and confectionery ads for [[Cadbury Schweppes|Cadbury]]'s [[Wispa]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Donohue |first1=Alex |title=Cadbury to resurrect Wispa after social network pressure |url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/cadbury-resurrect-wispa-social-network-pressure/732258 |access-date=19 January 2019 |date=20 August 2007}}</ref> and for Heinz Curried (Baked) Beans.<ref>{{cite web |title=Curried Beans Commercial: Windsor Davies |url=https://www.hatads.org.uk/catalogue/record/f8da0aeb-5245-4ff8-8d13-6f00b26bcca2 |publisher=History of Advertising Trust |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> He also appeared alongside New Zealand [[rugby union]] coach [[Alex Wyllie]] in New Zealand advertisements for [[Mitre 10]] hardware stores in the early 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahAT_CGYdo4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/ahAT_CGYdo4| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=NZ Ad – Mitre 10 with Alex "Grizz" Wyllie |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=15 October 2012 |access-date=29 October 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Davies and Wyllie had worked together previously on the rugby-themed film ''[[Old Scores]]'' in 1991.<ref name=doodleman/>
Davies' distinctive voice was heard in commercials for New Zealand's Pink Batts house insulations and confectionery ads for [[Cadbury Schweppes|Cadbury]]'s [[Wispa]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Donohue |first1=Alex |title=Cadbury to resurrect Wispa after social network pressure |url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/cadbury-resurrect-wispa-social-network-pressure/732258 |access-date=19 January 2019 |date=20 August 2007}}</ref> and for Heinz Curried (Baked) Beans.<ref>{{cite web |title=Curried Beans Commercial: Windsor Davies |url=https://www.hatads.org.uk/catalogue/record/f8da0aeb-5245-4ff8-8d13-6f00b26bcca2 |publisher=History of Advertising Trust |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> He also appeared alongside New Zealand [[rugby union]] coach [[Alex Wyllie]] in New Zealand advertisements for [[Mitre 10]] hardware stores in the early 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahAT_CGYdo4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/ahAT_CGYdo4| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=NZ Ad – Mitre 10 with Alex "Grizz" Wyllie |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=15 October 2012 |access-date=29 October 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Davies and Wyllie had worked together previously on the rugby-themed film ''[[Old Scores]]'' in 1991.<ref name=doodleman/>


In the 1970s, he read an edition of [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''Morning Story'' programme,<ref name="BBC Arts" /> and also narrated the [[audiobook]] for the [[Ladybird Books|Ladybird]] children's classic ''[[Treasure Island]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Davies, Windsor (1930-) |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/908532?c=people |publisher=National Library of Australia |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> He sang and voiced many characters in the [[Paul McCartney]] film ''[[Rupert and the Frog Song]]'' in 1984, and appeared in that year's children's film ''[[Gabrielle and the Doodleman]]'' as three different characters (the Ringmaster, the Black Knight, and an Ugly Sister).<ref name=doodleman>{{cite web |title=Gabrielle and the Doodleman (1984) |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79325e08 |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> In 1984, he auditioned to be the voice of the UK's [[speaking clock]].<ref name="BBC Arts" /> <!-- repeat Davies was also the voice of Sergeant Major Zero in [[Gerry Anderson]]'s ''[[Terrahawks]]''. -->
In the 1970s, he read an edition of [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''Morning Story'' programme,<ref name="BBC Arts" /> and also narrated the [[audiobook]] for the [[Ladybird Books|Ladybird]] children's classic ''[[Treasure Island]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Davies, Windsor (1930-) |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/908532?c=people |publisher=National Library of Australia |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> He sang and voiced many characters in the [[Paul McCartney]] film ''[[Rupert and the Frog Song]]'' in 1984, and appeared in that year's children's film ''[[Gabrielle and the Doodleman]]'' as three different characters (the Ringmaster, the Black Knight, and an Ugly Sister).<ref name=doodleman>{{cite web |title=Gabrielle and the Doodleman (1984) |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79325e08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913000609/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79325e08 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 September 2017 |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> In 1984, he auditioned to be the voice of the UK's [[speaking clock]].<ref name="BBC Arts" /> <!-- repeat Davies was also the voice of Sergeant Major Zero in [[Gerry Anderson]]'s ''[[Terrahawks]]''. -->


==Personal life and death==
==Personal life and death==
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* ''[[Grand Slam (1978 film)|Grand Slam]]'' (1978, TV Movie) - Mog Jones
* ''[[Grand Slam (1978 film)|Grand Slam]]'' (1978, TV Movie) - Mog Jones
* ''[[The Playbirds]]'' (1978) - Assistant Police Commissioner
* ''[[The Playbirds]]'' (1978) - Assistant Police Commissioner
* ''[[Terrahawks]]'' (1983–1986; voice only) - A children's science fiction programme
* ''[[Gabrielle and the Doodleman]]'' (1984) - Ringmaster / Black Knight / Ugly Sister
* ''[[Gabrielle and the Doodleman]]'' (1984) - Ringmaster / Black Knight / Ugly Sister
* ''[[Rupert and the Frog Song]]'' (1985, Short) - Rupert's Father / Father Frog (voice)
* ''[[Rupert and the Frog Song]]'' (1985, Short) - Rupert's Father / Father Frog (voice)
* ''[[Old Scores]]'' (1991) - Evan Price
* ''[[Old Scores]]'' (1991) - Evan Price
* ''[[The Thief and the Cobbler]]'' (1993) - Chief Roofless (voice)
* ''[[The Thief and the Cobbler]]'' (1993) - Chief Roofless (voice)
* ''[[The Wind in the Willows (1995 film)|The Willows in Winter]]'' (1996, TV Movie) - Commissioner of Police (voice)<ref name="BFI Filmog">{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba02da5eb |title=Windsor Davies |work=British Film Institute |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref>
* ''[[The Wind in the Willows (1995 film)|The Willows in Winter]]'' (1996, TV Movie) - Commissioner of Police (voice)<ref name="BFI Filmog">{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba02da5eb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203001433/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba02da5eb |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 February 2018 |title=Windsor Davies |work=British Film Institute |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref>
{{Div col end}}
{{Div col end}}


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[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Welsh male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century British male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century Welsh male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century British male actors]]
[[Category:Welsh expatriates in France]]
[[Category:British expatriates in France]]
[[Category:British male comedy actors]]
[[Category:British male film actors]]
[[Category:Welsh male film actors]]
[[Category:British male television actors]]
[[Category:Welsh male television actors]]
[[Category:British male voice actors]]
[[Category:Welsh male voice actors]]
[[Category:East Surrey Regiment soldiers]]
[[Category:East Surrey Regiment soldiers]]
[[Category:Male actors from Essex]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:People from Canning Town]]
[[Category:People from Canning Town]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Essex]]
[[Category:People from Glamorgan]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Newham]]
[[Category:20th-century British Army personnel]]
[[Category:20th-century British Army personnel]]
[[Category:English people of Welsh descent]]
[[Category:Actors from the London Borough of Newham]]

Latest revision as of 10:21, 11 September 2024

Windsor Davies
Davies during filming of Never the Twain
Born28 August 1930
Canning Town, Essex (now London), England[1]
Died17 January 2019(2019-01-17) (aged 88)
France[2]
OccupationActor
Years active1961–2004
Spouse
Eluned Evans
​
​
(m. 1957; died 2018)​
Children5

Windsor Davies (28 August 1930 – 17 January 2019)[3] was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981) over its entire run. The show's popularity resulted in Davies and his co-star Don Estelle achieving a UK number-one hit with a version of "Whispering Grass" in 1975. He later starred with Donald Sinden in Never the Twain (1981–1991), and his deep Welsh-accented voice was heard extensively in advertising voice-overs.

Early life

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Davies was born on 28 August 1930 in Canning Town, East London,[1] to Welsh parents. In 1940 they returned to their native village of Nant-y-moel, Glamorgan.[4] Davies studied at Ogmore Grammar School and worked as a coal miner.[5] He performed his National Service in Libya and Egypt, with the East Surrey Regiment, between 1950 and 1952.[6] Following teacher training at Bangor Teacher Training College,[3] he taught English and Maths at Leek in Staffordshire,[7] and at a school in Elephant and Castle, south London.[8]

Davies had become active in amateur dramatics, including the Bromley Little Theatre, and took a short drama course with a Kew theatre company.[7] He became a professional actor at the age of 31 and began working at the Cheltenham repertory theatre in 1961.[8]

Career

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Television

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Davies' best known role was as Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the British sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981),[3] who was modelled on similar individuals Davies had met as a soldier during his national service. "Bastards, real bastards some of them were. They knew it, too, and took pride in it," he once said.[8] Among his character's catchphrases was "Shut Up!!", delivered as an eardrum-shattering military scream.[9] Another phrase was "Oh dear, how sad, never mind", delivered in a dry, ironic manner, and used when others around him had problems. Journalist Neil Clark, contributing to The Times in 2005, described his performance as the "definitive portrayal of a bullying and uneducated sergeant-major" and reported Spike Milligan was of the opinion that Davies' role was "the funniest comic performance he had ever" watched.[10] Davies and co-star Don Estelle had a number-one hit in the UK with a semicomic version of "Whispering Grass" in 1975.[3]

His other television roles included the sailor Taffy in the first of the BBC series The Onedin Line (1971), a boat captain in an episode of Special Branch, a special branch detective in Callan (1972), and the antique dealer Oliver Smallbridge in Never the Twain (1981–1991), with Donald Sinden.[11] In the field of science fiction television, Davies appeared in the 1967 Doctor Who story "The Evil of the Daleks" as Toby;[12] and was the voice of Sergeant Major Zero (a spherical robotic soldier in charge of 100 other spherical robotic soldiers) in the 1983 Gerry Anderson-Christopher Burr production Terrahawks.[3]

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1976 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.[13]

In September–October 1985, Davies played the lead role of George Vance, a museum custodian elevated to the peerage, in the six-part BBC Two comedy series The New Statesman.[14] This was based on the play by Douglas Watkinson[15] and is not to be confused with the later sitcom of the same name. (Colin Blakely played the role of Vance in a pilot episode transmitted on BBC2 in December 1984.)[16]

Davies also featured in the BBC comedy sitcom Oh, Doctor Beeching!, written by David Croft and Richard Spendlove, as the Lord Mayor in an episode broadcast in 1997. He also featured in an episode of 2 Point 4 Children in 1999, as Ben's long-lost Uncle Ion.[17]

Films

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In the cinema, Davies played major roles in two Carry On films, Behind (1975) and England (1976), in the latter again as a sergeant major. He played Mog in the Welsh rugby film Grand Slam (1978), and was a sergeant in the Highland Regiment in Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1973) with Jim Dale and Spike Milligan.[18] In 1989, he revived the role of Sergeant Major Williams in a 30-minute Royal Air Force training film, Hazardous Ops.[19]

Pantomime

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Davies appeared as Baron Hardup in the pantomime Cinderella in Bournemouth, UK, from 10 December 1992 to 17 January 1993.

Voice work

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Davies' distinctive voice was heard in commercials for New Zealand's Pink Batts house insulations and confectionery ads for Cadbury's Wispa[20] and for Heinz Curried (Baked) Beans.[21] He also appeared alongside New Zealand rugby union coach Alex Wyllie in New Zealand advertisements for Mitre 10 hardware stores in the early 1990s.[22] Davies and Wyllie had worked together previously on the rugby-themed film Old Scores in 1991.[23]

In the 1970s, he read an edition of BBC Radio 4's Morning Story programme,[3] and also narrated the audiobook for the Ladybird children's classic Treasure Island.[24] He sang and voiced many characters in the Paul McCartney film Rupert and the Frog Song in 1984, and appeared in that year's children's film Gabrielle and the Doodleman as three different characters (the Ringmaster, the Black Knight, and an Ugly Sister).[23] In 1984, he auditioned to be the voice of the UK's speaking clock.[3]

Personal life and death

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In 1957, he married Eluned Lynne Evans; the couple had four daughters and a son. Eluned died in September 2018.[25][8] Davies lived in the south of France,[4] and was a keen birdwatcher.[8] Davies was an amateur organist and occasionally played at Capel Y Cymru London.

He died on 17 January 2019, aged 88, four months following the death of his wife.[26] His estate was valued at £883,000.[27]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b "WEST HAM REGISTRATION DISTRICT". Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Windsor Davies: It Ain't Half Hot Mum actor dies aged 88". BBC News. 19 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Stage and screen: Windsor Davies". BBC WalesArts. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  4. ^ a b Stephens, Meic (20 January 2019). "Windsor Davies obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  5. ^ Bevan, Nathan (27 February 2016). "Why Windsor Davies is a Welsh icon (even if he's really English)". Walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  6. ^ Pratt, Vic (2003–14). "Davies, Windsor (1930-) Biography". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Comedy actor Windsor Davies dies". BBC News. 19 January 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Windsor Davies obituary". The Times. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020. (subscription required)
  9. ^ "It Ain't Half Hot Mum". BBC. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  10. ^ Clark, Neil (1 September 2005). "Listen and repeat after me . . ". The Times. Retrieved 14 October 2018. (subscription required)
  11. ^ "Windsor Davies". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  12. ^ "The Evil of the Daleks". BBC. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Windsor Davies (1976)". BFI. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022.
  14. ^ "The New Statesman". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  15. ^ "The New Statesman (1985)". BFI. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  16. ^ "The New Statesman". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  17. ^ 2 Point 4 Children - Series 8: 5. Carry On Screaming. Retrieved 17 April 2024 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  18. ^ a b "Windsor Davies". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  19. ^ "HAZARDOUS OPS [MAIN TITLE]". Imperial War Museum.
  20. ^ Donohue, Alex (20 August 2007). "Cadbury to resurrect Wispa after social network pressure". Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Curried Beans Commercial: Windsor Davies". History of Advertising Trust. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  22. ^ "NZ Ad – Mitre 10 with Alex "Grizz" Wyllie". YouTube. 15 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  23. ^ a b "Gabrielle and the Doodleman (1984)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  24. ^ "Davies, Windsor (1930-)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  25. ^ Busby, Mattha (20 January 2019). "Windsor Davies, It Ain't Half Hot Mum actor, dies aged 88". The Guardian.
  26. ^ "Windsor Davies: It Ain't Half Hot Mum actor dies aged 88". BBC News. BBC. 19 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  27. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Windsor Davies' £900,000 legacy : News 2019 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk.
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