British actor, Richard Davies, dies aged 89

 

British actor, Richard Davies, who starred in the movie Zulu, as well as many other British TV shows, has died at the age of 89.

Richard was a much-loved actor who had taken part in family favourites such as Coronation Street, Doctor Who, Blue Blood and Fawlty Towers.

Richard was born in 1926 in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. I started working in the local mines at the age of just 14 years old, but soon after left to chase a career in acting.

He began in a small role in a theatre at Colwyn Bay in Wales, and then left for London to pursue his ambition to be an actor further.

When World War Two broke out, Richard trained as a military policeman and worked in an entertainment unit. He continued to focus on his acting career and finally in 1949 got a part in a BBC play called Choir Practice in 1949.

By the 1950s, Richard joined the Old Vic Theatre in central London and toured Europe and the world.

Richard was ideal for the part of Welshman and loved to play up his accent so that it became very broad.

In 1955 Richard married Jill Britton, who was also an actor and they worked together in the early 1970s on a show called Under Milk Wood.

His most well-known part came when he worked on the film Zulu, and then went on to make Blue Blood, The Mutations and Queen Sacrifice.

Richard also took a leading role as the science teacher in the British sitcom called ‘Please Sir!’, in which he played the character of Mr Price. It ran on ITV and drew an audience of around 20 million every week. A feature film was also made of the series, the Wales Online reports.

After Richard’s success in ‘Please Sir!’ he secured several high-profile roles in Coronation Street, Doctor Who, and Fawlty Towers.

Richard’s last TV appearance was in 1998 when he had a part in the BBC comedy show 2point4 Children.

After a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, Richard died this October.

Ian Harvey

Ian Harvey is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE