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, Glamorgan, the son of a railway guard. He played Idris Hopkins in Coronation Street 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 story Delta and the Bannermen. He played Mr. White in the Fawlty Towers episode "The Kipper and the Corpse" and also appeared in Yes Minister, Wyatt's Watchdogs, May to December, Whoops Apocalypse, 2point4 Children and One Foot in the Grave. 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 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, 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. He appeared in the Please Sir! spin-off series The Fenn Street Gang. In 1951, he made an uncredited appearance in the Ealing Studios comedy The Lavender Hill Mob. He had appeared in films such as Zulu (1964), the film adaptation of Please Sir! (1971), and Under Milk Wood (1971). 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 Year Title Roles Notes1949 A Run for Your Money Rugby Fan Uncredited1951 The Lavender Hill Mob Police Driver Uncredited1955 The Night My Number Came Up Wireless Operator 1956 The Long Arm Detective Uncredited1961 A Fever in the Blood Bates Uncredited1962 Some People Harper 1963 Critic's Choice Spectator Uncredited1964 Zulu Private 593 Jones 1966 Sky West and Crooked Rick 1968 Twisted Nerve 'Taffy' Evans 1968 The Fiction Makers Reporter 1969 Oh! What a Lovely War Sergeant in Burial Party Uncredited1971 Please Sir! Mr Price 1971 Under Milk Wood Mr Pritchard 1973 Steptoe and Son Ride Again Butcher 1974 The Mutations Doctor 1974 Blue Blood Jones 1988 Queen Sacrifice Wil Bevan Short
Television Year Title Role Notes 1960 The Secret Kingdom Rigby19621965 Z-Cars Jim Sloan 1968 Softly, Softly 19681972 Please Sir! Mr Price 1970 Two in Clover David Evans19741975 Coronation Street Idris Hopkins 19741977 Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt Clive Meredith 21 episodes1975 The Sweeney Doctor S1E2 Jackpot1977 Van der Valk Sgt Lloyd S3E8 Dead on Arrival1979 Fawlty Towers Mr White 1980 Yes Minister Joe Morgan 1982 Whoops Apocalypse Chancellor of the Exchequer 1983 Give Us a Break Taffy 1984 Bottle Boys Stan Evans 1985 Big Deal Dai Phillips 1986 That Uncertain Feeling Mr Davis 1987 Doctor Who Burton Serial: Delta and the Bannermen1988 Wyatt's Watchdogs 1989 EastEnders Ted 1992 One Foot in the Grave Billy Whitney 1992–1993 2point4 Children Gareth 1993 The Bill Caretaker 1996 And the Beat Goes On Father Hopkins 1998 2point4 Children Jack
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