John Howard Davies

John Howard Davies is an actor, director, and producer, known for the flick Oliver Twist, comedy television shows Steptoe, and Son. He is also known for the shows ‘The World of Beachcomber’, ‘All Gas and Gaiters’, ‘The Goodies’, ‘Only Fools and Horses’, and ‘Yes, Minister’. His other TV projects include ‘ Fawlty Towers Written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, the show >> Read More... ’, ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’, ‘Mr. Bean’, ‘The Benny Hill Show’, ‘The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin’, and ‘Blackadder’, among others.

The acclaimed director began his career in the acting field at a pretty young age of nine when he portrayed the role of Oliver Twist in the 1948 film by the same name. The movie was written and directed by David Lean David Lean is a renowned English film editor, scre >> Read More... and was ranked at 46^th place among the top 100 films by the British Film Institute. His performance in the movie preceded other roles in the films The Rocking Horse Winner and Tom Brown’s Schooldays, after which he featured in the television series William Tell.

The eminent director was born on March 9, 1939, in Paddington, London, to parents Jack Davies and Dorothy Davies. His father, Jack Davies, was an Oscar nominee known for being a scriptwriter and film critic, while his mother, Dorothy was a novelist. 

Davies went to the Haileybury School and pursued his further studies at Grenoble, France. On completing his education, he served the nation in the Royal Navy. Although he had worked as an actor in childhood itself, he did several jobs like a city clerk and carpet salesman, among others.

The Bill director met his first wife, Leonie Taylor while featuring in an Australian production, The Sound of Music. Later he worked with the BBC as a production assistant, where he was soon elevated to a producer in 1968. Like his father, Davies chose comedy shows, although as a producer and director.

The producer had two children named William and Georgina from his second wife, Dale Mackenzie Tillotson. On being promoted to the position of  producer, Davies worked on the popular show The World of Beachcomber (1968). He directed and produced the initial episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1969). He led the initial two seasons of The Goodies, which bagged the Silver Rose of Montreaux Eurovision TV award.

He has the credit of directing the first episode of Anthony Hopkins “Freddy Krueger, Jason Vorhees, and Sadako Sofubi >> Read More... , the sitcom All Gas and Gaiters, and the seventh season of Steptoe and Son. In 1973, he became the managing director of EMI Television Productions. However, he re-joined BBC after his stint there and worked on the first season of Fawlty Towers, and he also produced The Good Life.

In 1977, Davies was made the Head of Comedy for five years, then Head of Light Entertainment at the BBC. After that, he joined Thames Television and produced No Job for a Lady and Mr. Bean. He returned to the BBC again, and one of his major works was directing the Easter episode of The Vicar of Dibley.

Besides being a television executive, John headed the team of Wales’s rifle shooting that participated in several international competitions. He passed away on August 22, 2011, at Blewbury, Oxfordshire, after a battle with cancer. The illustrious producer-director is survived by his third wife, Linda Patricia, and two children.