Donald Davis (actor)

For other persons, see Donald Davis (disambiguation).

Donald Davis
Donald Davis in 1984
BornFebruary 26, 1928
Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
DiedJanuary 23, 1998(1998-01-23) (aged 69)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupations
  • actor
  • director
  • producer

Donald George Davis (February 26, 1928 – January 23, 1998) was a Canadian film and theatre actor, theatre director and theatre producer. He was a founder of the Crest Theatre in Toronto, which pioneered Canadian actors, directors and plays.

Early life

He was born in Newmarket, Ontario, where his grandfather Elihu James Davis (and his uncle, Aubrey Davis) owned the Davis Leather Company. He attended St. Andrew's College from 1941 to 1946, graduating with the Class of 1946, and studied theatre at the University of Toronto. In 1947, he performed in Robert Gills' first Hart House Theatre production, Saint Joan.[1]

Professional career

Davis made his professional debut at the Woodstock Playhouse in New York in 1947 in The Barretts of Wimpole Street.[1] In 1948, with his brother, Murray Davis, he founded a summer theatre company, the Straw Hat Players, at Muskoka, Ontario. Davis performed in Britain from 1950 to 1953 with the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic.

In 1953, with his brother Murray and sister Barbara, he co-founded the Crest Theatre in Toronto, which operated until 1966.[1] As well as acting at the Crest, he also directed several plays. He performed at the Stratford Festival in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1969 and 1970.[1] He also acted on radio and television for the CBC.

In 1959, he left Canada to act in the United States. In 1959, he began performing off-Broadway. He played Krapp in the North American premiere production of Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, for which he won an Obie Award.[2] and he repeated the role at the Crest. This was the first in a series of roles in plays by Beckett and directed by Alan Schneider, and Davis was considered a foremost interpreter of Beckett.[2]

In the United States, Davis performed in many regional theatres, including City Centre Theatre in New York, Provincetown Playhouse, American Shakespeare Festival, New York's Mermaid Theatre and Chicago's Goodman Theatre.[3] He also appeared on US television. Davis appeared in "The Wild Wild West", season 3, episode 18 "The Night of the Vipers" as the scheming Mayor Vance Beaumont. The episode aired on January 10, 1968. Davis would perform again in New York in a performance of Beckett Plays in 1983, directed by Schneider.

In 1971, Davis returned to Canada. He performed at Festival Lennoxville, in Toronto at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts with Toronto Arts Productions, CentreStage and Theatre Plusin Toronto, and the Neptune Theatre in Halifax.[4] He also appeared in several Canadian films.

Davis directed theatre also, first with the Straw Hat Players, Festival Lennoxville, the Shaw Festival, Edmonton's Citadel Theatre and Ottawa's National Arts Centre.[4]

Death

Davis died of emphysema at Toronto in 1998 at age 69.[2] St. Andrew's College opened the Donald Davis Theatre posthumously in his honour.

Selected filmography

Crest performances

Source: [5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Benson & Conolly 1989, p. 132.
  2. ^ a b c Gussow, Mel (January 28, 1998). "Donald Davis, 69, Actor in Challenging Roles". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025.
  3. ^ Benson & Conolly 1989, pp. 132, 133.
  4. ^ a b Benson & Conolly 1989, p. 133.
  5. ^ Illidge 2005, pp. 115–136.

Sources

  • Illidge, Paul (2005). Glass Cage: The Crest Theatre Story. Toronto: Creber Monde (Canada). ISBN 0968634796.
  • Benson, Eugene; Conolly, L. W., eds. (1989). The Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195406729.
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