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Freddie Davies (born 21 July 1937) is a British comedian and actor who came to public notice in 1964 though the television talent show '' Opportunity Knocks'' and has since appeared in several television series and films.


Early life

Freddie Davies was born in
Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
, London in 1937, the grandson of
music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...
comedian Jack Herbert. At the start of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Davies was evacuated to Seend in Wiltshire, subsequently to
Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...
in Devon and then to
Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
, Lancashire in 1941.


Career

After finishing his
national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...
in the
Royal Army Pay Corps The Royal Army Pay Corps (RAPC) was the corps of the British Army responsible for administering all financial matters. It was amalgamated into the Adjutant General's Corps in 1992. History The first "paymasters" have existed in the army before t ...
, Davies became a
stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...
. He began his career in 1958 as a
Butlin's Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one ...
holiday camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with term ...
entertainer An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms. Types of entertainers * Acrobat * Actor * Archimime * Athlete * Barker * Beatboxer * Benshi * Bouffon * Circus performer * Clown * Club Hostess/Host * Comed ...
. He started on the cabaret circuit in 1964, when he turned professional, and he appeared on many television shows in the 1960s, '70s and '80s including '' Opportunity Knocks'', ''
Sunday Night at the London Palladium ''Tonight at the London Palladium'' is a British television variety show that is hosted from the London Palladium theatre in the West End. Originally produced by ATV for the ITV network from 1955 to 1969, it went by its original name ''Sunday ...
'', ''
The Des O'Connor Show ''The Des O'Connor Show'' is a British variety and chat show hosted by Des O'Connor which was broadcast on ITV from 1963 until 1973. History Associated Television produced the programme, which was recorded in black-and-white for the first six ...
'', ''
The Tom Jones Show ''Tom Jones'' was a syndicated television variety show, hosted by Tom Jones (singer), Tom Jones, that aired during the 1980-1981 television season. Twenty-four episodes of the show were produced. The show was produced in Vancouver, British Colum ...
'', '' The Bachelors Show'' and ''
Blackpool Night Out Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...
''. His first appearance on the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
talent show ''Opportunity Knocks'', on 1 August 1964, brought him to public notice. The single joke he told involved an increasingly exasperated character remonstrating with a tiresome pet-shop owner with the words: "look here, Parrot-face!". Audience reaction prompted him to bill himself as "Freddie 'Parrot-face' Davies". He made further allusions to birds in jokes about budgies, and by playing a character he named Samuel Tweet. His visual identity included wearing a black
Homburg hat A homburg is a semi-formal hat of fur felt, characterized by a single dent running down the centre of the crown (called a "gutter crown"), a wide silk grosgrain hatband ribbon, a flat brim shaped in a "pencil curl", and a ribbon-bound trim abo ...
pulled low on his head, pushing out his ears. From 1968 to 1971, the long-running British children's comic '' Buster'' featured the comic-strip ''Freddie "Parrot-Face" Davies'', based upon the adventures of Freddie and his "boodgies" (budgies). In 1974, he took the lead role in a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
children's television series, ''The Small World of Samuel Tweet''. Mr. Tweet worked in a pet shop in Chumpton Green, appearing with many animals during the series. He also appeared in a television commercial for Mars' "Trill" bird seed, with the slogan, "Trill makes budgies bounce with health". After a spell touring the USA he returned to the UK and began a television acting career, appearing in '' Heartbeat'', ''
Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'', ''
Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes foll ...
'', ''
Preston Front ''All Quiet on the Preston Front'' is a BBC comedy drama about a group of friends in the fictional Lancashire town of Roker Bridge, and their links to the local Territorial Army infantry platoon. It was created by Tim Firth. Episodes Three se ...
'', two series of '' Harbour Lights'' (as George Blade), ''
Born and Bred ''Born and Bred'' was a British light-hearted drama series aired on BBC One which ran from 21 April 2002 to 3 August 2005. It was created by Chris Chibnall and Nigel McCrery. Initially the cast was led by James Bolam and Michael French as a fa ...
'', '' Sensitive Skin'' and ''
My Family ''My Family'' is a British sitcom created and initially co-written by Fred Barron, which was produced by DLT Entertainment and Rude Boy Productions, and broadcast by BBC One for eleven series between 2000 and 2011, with Christmas specials broadc ...
''. He also appeared in the
RSC RSC may refer to: Arts * Royal Shakespeare Company, a British theatre company * Reduced Shakespeare Company, a touring American acting troupe * Richmondshire Subscription Concerts, a music society in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England * Rock Ste ...
's 2000-01 production of the musical ''
The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in '' The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is one of Burnett's most popular novels an ...
''. Davies acted in films including the 1995 comedy ''
Funny Bones ''Funny Bones'' is a 1995 comedy-drama film from Hollywood Pictures. It was written, directed and produced by Peter Chelsom, co produced by Simon Fields, and co written by Peter Flannery. The music score was by John Altman, and the cinematogr ...
'' and ''
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and is the third in the '' Harry Potter'' series. The book follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third year at Hogwarts School of ...
'' in 2004. While living in the Scottish village of Aberfeldy, Davies produced a DVD for the local Aberfeldy and District Gaelic Choir. He also ran a stage school, Stage One, whilst living near Aberfeldy but found it to be a difficult proposition financially. He now lives in North Yorkshire. In December 2012 and January 2013, Davies appeared in the
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
documentary ''Blackpool: Big Night Out,'' sharing reminiscences of performing in the town. The programme included a clip of Davies' comedy routine at the ABC Theatre in
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
, on 31 July 1966, where he was appearing that year in a summer season. He has performed in a one-man show entitled ''Funny Bones''. In 2022, Davis played the father of
Eddie Marsan Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008). He has feature ...
‘s John Darwin in the ITV Drama ''
The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe ''The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe'' is an ITV (TV network), ITV television drama series that was first broadcast on 17 April 2022. Written by Chris Lang and directed by Richard Laxton, the programme dramatizes the John Darwin disappearance case, ...
''.


Private life

Davies is a long-serving
Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, and a Past Master of Chelsea Lodge No 3098, a London
Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
for those associated with the entertainment industry. In 2016, he celebrated 50 years as a Freemason. His autobiography ''Funny Bones: My Life in Comedy'', co-written by Anthony Teague, was published by Northern company Scratching Shed on 31 July 2014, fifty years after his appearance on ''Opportunity Knocks.''


Sound recordings

Freddie also recorded several children's albums and stories for children. The ''
Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes foll ...
'' actor Bill Owen wrote the lyrics to a romantic ballad called "So Lucky" which Freddie recorded in 1972. It became a hit record in the Philippines and South America, going gold in Brazil.


Discography


Singles


Albums


Filmography


References


External links


Picture of Freddie DaviesOfficial Freddie Davies web site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Freddie 1937 births Living people English male comedians English male film actors English male television actors Royal Army Pay Corps soldiers People from Brixton Male actors from Salford Butlins Redcoats 20th-century British Army personnel