Ryan Davies (22 January 1937 – 22 April 1977) was a Welsh comedian, actor, musician, singer, and songwriter. Though his career lasted just 11 years, he became widely known in Wales through his work with
Ronnie Williams as the comedic double act
Ryan and Ronnie.
Early life
Davies was born in
Glanamman on 22 January 1937. He was educated in
Bangor and at
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
's
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...
.
Career
![Ryan Davies, Margaret Williams and Charles Williams entertaining (26655094745)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Ryan_Davies%2C_Margaret_Williams_and_Charles_Williams_entertaining_%2826655094745%29.jpg)
Davies' first professional appearance was in the
National Eisteddfod of Wales in
Aberavon
Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distr ...
in 1966. His talents were quickly recognised by
BBC Wales, and he made his name on
Welsh-language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has al ...
television shows such as the sitcom ''Fo a Fe''. Meredydd Edwards, the head of Light Entertainment, brought Davies and
Ronnie Williams together as a double act and the pair had immediate success, first in their Welsh-language television show ''
Ryan a Ronnie''. This also launched them onto the concert and cabaret circuit across Wales.
The duo's show became so popular that it was moved to
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
and broadcast in English, winning them a much wider audience, and three series were shown between 1971 and 1973. Davies' speciality was dressing up as a "typical"
Welsh housewife for a weekly sketch on the show known as "Our House", in which he played "Mam" and Williams played Will, the father. The two were hugely popular in Wales, and were the first comedians to make TV series in both Welsh and English. They were often thought of fondly as the Welsh answer to
Morecambe and Wise
Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working ...
.
Davies had a simultaneous solo career as an actor, singer, pianist, and songwriter. He had a role in the 1972 film ''
Under Milk Wood
''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage. A film version, ''Under Milk Wood'' directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released in 1972, and another adaptation of ...
''. His best known compositions are "Hen Geiliog y Gwynt", "Nadolig Pwy a Wyr", and "Blodwen a Meri".
Other songs written by Davies and performed with Williams in their television series have been covered by other artists, including "Ti a dy ddoniau" being covered by
Jodie Marie
Jodie Marie Warlow (born 12 June 1991) is a Welsh singer-songwriter better known by her stage name, Jodie Marie. She was signed to Decca Records in 2010. Jodie Marie's 2012 debut album ''Mountain Echo'' has been described by The Guardian as 've ...
and "Yn y bore" being covered by Emyr Wyn Gibson and Steve Pablo Jones.
Davies and Williams split in 1975, citing Williams' ill health as the official reason, though Williams would ultimately outlive Davies by 20 years.
Following Williams' decision to stop performing, Davies pursued a solo career, with a live show at the Swansea
Top Rank
Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including Muh ...
nightclub. The evening saw Davies give a notable performance of ''
Myfanwy
''Myfanwy'' (; a woman's name derived ) is a popular Welsh song, composed by Joseph Parry and first published in 1875.
Background
Sources differ as to whether Dr. Parry composed the music for an existing poem by Richard Davies (" Mynyddog Mwy ...
'', a song he described as "The greatest love song ever written". The live recording of this version was included on Davies' album ''Ryan at the Rank'', with the song quickly became one of Davies' most notable and familiar performances. The album itself is now regarded as a classic.
Davies continued to appear extensively on television and in traditional Christmas
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
appearances in at the
Swansea Grand Theatre.
Personal life
Ryan married his childhood sweetheart Irene; they had a daughter named Bethan and a son named
Arwyn, the latter of whom also became an actor.
Death
On 22 April 1977, Davies died suddenly of an
asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...
attack while visiting American friends in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
. He was 40 years old. One of his own songs, "Pan Fo'r Nos yn Hir", was performed at his funeral. It has since been covered by other performers, including
Rhydian Roberts
Rhydian James Roberts (born 14 February 1983), also known mononymously as Rhydian, is a Welsh baritone singer, television presenter and musical theatre actor. He made his name by finishing second in series 4 of ''The X Factor'', and has since ...
and the Whitland Male Voice Choir.
Filmography
*''
Under Milk Wood
''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage. A film version, ''Under Milk Wood'' directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released in 1972, and another adaptation of ...
'' (1972) – Second Man
References
External links
TV Heroes: Ryan Davies Nigel Stapley, Transdiffusion Broadcasting System. Retrieved 24 June 2008.
* Clip of one of Ryan Davies's first television appearances, on the comedy series Noson Lawen in 1965
*
How Green Was My Father: A Welsh Odyssey for 1976'
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. ...
...