Jon Roger Davis (born April 5, 1939) is an American actor and entrepreneur. He is best known for acting in the television series ''
Dark Shadows'' and ''
Alias Smith and Jones''. He has also appeared in "
Spur of the Moment", a
fifth season episode of ''
The Twilight Zone''.
["Roger Davis"]
''IMDb
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
''.
Education
Roger Davis was born in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
, on April 5, 1939, and graduated from
Columbia College in 1961, where he was classmates with ''
Dark Shadows'' co-star
Don Briscoe and director
Brian De Palma.
Acting career
Davis first appeared on television in 1962. He portrayed Pvt. Roger Gibson in the television series ''
The Gallant Men''.
In 1963, he co-starred with
Richard Egan in the series ''Redigo''.
[ In 1964, Davis appeared in one fifth season episode of '' The Twilight Zone'', " Spur of the Moment", co-starring Diana Hyland, and had a supporting role in the 1964 film '' Ride the Wild Surf''. He guest-starred twice in the western TV series '']Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
'', as Harold Stanley in the 1966 eighth season episode "Ballad of the Ponderosa" and Bert Yates in the 1971 12th season episode "Top Hand".soap opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
'' Dark Shadows''. He played Peter Bradford, Jeff Clark, Ned Stuart, Dirk Wilkins, and Charles Delaware Tate.[
In 1971, Davis narrated the voiceover theme sequence for the western series '' Alias Smith and Jones'', starring Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes/Joshua Smith and Ben Murphy as Jedidiah "Kid" Curry/Thaddeus Jones. He also appeared in one of the episodes ("Smiler with a Gun") as slick gunfighter Danny Bilson. Bilson has the distinction of being the only character kind-hearted Kid Curry was ever driven to kill during the series.][
When Pete Duel committed suicide at the end of 1971, Davis replaced him as Hannibal Heyes on ''Alias Smith and Jones.'' However, after Davis completed just 17 episodes, it was clear the show would not achieve the same level of popularity it had with Pete Duel. The series ended in 1973 when competition from the popular '' Flip Wilson Show'' siphoned the show's ratings.][
Davis continued to act in guest-starring roles on TV series throughout the 1970s as well as the occasional film appearance in movies such as '' Killer Bees'' (1974), ''Flash and the Firecat'' (1975), '' Nashville Girl'' (1976), '']Ruby
Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...
'' (1977), and ''Aspen'' (1977), and he has been a voiceover actor for thousands of TV and radio commercials. In 2000, he appeared in the film '' Beyond the Pale''. Davis regularly attends fan conventions for both ''Alias Smith and Jones'' and ''Dark Shadows'', and in 2011, he reprised his role of Charles Delaware Tate in both ''The Blind Painter'' and ''The Crimson Pearl'', new audio plays of ''Dark Shadows''. In 2019, Davis appeared as himself in the documentary movie ''Master of Dark Shadows'', a direct-to-DVD release.[
]
Business career
Davis developed land and built luxury homes in Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
until 2010, and continues to design and renovate luxury properties in the greater Los Angeles area as of 2022. He owns an interest in movie developer Lonetree Entertainment in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. He also renovated the famous Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, and built a luxury condominium building there, known as 1400 Willow.[
]
Personal life
In 1968, Davis married actress Jaclyn Smith. After a brief separation, they divorced in January 1975.[
]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Roger
1939 births
American male soap opera actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American businesspeople in real estate
Living people
Male actors from Louisville, Kentucky
Male actors from Greater Los Angeles
Columbia College (New York) alumni