Rupert Lisburn Gwynne Davies

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(22 May 191622 November 1976) was a British actor best remembered for playing the title role in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's 1960s television adaptation of ''

Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created ...

'', based on

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 12/13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer who created the fictional detective Jules Maigret. One of the most prolific and successful authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 ...

's novels.

Life and career

Military service

Davies was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. After service in the

British Merchant Navy The British Merchant Navy is the collective name given to British civilian ships and their associated crews, including officers and ratings. In the UK, it is simply referred to as the Merchant Navy or MN. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensi ...

, he was a Sub-Lieutenant

Observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Fiction * ''Observer'' (novel), a 2023 science fiction novel by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress * ''Observer'' (video game), a cyberpunk horr ...

with the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1940, the pilot of his

Swordfish The swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as the broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are the sole member of the Family (biology), family Xiphiidae. They ...

aircraft in which Davies was aboard ditched into the sea off the Dutch coast, following which he was captured and interned in the

Stalag Luft III Stalag Luft III (; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a ''Luftwaffe''-run prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Western Allied air force personnel. The camp was established in March 1942 near th ...

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

camp. He made three attempts to escape, all of which failed. During his captivity, he began to take part in theatre performances, entertaining his fellow prisoners.

Acting

On his release Davies resumed his career in acting almost immediately, starring in an ex-prisoner of war show, ''Back Home'', which was hosted at the Stoll Theatre, London. In 1959, he played the role of the Colonel in

Alun Owen Alun Davies Owen (24 November 1925 – 6 December 1994) was a Welsh playwright, screenwriter and actor, predominantly in television. However, he is best remembered by a wider audience for writing the screenplay of The Beatles' debut feature f ...

's ''The Rough and Ready Lot'' when it received its stage debut on 1 June 1959 in a production by the 59 Theatre Company at the Lyric Opera House, Hammersmith, as well as in the television adaptation which was broadcast that September. He became a staple of British television, appearing in numerous plays and series, including '' Quatermass II'', ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...

'', '' Emergency – Ward 10'', ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...

'', ''

Man in a Suitcase ''Man in a Suitcase'' is a British television private eye thriller series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It originally aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV from 27 September 1967 to 17 April 1968. American Broadcast ...

'', ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ...

'', '' Doctor at Large'' (1971), '' Arthur of the Britons'' and ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

'' (1972). He also provided the voice of Professor Ian "Mac" McClaine in the

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist, who is known for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s production ...

series ''

Joe 90 ''Joe 90'' is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company, Century 21, for ITC Entertainment. It follows the exploits of nine-year-old schoolboy Joe McClaine, who ...

''. A pipe smoker, like Jules Maigret, in 1964, having released a 45rpm single "Smoking My Pipe" late the previous year that capitalised on the ''

'' opening sequence, he became the first person to win the Pipe Smoker of the Year award. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in October 1962 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...

in central London. Davies also played supporting roles in many films, appearing briefly as George Smiley in ''

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold ''The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' is a 1963 Cold War spy fiction, spy novel by the British author John le Carré. It depicts Alec Leamas, a United Kingdom, British intelligence officer, being sent to East Germany as a faux Defection, defect ...

'' (1965). He also appeared in several

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

s in the late 1960s, including '' Witchfinder General'' (1968) and '' Dracula Has Risen from the Grave'' (1968), as well as such international films as '' Waterloo'' (1970) and ''

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

'' (1971).

Death

He died of cancer in London in 1976, leaving a wife, Jessica, and two sons, Timothy and Hoagan. Davies is buried at Pistyll Cemetery, near

Nefyn Nefyn (, archaically anglicised as Nevin) is a town and community (Wales), community on the northwest coast of the Llŷn Peninsula, Gwynedd, Wales. Nefyn is popular with visitors for its sandy beach, and has one substantial hotel, a community pu ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

, Wales.

Selected filmography

* '' Private Angelo'' (1949) (uncredited) * ''

Seven Days to Noon ''Seven Days to Noon'' (also known as ''Ultimatum'') is a 1950 British political thriller film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting and starring Barry Jones, Olive Sloane and André Morell. It was written by Frank Harvey and Roy Bou ...

'' (1950) as Bit Part (uncredited) * '' The Dark Avenger'' (1955) as Sir John * '' The Traitor'' (1957) as Clinton * '' The Key'' (1958) as Baker * '' Next to No Time'' (1958) as Auction Organiser (uncredited) * '' Sea Fury'' (1958) as Bosun * '' Violent Moment'' (1959) as Bert Glennon * '' Breakout'' (1959) as Morgan * ''

Idol on Parade ''Idol on Parade'' (also known as ''Idle on Parade'') is a 1959 British comedy film directed by John Gilling and starring William Bendix, Anthony Newley, Sid James and Lionel Jeffries. The screenplay was by John Antrobus, based on the 1958 Willi ...

'' (1959) as Sergeant (uncredited) * '' Life in Emergency Ward 10'' (1959) as R.S.O. Tim Hunter * ''

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

'' (1959) as Jack Ferris * ''

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

'' (1959) as British Captain * '' Bobbikins'' (1959) as Jock Fleming * '' Devil's Bait'' (1959) as Landlord * '' Danger Tomorrow'' (1960) as Dr. Robert Campbell * '' The Criminal'' (1960) as Edwards * ''

'' (1965) as George Smiley * '' The Uncle'' (1965) as David Morton * '' The Brides of Fu Manchu'' (1966) as Jules Merlin * '' Target for Killing'' (1966) as Kommissar Saadi * '' Five Golden Dragons'' (1967) as Comm. Sanders * '' Submarine X-1'' (1968) as Vice-Adm. Redmayne (uncredited) * '' Witchfinder General'' (1968) as John Lowes * '' Dracula Has Risen from the Grave'' (1968) as Monsignor * '' Curse of the Crimson Altar'' (1968) as The Vicar * '' The Oblong Box'' (1969) as Kemp * '' Waterloo'' (1970) as Gordon * '' The Firechasers'' (1971) as Prentice * '' The Night Visitor'' (1971) as Mr. Clemens * ''

'' (1971) as Captain Whitney * ''Danger Point'' (1971) as Man * '' Frightmare'' (1974) as Edmund Yates * '' King Arthur, the Young Warlord'' (1975) as Cerdig, Chief of the Saxons

Selected television roles

* '' Quatermass II'' (1955) as Vincent Broadhead (2 episodes) * '' Sailor of Fortune'' (1955-8) as Various roles (20 episodes) * ''My Friend Charles'' (1956) as Robert Brady (4 episodes) * '' The Adventures of Aggie'' (1957) as Ollie Nickell * ''Folio - The Unburied Dead'' (1957) as Canoris * ''The Honourable Member'' (1957) as Robert Whitlock MP * ''The Adventures of Charlie Chan'' (1957-8) as Inspector Duff (11 episodes) * ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Epic film, epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Ra ...

'' (1958) as Simon Dexter * ''

'' (1958) as Brother Gareth * '' The Adventures of Ben Gunn'' (1958) as Captain Flint * ''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is an 1897 science fiction novel by British writer H. G. Wells. Originally serialised in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a s ...

'' (1958) as Dushkin * ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Ca ...

'' (1958-66) as Various roles (7 episodes) * '' Interpol Calling'' (1959) as Coetzee * '' The Flying Doctor'' (1959) as Frank Selby * ''

The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Orson Welles as Harry Lime and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway. Set in post-Worl ...

'' (1959) as Inspector Arthur Shillings (5 episodes) * ''World Theatre'' (1959) as Cook * ''Suspense'' (1960) as Michael Crowe * ''The True History of Passion'' (1960) as Caiaphus * ''

'' (1960-3) as Inspector Jules Maigret (All 52 episodes) * ''

'' (1961) as Colonel Graves * ''Festival'' (1964) as Chief of Police * ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...

- The Big Breaker'' (1964) as Councillor Wally Cross * ''Front Page Story'' (1965) as Felix Rackstro * '' ITV Play of the Week - The Successor'' (1965) as Cardinal of Bologna * ''

'' (1967) as Santiago Gomez * ''

'' (1968) as Voss * ''

'' (1968-9) as Professor Ian 'Mac' Maclaine (30 episodes) * '' BBC Play of the Month - Maigret at Bay'' (1969) as Inspector Jules Maigret * '' Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width'' (1969) as Bishop Flynn * ''Biography'' (1970) as Sir Almroth Wright * '' Doctor at Large'' (1971) as Inspector Barker * '' Man at the Top'' (1971) as Harvey Clayton * ''

Thirty-Minute Theatre ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' was a British anthology drama series of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, which was used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short running length, and which ...

- The Proposal'' (1971) as Lomov * ''The Man Outside'' (1972) as Baker (13 episodes) * ''

'' (1972-3) as Count Rostov (14 episodes) * '' Arthur of the Britons'' (1972-3) as Cerdig (3 episodes) * '' Orson Welles Great Mysteries - A Terribly Strange Bed'' (1973) as Lemerle * ''Marked Proposal'' (1974) as Dr. Jack Morrison (8 episodes) * ''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective. He is featured in 53 short stories by English author G. K. Chesterton, published between 1910 and 1936. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuition and ...

'' (1974) as Colonel Arthur Druce * ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

- The After Dinner Game'' (1975) as Bartley Humbolt

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Rupert 1916 births 1976 deaths 20th-century English male actors Best Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners British Merchant Navy personnel British World War II prisoners of war Deaths from cancer in England English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male voice actors English people of Welsh descent Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II Male actors from Liverpool Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy personnel of World War II Stalag Luft III prisoners of World War II Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts