Rupert Davies

Rupert Davies

1916-05-22 – 1976-11-22 (age 60) Liverpool, Lancashire, England, UK
View on IMDb ↗

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rupert Davies (22 May 1916 – 22 November 1976) was a British actor. He remains best known for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of Maigret, based on the Maigret novels written by Georges Simenon.

Davies was born in Liverpool. After a service in the British Merchant Navy, during the Second World War he was a Sub-Lieutenant Observer with the Fleet Air Arm. In 1940 the Swordfish aircraft in which he was flying ditched in the sea off the Dutch Coast. Davies was captured and interned in the famous Stalag Luft III POW camp. He made three attempts to escape. All failed. It was during his captivity that he began to take part in theatre performances, entertaining his fellow prisoners.

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.

After the war Davies became a staple of British television appearing in numerous plays and series, including Quatermass II, Ivanhoe, Emergency - Ward 10, Danger Man, The Champions, Doctor at Large (1971), Arthur of the Britons and War and Peace (1972). He also provided the voice of "Professor Ian McClaine" in the Gerry Anderson series Joe 90.

In 1964 he became the first person to be awarded Pipe Smoker of the Year.

Davies also played supporting roles in many films, appearing briefly as George Smiley in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965). He also appeared in several horror films in the late 1960s, including Witchfinder General (1968) and Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), as well as such international blockbusters as Waterloo (1970) and Zeppelin (1971).

He died of cancer in London in 1976, leaving a wife, Jessica, and two sons, Timothy and Hogan, and is buried at Pistyll Cemetery, near Nefyn in North Wales.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Rupert Davies, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Photos

Known For

Waterloo
Waterloo

1970

as Gordon

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave

1968

as Monsignor Ernst Mueller

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
Bobbikins
Witchfinder General
Witchfinder General

1968

as John Lowes

The Key
The Key

1958

as Baker

The Brides of Fu Manchu
The Brides of Fu Manchu

1966

as Jules Merlin

The Firechasers
The Firechasers

1971

as Prentice

Five Golden Dragons
Five Golden Dragons

1967

as Comm. Sanders

The Criminal
The Criminal

1960

as Edwards

Zeppelin
Zeppelin

1971

as Captain Whitney

Curse of the Crimson Altar
Curse of the Crimson Altar

1968

as The Vicar (uncredited)

The Dark Avenger
The Dark Avenger

1955

as Sir John

Sapphire
Sapphire

1959

as Ferris

The Traitor
The Traitor

1957

as Clinton

John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones

1959

as British Captain

King Arthur, the Young Warlord
King Arthur, the Young Warlord

1975

as Cerdig, Chief of the Saxons

Submarine X-1
Submarine X-1

1968

as Vice Admiral Redmayne (uncredited)

The Oblong Box
The Oblong Box

1969

as Joshua Kemp

Breakout
Breakout

1959

as Morgan