| David Jason | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | David John White |
| Born | 2 February 1940 Edmonton, London, England |
| Occupation | Television actor |
Sir David John White, OBE known by his stage name David Jason (born 2 February 1940) is a highly regarded English actor, admired equally for his dramatic work as for his comedy roles. He is perhaps most famous for his portrayal of Del Boy in the BBC television situation comedy Only Fools and Horses which made him a household name in the United Kingdom, and for playing detective chief inspector Jack Frost on A Touch of Frost.
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Early career
He started his television career in 1964 playing the part of Bert Bradshaw in Crossroads. In 1967 he played a spoof super-hero Captain Fantastic (and also other roles), in the television sketch comedy series Do Not Adjust Your Set. His co-stars were Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Humphrey Barclay, who recruited David Jason to appear in Do Not Adjust Your Set (partly to offset the rather intellectual style of Idle, Jones and Palin), admired Jason's sense of timing. DNAYS had a very successful run on ITV and ended in 1969. It was during this run that David missed out on what eventually became one of the most famous roles in British television history; that of Corporal Jack Jones in the new Jimmy Perry and David Croft BBC comedy Dad's Army. The original choice for the part was Clive Dunn, but unfortunately Clive was appearing in the Spike Milligan Show at the time and was not available. David Croft had worked with David Jason before when the former had produced a comedy series for the BBC called Hugh and I, which starred Hugh Lloyd and Terry Scott as two friends who lived together in south London. Although Jason had only played some minor parts in the series, Croft had been very impressed with the youngster and knew that he had the ability to play a man much older than his own age. After reading for the part David was told that it was his, only to be told later (about three hours later, in fact), that Clive Dunn was suddenly now available and could perform the role after all. Jason also appeared in variety shows in support of stars such as Dick Emery, and his performances caught the attention of Ronnie Barker, who soon became a mentor to Jason. In 1969 Jason was recruited to appear in Hark At Barker, starring Ronnie Barker as Lord Rustless, as Dithers, the hundred-year old gardener. There was also a sequel, His Lordship Entertains. That year he also made an appearance in the popular ITC show Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) in the fifth episode of the series That's How Murder Snowballs as Abel, a framed performer in a major London theatre. In 1973 he played junior employee Granville in the first programme of the comedy anthology Seven of One, called Open All Hours and starring Barker as the miserly proprietor of a corner shop. Four series of Open All Hours were subsequently made from 1976 to 1985. He featured in Barker's Porridge, a prison-based comedy, as Blanco. He also took the lead role in ITV sitcom A Sharp Intake Of Breath. In 1974, Jason also played the part of the inept spy Edgar Briggs in the television comedy series The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs. In the 1970s he also acted in radio comedies, including Week Ending (in which he regularly satirised such figures as then UK Foreign Secretary Dr David Owen) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (as the "B Ark Captain" in the sixth episode).
Maturity and success
In 1981 he found his most enduring and popular role. Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses (created by John Sullivan) is a wide-boy who makes a dubious living in Peckham, south London, trading in shoddy and counterfeit goods. He is assisted by his brother Rodney (played by Nicholas Lyndhurst) and Grandad (played by Lennard Pearce) or, in later episodes, Uncle Albert (played by Buster Merryfield). In this role Jason popularised some slang words and phrases; examples being the mild insults "dipstick" and "plonker", and the celebratory "lovely jubbly". He has also earned acclaim for a string of straight roles. These include Skullion in Porterhouse Blue, Pa Larkin in the rural idyll The Darling Buds of May (based on the H. E. Bates novel) which also featured Catherine Zeta-Jones before she achieved success in Hollywood, and Detective Jack Frost in the TV series A Touch of Frost. In addition to these roles, he has also worked as a voice artist for Cosgrove Hall on a number of children's television productions, providing voices for DangerMouse, The BFG, Count Duckula and Toad from The Wind in the Willows, as well as several other cartoon voice-overs and advertising work including the DIY chain Do It All in 1988 and supermarket chain Morrisons in the 1980s and 1990s . In 1999 he starred as Captain Frank Beck in BBC's feature-length drama "All the King's Men" David Jason more recently starred in the two part ITV drama Ghostboat and presented a special programme celebrating the work of Cosgrove Hall Films `Cartoon Kings' for ITV1. He peppered his narration with the voices of DangerMouse, Count Duckula, Toad from Wind in the Willows and the BFG. In September 2006, he was voted by the general public as number 1 in ITV's poll of TV's Greatest Stars. In December 2006, he starred in "Terry Pratchett's Hogfather" on Sky One as Albert. In early 2007, he starred in Diamond Geezer. This series ran for 3 episodes of 90 minutes each. There was a pilot in 2005. In early 2008, he will star in The Colour of Magic.
Knighthood
In 1993, David Jason was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and twelve years later, in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2005, he was knighted for services to acting. On the day his knighthood was announced, many British newspapers used the headline "Arise Sir Del Boy" or similar, in reference to his most famous role. The Daily Mirror ran the headline "It's Sir Del and Sir Tel" (popular BBC Radio 2 DJ Terry Wogan was knighted on the same day). Upon receiving the knighthood from the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 1 December, 2005, the actor said he was "humbled" by the "fantastic tribute".
Personal life
David Jason was born David John White in Edmonton, London, England. Brought up in Lodge Lane, North Finchley, he went to Northside primary school on the same road. After leaving school he trained as an electrician while negotiating his way into repertory theatre. On discovering there was already a David White on Equity's books, he took the stage name Jason from his younger twin brother who died in infancy. His elder brother, Arthur White, is also a character actor. He nursed long-time partner Myfanwy Talog prior to her death from breast cancer in 1995. He married Gill Hinchcliffe, with whom he has a daughter, in a secret ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel in London on 30 November, 2005.
Radio
Television
- Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967-1969)
- The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs (1974)
- Porridge (1975-1977)...as Blanco
- Lucky Feller (1976)
- Open All Hours (1976, 1981-1985)...as Granville
- A Sharp Intake of Breath (1977)
- Only Fools and Horses (1981- 2003)...as Del Boy
- Porterhouse Blue (1987)...as Skullion
- A Bit of a Do (1989)
- Amongst Barbarians (1990)
- The Darling Buds of May (1991-1993)...as Pop Larkin
- A Touch of Frost (1992-Present)...as Detective Inspector Jack Frost
- The Bullion Boys (1993)
- The Ice House (1997)
- March in the Windy City (1998)
- All the King's Men (1999)...as Captain Frank Beck
- Micawber (2001)
- The Quest (2002-2004)
- Diamond Geezer (2005) Des
- Ghostboat (2006)...as Lt. Prof. Jack Hardy R.N. Rtd.
- Terry Pratchett's Hogfather (2006)...as Albert
- Cartoon Kings (2006)
- Prehistoric Park (2006-) (Narrator)
- Diamond Geezer 2 (2007) Des
- The Colour of Magic (TBC) Rincewind
Films
- Under Milk Wood (1972)
- White Cargo (1973)
- Doctor At Sea (1974)
- Royal Flash (1975)
- The Odd Job (1978)
Animation
- DangerMouse (1981-1992)
- The Wind in the Willows (1983)
- Count Duckula (1988-1993)
- The BFG (1989)
External links
- davidjason.co.uk
- David Jason at the Internet Movie Database
- DavidJason.info (Fansite)
- TV Greats biography of David Jason – From website Television Heaven
- Interview by BBC "David Jason collects knighthood", with video
- Highlights of an interview by Michael Parkinson
| Do Not Adjust Your Set |
|---|
| Denise Coffey — Eric Idle — David Jason — Terry Jones — Michael Palin |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | David Jason |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | White, David John |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Television actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2 February 1940 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Edmonton, London, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
