David_Jason

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia David Jason David Jason David Jason Born David John White 2 February 1940 (1940-02-02) Edmonton, North London, England Actor 1964–present Gill Hinchcliffe (m. 2005–present) Occupation Years active Spouse(s) Sir David John White, OBE, known by his stage name David Jason (born 2 February 1940, Edmonton, London) is an English actor, known for his comedy and dramatic 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 Inspector Jack Frost on A Touch of Frost. His elder brother, Arthur White, is also a character actor. Early life and education Brought up in Lodge Lane, North Finchley, he went to Northside primary school on the same road as where he lived. 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 favourite film at the time Jason and the Argonauts (1963). It has long been suggested that he took the name Jason from his younger twin brother who was still born, but David Jason himself has since denied this in an interview, and has said he finds the story upsetting. Radio and TV career Early years Jason 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 children’s television sketch comedy series Do Not Adjust Your Set (Rediffusion London/ITV). His co-stars were Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Denise Coffey 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. Jason was considered for the role of Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the Jimmy Perry and David Croft BBC comedy Dad’s Army. Croft had been very impressed with the actor and knew that he had the ability to play a man much older than his real age. David Jason appeared in the BBC comedy series Hugh and I, which starred Hugh Lloyd and Terry Scott as two friends who lived together in south London. 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). Jason also appeared in The Next Programme Follows Almost Immediately and made appearances on panel games such as The Impressionists as well as his own series, The Jason Explanation. In the early 1970s he appeared in Mostly Monkhouse supporting Bob Monkhouse with Josephine Tewson. Jason 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 (BBC) and starring Barker as the miserly proprietor of a corner shop. Four 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia series of Open All Hours were made from 1976 to 1985. He featured in Barker’s Porridge (BBC), a prison-based comedy, as the elderly Blanco in a couple of episodes. He also took the lead role in the ATV sitcom A Sharp Intake Of Breath. In 1974, Jason played the part of the inept spy Edgar Briggs in the television comedy series The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs (ATV/ITV). In 1979 Jason appeared as Buttons in the pantomime Cinderella at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal with Leah Bell and Bobby Thompson produced by Michael Grayson and directed by John Blackmore. In 1976 Jason starred in London Weekend Television’s Lucky Feller, written by Terence Frisby and produced by Humphrey Barclay. About two brothers in South-East London, the series was in many ways a forerunner to Only Fools And Horses, only Jason was in the more dopy ’Rodders’ role, with Peter Armitage playing the cleverer of the two. The brothers drove around in a comical bubble car, a precursor to the famous Trotters’ van; and there was even the gag where, just as he was trying to impress the girl (played by Cheryl Hall) Jason casually leaned back against the bar, without his knowing that barman had just lifted it behind his back, and fell through. This situation was re-enacted in Only Fools And Horses. Years later, LWT approached Jason hoping to revive Lucky Feller but Jason, conscious that he was being over-exposed, refused to let it be shown again. David Jason the rural idyll The Darling Buds of May (Yorkshire Television/ITV) and based on the H. E. Bates novel, which also featured Catherine Zeta-Jones. He also appeared as Detective Inspector Jack Frost in the long-running TV series A Touch of Frost (Yorkshire Television/ ITV). 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 Danger Mouse, The BFG, Count Duckula and Toad from The Wind in the Willows (all produced by Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television/ITV), 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 about the Sandringham regiment lost in World War I. David Jason more recently starred in the two part ITV drama Ghostboat (Yorkshire Television/ITV) and presented a special programme celebrating the work of Cosgrove Hall Films `Cartoon Kings’ for ITV1. In December 2006, he starred in Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather on Sky1 as Albert. In early 2007, he starred in Diamond Geezer (Granada Television/ITV}. This series ran for 3 episodes of 90 minutes each. There was a pilot in 2005. In March 2008, he starred as Rincewind in The Colour of Magic. On 16 September 2008, Jason announced that he would retire his role as Det Insp Jack Frost after 16 years.[1] Three new episodes of the show were shown in autumn 2008, and will be followed by a two-part finale in 2009. In September 2006, he was voted by the general public as number 1 in ITV’s poll of TV’s Greatest Stars. Maturity and success In 1981 he found his most enduring and popular role, Derek ’Del-Boy’ Trotter in the BBC situation comedy Only Fools and Horses (created by John Sullivan). Del-Boy is a wide-boy who makes a dubious living in Peckham, south London, trading in shoddy, stolen, 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 (for Channel 4), Pa Larkin in Honours and 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 and comedy. 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 also knighted on the 2 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia same day). Upon receiving the knighthood from the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 1 December 2005, the Only fools and horses star said he was "humbled" by the "fantastic tribute". David Jason • Only Fools and Horses (1981- 2003)...as Del Boy • Porterhouse Blue (1987)...as Skullion • A Bit of a Do (1989)... as Ted. • Amongst Barbarians (1990) • The Darling Buds of May (1991-1993)...as Pop Larkin • A Touch of Frost (1992-2009)...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 • Terry Pratchett’s The Colour of Magic (2008)...as Rincewind • The Green Green Grass (2009) {Archive Footage} Personal life He nursed long-time girlfriend Myfanwy Talog prior to her death from breast cancer in 1995, this inspired him to launch his Charitable organisation, the David Jason Trust, for terminaly ill children. Organising regular 4X4 races in the Welsh countryside. He married Yorkshire girl Gill Hinchcliffe, with whom he has a daughter - Sophie Mae - in a secret ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel in London on 30 November 2005. Radio • • • • Mostly Monkhouse Week Ending The Jason Explanation The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Television • Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967-1969) • Softly, Softly ’Overtake’ (1966)... as Smith. • Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) ’That’s How Murder Snowballs’ (1968)... as Abel. • Counterstrike ’On Ice’ (1969)... as Taffy Sadler. • Hark at Barker (1969/70) • Doctor in the House ’What Seems to be the Trouble?’ (1970)... as Mr Drobnic. • Six Dates With Barker show 3 1970 -’The Odd Job’ (1971) • Doctor at Large ’Let’s Start at the Beginning’ (1971)... as Victor Bligh. • His Lordship Entertains (1972) • Seven of One pilot 1 ’Open All Hours’ and pilot 7 ’I’ll Fly You For A Quid’ (1973) • Doctor at Sea ’Go Away Stowaway’ (1974)... as Manuel Sanchez. • The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs (1974) • Porridge (1975-1977)...as Blanco • Lucky Feller (1976)... as Shorty Mopstead. • Open All Hours (1976, 1981-1985)...as Granville • A Sharp Intake of Breath (1977-1981)... as Peter Barnes. • Danger Mouse (1981-1992)...as Danger Mouse and other characters Films • • • • Under Milk Wood (1972) White Cargo (1973) Royal Flash (1975) The Odd Job (1978) Animation • • • • Danger Mouse (1981-1992) The Wind in the Willows (1983-1990) Count Duckula (1988-1993) The BFG (1989) References [1] "Sir David quitting Touch of Frost". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ entertainment/7618765.stm. Retrieved on 2008-09-16. External links • David Jason at the Internet Movie Database • DavidJason.info (Fansite) 3 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • TV Greats biography of David Jason – From website Television Heaven • Interview by BBC "David Jason collects knighthood", with video • David Jason Quits as Frost NAME ALTERNATIVE NAMES SHORT DESCRIPTION DATE OF BIRTH PLACE OF BIRTH DATE OF DEATH PLACE OF DEATH David Jason David Jason White, David John Television actor 2 February 1940 Edmonton, London, England Do Not Adjust Your Set Denise Coffey — Eric Idle — David Jason — Terry Jones — Michael Palin Persondata Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Jason" Categories: 1940 births, Living people, Actors awarded British knighthoods, English comedians, English television actors, English voice actors, Knights Bachelor, London actors, Officers of the Order of the British Empire, People from Enfield This page was last modified on 12 May 2009, at 11:41 (UTC). 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