Windsor Davies
Biography
Windsor Davies was a Welsh actor who was born in Canning Town, East London, and grew up in Nant-y-moel, Glamorgan. He worked as a coal miner and a teacher before becoming a professional actor at 31, joining the Cheltenham repertory theater in 1961. His best known role was Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum, which ran from 1974 to 1981, and he and his co-star Don Estelle reached number one in the UK in 1975 with Whispering Grass. On television he also played the antique dealer Oliver Smallbridge alongside Donald Sinden in Never the Twain from 1981 to 1991, and he was seen in Doctor Who and voiced Sergeant Major Zero in Terrahawks. His films included Carry On Behind (1975), Carry On England (1976) and Grand Slam (1978), and his distinctive voice was widely heard in advertising.
88years old at death
- Born Canning Town
- Died
- Star sign: VirgoThe sign runs August 23 to September 22
Movie Career
- Films
- 9
- Career span
- 29 years1964 to 1993
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Early training
Windsor Davies became a professional actor at 31, after a short drama course with a Kew theater company, and began at the Cheltenham repertory theater in 1961.
Beyond film
In 1975, Davies and his co-star Don Estelle reached number one in the UK with a semi-comic take on "Whispering Grass".
Getting ready for a role
Davies modeled Battery Sergeant Major Williams on soldiers he had met during his national service, saying some were real b*stards who took pride in it.
A role that slipped away
In 1984, Davies tried out for the role of the voice heard on the UK's speaking clock. He went after the job that tells callers the time.
Windsor Davies movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Gerald Thomas directed three of these films. Six actors appear in three of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
David Lodge's page
Joan Sims's page
Kenneth Williams's page
Peter Butterworth's page
Kenneth Connor's page
Jack Douglas's page
Gerald ThomasDirector, 3 films, 1975 to 1977
All films by Gerald Thomas
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.