Freddie Davies
 |
Freddie Davies | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 July 1937 |
Freddie Davies (born 21 July 1937) is a British comedian and actor. He is the grandson of music hall comedian Jack Herbert.
Childhood
Freddie Davies was born in Brixton, London in 1937. At the start of World War II, Davies was evacuated to Seend in Wiltshire, subsequently to Torquay in Devon and then to Salford, Lancashire in 1941.
Career
After serving National Service in the Royal Army Pay Corps, Davies became a stand-up comedian. He began his career in 1958 as a Butlins holiday camp entertainer. He started on the cabaret circuit in 1964, when he turned professional, and he appeared on many television shows in the 1960s, '70s and '80s including Opportunity Knocks, Sunday Night at the London Palladium, The Des O'Connor Show, The Tom Jones Show, The Bachelors Show and Blackpool Night Out.
In a sketch on Opportunity Knocks he recounted addressing a tiresome official with "look here, Parrot Face". Audience reaction to the sketch prompted him to bill himself as "Freddie "Parrot-Face" Davies". He made further allusions to birds in jokes about budgies and playing a character he named Samuel Tweet. His visual identity included wearing a black bowler hat pulled low over his ears.
From 1968 to 1971, the long-running British children's comic Buster featured a comic strip Freddie "Parrot-Face" Davies, based upon the adventures of Freddie and his "boodgies" (budgies). In 1974 he had a BBC children's television series, The Small World of Samuel Tweet. Mr. Tweet worked in a pet shop in Chumpton Green, appearing with many animals during the series. He also appeared in a television commercial for "Trill" bird seed, with the slogan, "Trill makes budgies bounce with health".
After a spell touring the U.S.A. he returned to the UK and began a television acting career appearing in Heartbeat, Casualty, Last of the Summer Wine, Preston Front, two series of Harbour Lights (as George Blade), Born and Bred, Sensitive Skin and My Family.
Freddie acted in films including the 1995 comedy Funny Bones and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004.
He now lives in North Yorkshire[citation needed] and produced the DVD for the local Aberfeldy and District Gaelic Choir.[1]
In December 2012 and January 2013 Davies appeared in the BBC Two documentary Blackpool: Big Night Out, sharing reminiscences of performing in the town. The programme included a clip of Davies' comedy routine at the ABC Theatre in Blackpool, on 31 July 1966, featuring his stuffed caged parrot.[2]
Sound recordings
Freddie also recorded several children's albums and stories for children. The Last of the Summer Wine actor Bill Owen wrote the lyrics to a romantic ballad called "So Lucky" which Freddie recorded in 1972. It became a hit record in Brazil, the Philippines and South America, going gold in Brazil.
Discography
Singles
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | "Semolina" / "Sentimental Songs" | Major Minor |
| 1967 | Meet Mr Parrot Face (EP) | Major Minor |
| 1972 | "So Lucky" / "If You Never Went Away (Take Good Care of Yourself)" | Pye |
| 1974 | The Ballad Of Samuel Tweet | RCA Victor |
| 1977 | The Ballad Of Harry Ramsden's | Kentone |
| 1977 | "Back Home For Christmas" / "Think Of Me At Christmas" | Plum Records |
Albums
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Mr. Parrot Face | Chapter 1 |
| 1975 | A Day In The Life Of Samuel Tweet | Contour |
References
External links
