| David Jason | |
| Born | David John White 2 February 1940 Edmonton, North London, England |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Spouse(s) | Gill Hinchcliffe (m. 2005–present) |
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 Derek Trotter 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.
Contents |
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 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.
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 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.
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 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".
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 terminally 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.
Career
Radio
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | Mostly Monkhouse | Various | |
| 1970-1998 | Week Ending | Various | |
| - | The Jason Explanation | Various | |
| - | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Unknown |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Crossroads | Bert Bradshaw | Unknown character duration. |
| 1966 | Softly, Softly | Smith | Episode ‘Overtake’ |
| 1967-1969 | Do Not Adjust Your Set | Various | A children’s sketch show; popular with adults. |
| 1968 | Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) | Abel | Episode ‘That’s How to Murder Snowballs’ |
| 1969 | Counterstrike | Taffy Sadler | Episode ‘On Ice’ |
| 1969 | Canada Goose | Unknown | |
| 1969-1970 | Hark at Barker | Various | |
| 1970 | Doctor in the House | Mr Drobnic | Episode ‘What Seems to be the Trouble?’ |
| 1970 | Two D's and a Dog | Dingle Bell | |
| 1971 | Six Dates With Barker | Odd Job Man | Episode 3 – ‘The Odd Job’; Starred with Ronnie Barker |
| 1971 | Doctor at Large | Victor Bligh | Episode ‘Let’s Start at the Beginning’ |
| 1972 | His Lordship Entertains | Dithers | Starred with Ronnie Barker |
| 1973 | Seven of One | Various | Episodes 1 (Open All Hours) and 2 (I’ll Fly You For A Quid) |
| 1974 | Doctor at Sea | Manuel Sanchez | |
| 1974 | The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs | Edgar Briggs | |
| 1975; 1977 | Porridge | Blanco Webb | Guest starred in two episodes. Starred with Ronnie Barker. |
| 1976 | Lucky Feller | Shorty Mopstead | |
| 1976-1985 | Open All Hours | Granville | Broadcast: 1976; 1981-1985. Starred with Ronnie Barker. |
| 1977-1981 | A Sharp Intake of Breath | Peter Barnes | |
| 1981-2003 | Only Fools and Horses | Del Boy | Broadcast: 1981-1996; 2001-2003 |
| 1987 | Porterhouse Blue | Skullion | |
| 1989 | A Bit of a Do | Ted | |
| 1990 | Amongst Barbarians | George | |
| 1991-1993 | The Darling Buds of May | Pop Larkin | |
| 1992-2009 | A Touch of Frost | DI Jack Frost | |
| 1993 | The Bullion Boys | Billy Mac | |
| 1997 | The Ice House | Unknown | |
| 1998 | March in the Windy City | Steven March | |
| 1999 | All the King's Men | Captain Frank Beck | A 1999 television film. |
| 2001 | Micawber | Micawber | |
| 2002-2004 | The Quest | Dave | A three-part film series. |
| 2005-2007 | Diamond Geezer | Des | Pilot in 2005; Series in 2007. |
| 2006 | Ghostboat | Lt. Prof. Jack Hardy R.N. Rtd | Two part ITV drama. |
| 2006 | Terry Pratchett's Hogfather | Albert | Two part Sky1 drama. |
| 2006 | Cartoon Kings | Narrator | Documentary. |
| 2006 | Prehistoric Park | Narrator | Documentary-style drama. |
| 2008 | Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic | Rincewind | Two part Sky1 drama. |
| 2009 | The Green Green Grass | Del Boy | Archive footage: Episode 'I Done It My Way' |
| 2009 | Albert’s Memorial | Harry | Complete; awaiting broadcast. |
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Under Milk Wood | Nogood Boyo | Originally offered to Jason's brother, Arthur, however Jason was cast in the role. |
| 1973 | White Cargo | Albert Toddey | |
| 1975 | Royal Flash | The Mayor | |
| 1977 | Wombling Free | Womble Voice | |
| 1978 | The Odd Job | Odd Job Man | |
| 1983 | The Wind in the Willows | Toad | Spawned a 52-part series. |
Animation
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-1992 | Danger Mouse | Danger Mouse | |
| 1983-1990 | The Wind in the Willows | Toad | |
| 1988-1993 | Count Duckula | Count Duckula | Spin-off from hit series Danger Mouse starring David Jason as the lead voice. |
| 1989 | The BFG | The BFG | |
| 1991-1992 | Victor and Hugo | Hugo | |
| 1993 | The Adventures of Dawdle the Donkey | Rola Polar | |
| 1995 | The Snow Queen | Eric | |
| 1998 | Father Christmas and the Missing Reindeer | Father Christmas | |
| 1999 | Angelmouse | Narrator | 22 parts. |
Awards and nominations
David Jason has won a total of twenty-three awards between 1986 and 2003. His hit comedy show, Only Fools and Horses won many of these awards, and was also nominated many times. His crime drama, A Touch of Frost, has also won and been nominated a few times. Porterhouse Blue, The Second Quest, All the King's Men and A Bit of a Do have won David Jason one award each.
| Year | Group | Award | Film/Show | Result | Win/Nom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Light Entertainment Performance | Only Fools and Horses | Nominated | 0–1 |
| 1987 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Light Entertainment Performance | Only Fools and Horses | Nominated | 0–2 |
| 1988 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Actor | Porterhouse Blue | Won | 1–2 |
| 1989 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Light Entertainment Performance | Only Fools and Horses | Nominated | 1–3 |
| 1990 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Light Entertainment Performance | Only Fools and Horses | Nominated | 1–4 |
| 1990 | British Comedy Award | Best TV Comedy Actor | A Bit of a Do | Won | 2–4 |
| 1991 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Light Entertainment Performance | Only Fools and Horses | Won | 3–4 |
| 1992 | British Comedy Award | Best TV Comedy Actor | The Darling Buds of May | Won | 4–4 |
| 1997 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Comedy Performance | Only Fools and Horses | Won | 5–4 |
| 1997 | National Television Award | Most Popular Comedy Performer | Only Fools and Horses | Won | 6–4 |
| 1997 | British Comedy Award | Best TV Comedy Actor | Only Fools and Horses | Won | 7–4 |
| 1999 | National Television Award | Most Popular Actor | A Touch of Frost | Nominated | 7–5 |
| 2000 | National Television Award | Most Popular Actor | A Touch of Frost | Nominated | 7–6 |
| 2000 | TV Quick Award | Best Actor | A Touch of Frost All the King's Men |
Won | 8–6 |
| 2001 | British Comedy Award | Lifetime Achievement Award | N/a | Won | 9–6 |
| 2001 | TV Quick Award | Best Actor | A Touch of Frost | Won | 10–6 |
| 2001 | National Television Award | Most Popular Actor | A Touch of Frost | Won | 11–6 |
| 2002 | National Television Award | Most Popular Actor | A Touch of Frost | Won | 12–6 |
| 2002 | National Television Award | Most Popular Comedy Performance | Only Fools and Horses | Won | 13–6 |
| 2002 | TV Quick Award | Best Actor | A Touch of Frost | Won | 14–6 |
| 2003 | National Television Award | Most Popular Actor | A Touch of Frost | Nominated | 14–7 |
| 2003 | BAFTA TV Award | BAFTA Academy Fellowship | N/a | Won | 15–7 |
| 2003 | National Television Award | Most Popular Actor | The Second Quest A Touch of Frost |
Won | 16–7 |
References
- ^ "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)
- TV Greats biography of David Jason – From website Television Heaven
- Interview by BBC "David Jason collects knighthood", with video
- David Jason Quits as Frost
| Do Not Adjust Your Set |
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| Denise Coffey — Eric Idle — David Jason — Terry Jones — Michael Palin |
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