Jim Davidson

 

Jim Davidson, OBE (born Cameron James Davidson 13 December 1953) is an English actor, blue comedian and TV presenter best known for presenting popular television gameshows Big Break and The Generation Game.

Biography

Davidson attended St Austen’s School in Charlton. He was chosen to appear in Ralph Reader’s Gang Show at the Golders Green Hippodrome aged 12, and found his way into show business when he was in a pub in Woolwich to which the regular comedian hadn’t turned up.

He became a regular on the London comedy circuit, and first auditioned for Opportunity Knocks in 1975. He was unsuccessful and told by Hughie Green to "go away". His audition for New Faces was more successful, and he proceeded to win the show by one point, and then to come second in the overall contest.^[1]

Television

His success was quickly followed by many appearances on television, including What’s On Next and several series of his own show The Jim Davidson Show which ran for five complete series and won Davidson the TV Times 'Funniest Man On Television' award. Davidson made a few appearances on Tiswas in 1977, and claims to have been the first Phantom Flan Flinger on that programme.^[2] He starred in the TV sitcoms Up The Elephant And Around The Castle and Home James.^[3] His one man show for Thames, Stand Up Jim Davidson was recorded on stage at London’s Royalty Theatre. In recent years, he is most famous for his television roles on Big Break and successor to Bruce Forsyth as host of the Generation Game. In September 2007, Davidson appeared in the third series of Hell's Kitchen in the UK.

Touring show

Davidson's touring was developed from his original London comedy circuit show, for pub and club audiences. This was aimed at a very different audience from his television work, and he was quite open and honest in promoting his stage shows as adult entertainment^{[citation needed]}. This also developed into his adult pantomime work, including productions with titles such as Boobs in the Wood and SINderella - both of which played to sell-out audiences. In 2006, for the first time in 14 years, he refused to play at Great Yarmouth, stating that the resort was "full of overweight people in flip-flops and fat children of all colours and no class".^[4] The inhabitants of the town took this as a personal affront though he was referring to the tourists^{[citation needed]}.

Business

Davidson has several business interests. He set up a company which either bought or leased several seaside theatres and piers, including the Winter Gardens building in Great Yarmouth which he converted into a nightclub. He sold the company after losing £700,000 on a pantomime production of Dick Whittington and a meeting with the Inland Revenue in 2003.^[5]

Personal life

Davidson has always been a good subject for the tabloid press. His multiple marriages, abusive language on stage, battles with substance abuse, and admissions of domestic violence have made him a compelling target.

In Davidson's first autobiography The Full Monty,^[6] he frankly talked about his turbulent relationship with his wife: "We’re like a couple of boxers. On the first occasion, I poked her in the eye by accident. I actually went for the mouth. Thank heaven I missed, I’d have fallen in. I just took a playful punch. Unfortunately I caught her completely wrong. The second time I gave her a shiner. I threw a bunch of keys which whacked her in the eye."

In his second autobiography, Close to the Edge,^[7] he writes tales of his four marriages and six-year battle with alcoholism. Ex-wife Alison Holloway's new husband Burt Kearns had plotted to have Davidson knee-capped as a result of his confession of battering Holloway.^[8]

Davidson's numerous marriages spurred Sir John Mills to send a telegram on the occasion of his fourth, which read simply: "Will It Last?"^[9] The marriage ended ten years later. Davidson subsequently returned the compliment to Mills and his wife on their 60th wedding anniversary, with a telegram bearing the same wording.^[10]

Davidson was quoted in July 2004 as saying, in light of footballer Ray Parlour's divorce, which set a precedent of allowing wives to earn from their husband's future earnings: "As much as I love my girlfriend, I will not be making her my fifth wife."^[11]

Spouses and Children

• Sue Walpole (1971 - 1972; divorced), 1 child Sarah Walpole-Davidson, born 25 April 1972
• Julie Gullick (1981 - 1986; divorced), 1 child Cameron James Davidson, born 12 August 1982
• Alison Holloway (1987 - 1988; divorced)
• Tracy Hilton (1990 - 2000; divorced), 3 children Charlie (born 1990), Freddie (1992) and Elsie (1993)

Taxation and bankruptcy

On 27 August 2003, after a meeting with the Inland Revenue Davidson claimed he spent £10,000 a week on back taxes, commission to agents, maintenance and school fees, and a £2.2 million mortgage: "My problem is money - I used to earn five times as much as I do now, but I still pay the same maintenance, school fees and commission to agents," he told Radio Times magazine.^[5]

On 6 July 2006, after failing to keep up payments on £1.4million back tax bill he had reduced to £700,000, he was declared bankrupt.^[5][12]

Controversy

Davidson from time to time makes jokes about ethnic minorities, homosexuals and disabled people in his stand-up act, which has made him a heavy subject of media coverage and frequent criticism. The Shropshire Star reported that much of it has focused upon his divorce payments, income tax bills, and court orders for cancelled shows, with a tendency to concentrate upon where his comedy is ill-received rather than where it is well-received.^[13] He once refused to go on stage in Plymouth because some disabled ticket holders were in the front row, quoting him as saying, "I've got nothing against disabled people but part of my act is taking the piss out of the front row. Just imagine if I had have ripped it out of them? The papers would have had a field day. Instead I asked them to move but they wouldn't budge." The disabled people in question responded they had bought front row tickets, were aware of the nature of his act and, on that basis, saw no reason why they should move. Some critics later said that a feature of a great comedian is to be able to tailor his act to suit any audience.^[14] Meanwhile, disabled comedian Laurence Clark turned the tables on Davidson, refusing to perform if Davidson ever turned up at one of his shows, and compared Davidson to Tony Blair's manifesto speeches.^[15]

Martin Fletcher describes Davidson as "extraordinarily foul-mouthed, racist, and sexist" and a "throwback";^[16] whilst quoting Garry Bushell describing Davidson as a "family entertainer". In a Channel 4 poll of the "100 Worst Britons", Davidson came in at #20.^[17]

In 2002, Davidson was escorted from the grounds of the Marriott Bristol Royal Hotel, England, after it was alleged that he had become confrontational and abusive to staff.^[18]

Davidson was sued in October 2003 after a woman was seriously injured in a fall at Wellington Pier, which Davidson leased at the time. It was alleged that he had failed to maintain the pier properly. The case was subsequently withdrawn.^[19]

In 2004, comedian Jimmy Carr threatened legal action against Davidson, accusing Davidson of having plagiarised some of his comic material.^[20]

In October 2006, he was again accused of making insensitive jokes about cancer sufferers, blind people, a woman in a wheelchair, and the recent trial over the murder of Damilola Taylor, prompting a woman to walk out of the show in disgust. Davidson vehemently denied the charge, claiming that jokes about blind people and cancer sufferers would have merited a "mass walkout." He also said the comments about the Damilola Taylor trial were taken out of context: "My actual remark was that I thought the killers should be locked away forever. And if she objects to that then that is her prerogative."^[21]

In December 2006, Davidson was embarrassed by a 15-year-old boy who heckled him during a performance of his pantomime Dick Whittington in Kent. Reportedly, Davidson came on stage at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford, delivering the scripted line, "Do you know who I am?” The boy, a Scout in full uniform, loudly replied, "Yes, you’re a fucking wanker." According to The Sun, Davidson was enraged and spent the remainder of the first half of the show in a sullen mood. He reportedly tried unsuccessfully to find the boy's scoutmaster during the interval to personally address his heckler.^[22]

In 2007, Davidson was called on to defend the good character of close friend Brian Brendan Wright, one of Britain's biggest cocaine barons. Despite Davidson testifying to Wright's good character, the judge concluded that Wright was in fact "a master criminal, manipulative, influential and powerful," and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.^[23]

In August 2007, UK newspaper The People alleged that Davidson had taken part in a number of "bizarre sex sessions" with a prostitute. Among other allegations, the paper claimed that Davidson had gone on all fours and impersonated a dog, while at the same time requesting sexual favours.^[24]

In September 2007, on celebrity reality TV programme Hell's Kitchen, Brian Dowling mentioned comments made by Jim Davidson about his homosexuality. Davidson asked Dowling, "Are you on our side?" when referring to whether or not he would be participating for the boys or girls team, and called him a "shirtlifter". Davidson later described himself as a "homophobic arsehole". The programme was aired on ITV on September 4, 2007.^[25] On September 10 2007 Davidson was asked to leave Hell's Kitchen following further problems with Dowling.^[26]

After Davidson's exit from the programme, the BBC reported that the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom had received 46 complaints over Davidson's "bullying" of Dowling. ITV1, the channel which had originally broadcast the programme, issued a statement, regretting Davidson's "unacceptable remarks".^[27]

Charity Work

Jim Davidson started The British Forces Foundation in April 1999 to provide morale-boosting entertainment to troops while on operations. Believing passionately in the sacrifices our servicemen and women make for us, he decided to set up a charity dedicated solely to cheering them up in times of need!

With the support of HRH The Prince of Wales, the charity's Patron; Baroness Thatcher, the President and an array of high profile Trustees from the Armed Forces, diplomatic corps and world of entertainment, the charity has already put on some spectacular shows.

In three consecutive years there have been fantastic television shows broadcast on BBC of The British Forces Foundation at work in the Falklands, Iraq and on board HMS Invincible. Celebrities appearing alongside Jim and giving top performances to the men and women of our Armed Services include Emma Bunton, Martine McCutcheon, Sir John Mills, Sir Steven Redgrave and Matthew Pincent, Atomic Kitten and S Club.

And there have been numerous other shows around the world – Kosovo, Gibraltar, Germany, Kuwait and Norway among them – with the likes of Status Quo, Mylene Klass and Kenny Jones of The Who.

Quote from HRH The Prince of Wales - Patron, The British Forces Foundation;

“The work of our Service personnel on operations is well known. We must not forget however the work, much of it unsung, that goes on in the background to support their efforts and that contributes to their success. The British Forces Foundation plays a key role continuing the tradition of bringing entertainment to servicemen and women wherever they may be. I ask you to support this work and help the British Forces Foundation entertain our Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen deployed around the world.”.^[28]

Jim Davidson was awarded the OBE in the New Year's Honours List 2001 for his services to charity.^[29]

Credits

Television

• Big Break
• Home James
• New Faces
• Stand Up Jim Davidson
• The Generation Game
• The Jim Davidson Show
• Up the Elephant and Round the Castle
• Life's a Pitch
• Jim Davidson Live at Sun City
• Queer eye for the straight guy
• What's on Next
• Manimal
• Tiswas
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
• Hell's Kitchen

Film

• Davidson made his first feature film appearance, somewhat incongruously, in the Peter Greenaway directed A Zed and Two Noughts (1985).
• Colour Me Kubrick (2006) With John Malkovich.

Music

• "Watching Over You"
• "A Time for Remembering"
• "Love Please Stop Leaving Me"

Theatre

• Davidson wrote and performed in the "adult" pantomime Sinderella with '60s singer Jess Conrad, comedians Dave Lee, Roger Kitter, Dave Kristian, Mia Carla, Charlie Drake and balloon dancers The Oddballs.
• Boobs in the Wood 1999 an adult pantomime performed with Victor Spinetti.
• In 2004 Sinderella Comes Again toured again with a new script and was released on DVD and video.

References

Preceded by Bruce Forsyth

Host of The Generation Game 1995-2002

Succeeded by series ended

External links

• Jim Davidson Official Site
• Sinderella Comes Again
• Jim Davidson Official Forum
• Jim's Hell's Kitchen profile

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