Richard Davies

Richard Davies was born Dennis Wilfred Davies on January 25, 1926 in Dowlais, Wales. In a television era unabashed at employing cultural and racial stereotypes for easy and often dubious humour, Richard Davies grew accustomed to finding himself typecast as irascible Welshmen perpetually bothered and bewildered by their English colleagues. An accomplished character actor with a theatre background that included West End appearances and seasons at the Bristol Old Vic, he always managed to resist caricature and bring a flesh-and-blood reality to often undemanding roles. He is best remembered as Mr Price, the sarcastic, long-suffering and world-weary science teacher in John Esmonde and Bob Larbey's Please Sir!, which, at its peak during its four-year run from 1968, attracted audiences of 20 million and spawned a 1971 film. Pitted against the puppy-dog enthusiasm of John Alderton's fresh-faced, newly graduated teacher, Davies provided a grittier perspective on the experience of teaching u