Born in Manchester, Davy Jones grew up
in modest surroundings as the son of a railroad fitter. At the age of 14,
he went to Newmarket Race Track as exercise boy and apprentice jokey. Before
ever riding a race, Davy met a horse owner who was also a theatrical agent
who guided him into auditions for radio and stage shows, which led to major
roles as the star of a BBC radio series and on the London stage in Peter
Pan and Oliver.
After seeing his performance in Oliver, Producer David Merrick persuaded him to perform his part as the Artful Dodger in New York which he played for two years and which earned him a Tony Award Nomination. Davy then toured the US in Oliver after which he played Samuel Weller in Pickwick. |
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After leaving the show, he signed contracts
with Screeen Gems Television Production, Columbia Pictures and Colgems
Records. At this time, two producers had the idea of doing a TV series
about a musical group - and decided to create the group themselves. They
interview and auditioned hundreds of young performers before selecting
four contrasting types: Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Davy
Jones who soon became international ally famous as The Monkees. Although
The Monkees series is still in re-runs in the US and throughout
the world, as early as 1969 Davy Jones was taking firm steps to establish
his identity as an individual performer appearing on many TV shows including
Laugh-In, Love American Style, The Tom Jones Show and his own ABC
music special P.O.P
Although the scope of his performance are wide and varied, it is stage work that sems to be the bedrock of his career. He recently re-created his role as The Artful Dodger co-starring with Ron Moody in the US and starred in Peter Nichol's Forget-Me-Not-Lane in England for six months. A decade has passed since The Monkees series has launched and there is now a new generation of Monkee fans in the States. Consequently, Davy teamed up with Micky Dolenz and singer-song-writers Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart to make a very successful bicentennial concert tour of the US. An avid tennis player, Davy is a regular on the celebirty tennis circuit, raising money for charity, he is also an enthusiastic athlete and enjoys his old favorite - horseriding. PS "It's great to be home!", says Davy. |
program from the Mermaid Theatre ®1977 |