Jim Davidson
Jim Davidson OBE (born Cameron James Davidson in Kidbrooke, London, England on 1953-12-13) is a fairly popular but controversial English comedian, TV presenter and actor. A recovering alcoholic who has been married four times, he has been made an officer of the Order of the British Empire for his entertaining of British Soldiers in conflict zones.
On 2006-07-06 after failing to keep up payments on £1.4million back tax bill he had reduced to £700,000, he was declared bankrupt.[1] [2]
Biography
Jim Davidson was born in Kidbrooke, London and 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 when the regular comedian hadn’t turned up.
He became a regular on the London comedy circuit, and then first auditioned for Opportunity Knocks in 1975, but was unsuccessful, reporting that Hughie Green told him 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.[3]
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 award as “Funniest Man On Television”. Davidson made a few appearances on Tiswas in 1977, and claimed in 2004 to have been the first Phantom Flan Flinger on that programme.[4] He starred in high rating TV sitcoms “Up The Elephant And Around The Castle” and “Home James”. 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
Touring show
Davidson's touring is developed from his original London Comedy circuit show, for pub and club audiences. Aimed at a very different audience to his television work, it is at best blue language and at worst Anglo-Saxon swearing - he is quite open and honest in promoting his stage shows as Adult Entertainment. This has also developed into his Adult Pantomime work, including productions with titles such as: Boobs in the Wood and SINderella - both of which have played to sell-out audiences. He has also, for the first time in 14 years, in 2006, refused to play Great Yarmouth, stating that the resort was "full of overweight people in flip-flops and fat children of all colours and no class".[5] The inhabitants of the town took this as a personal affront though he was referring to the tourists.
Music
Davidson has also produced some engaging musical pieces of work, mostly produced in conjunction with his friend Greg Lake of Emerson Lake and Palmer fame. These include albums of a contemporary nature, as well as Scottish ballads and folk songs.
Forces
Davidson has put much effort into entertaining the British Armed Forces, and set up a charity to fund shows to provide entertainment for British soldiers living abroad. As well as extensive touring, he has starred in a number of his own TV specials for ITV and BBC, including one from HMS Invincible, “Homeward Bound for Christmas” and in 2002 he filmed “Jim Davidson Falklands Bound” which was screened during the 20th Anniversary of the end of the hostilities. During the Iraq conflict he was trapped on a cargo plane to entertain the British soldiers for no fee, and in 2003 “Jim Davidson Basra Bound” was screened on BBC One and further BBC TV Specials of his live stand-up show followed. He has made five visits to the Falkland Islands, twice to the Republic of Macedonia, and at least six times to Iraq. His is presently the Chairman of The British Forces Foundation charity which aims to promote the well-being and esprit de corps of service personnel.
Business
Davidson also has several business interests. He set up a company which either bought or leased several seaside theatres or piers, including the Winter Gardens building in Great Yarmouth, converting it into a nightclub. After losing £700,000 on a pantomime production of "Dick Whittington" and a meeting with the Inland Revenue in 2003, he has sold the company.[1] He has also been quick to take advantage of the video and DVD age, and all of his works are available on back catalogue.
Personal Life
Davidson has always been a good subject for the tabloid press. His multiple marriages, battles with alcohol, abusive language on stage, and admission of wife-beating make 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. Just for a giggle she kept blackening it up to make it look worse."
In his second autobiography Close to the Edge[7] he writes tales of his four marriages and six year battle against alcoholism. His 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 Sir John 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: As much as I love my girlfriend, I will not be making her my fifth wife.[11]
In 2004, Davidson, a self-professed Conservative, publicly left the United Kingdom for Dubai in protest of the Labour Party government, although he has subseqently been quoted as attributing his move as being motivated primarily by the tax-free status afforded him.
Taxation and bankruptcy
On 2003-08-27, after a meeting with the Inland Revenue where he was almost declared bankrupt, Davidson claimed he spend £10,000 a week on back taxes, commission to agents, maintenance and school fees, and a £2.2million pound 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 the Radio Times magazine.[1]
On 2006-07-06 Davidson was declared bankrupt for failing to pay a £700,000 tax bill.[2]
Controversy
Davidson makes no attempt to be politically correct, and from time to time makes jokes about ethnic minorities and disabled people in his stand-up act.
Davidson has been the subject of media coverage, especially in British tabloid newspapers. The Shropshire Star reports 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.[12] It cites as an example an incident where he once refused to go on stage in Plymouth because some disabled ticket holders were in the front row, quoting him as saying that "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 why should they move. Some critics later said that a feature of a great comedian is to be able to tailor his act to suit any audience.[13] Meanwhile, disabled comedian Laurence Clark now turns the tables on Davidson, refusing to perform if Davidson ever turned up to one of his shows, and comparing Davidson to Tony Blair's manifesto speeches.[14]
Martin Fletcher describes Davidson as an "extraordinarily foul-mouthed, racist, and sexist" and a "throwback"[15]; 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.[16]
In 2002, Davidson was escorted from the grounds of the Marriott Bristol Royal Hotel, England, after it was alleged that Davidson had become confrontational and abusive to staff.[17]
In 2003, Davidson was sued after a woman was seriously injured in a fall at Wellington Pier, which Davidson owned at the time. It was alleged that Davidson had failed to maintain the pier properly. [18]
In 2004, fellow comedian Jimmy Carr threatened legal action against Davidson, accusing Davidson of having stolen some of his comic material. [19]
Trivia
- Comedian and writer John Junkin wrote most of his early TV scripts [20]
- William Hague is a close friend
- The inshore lifeboat at Caister on Sea is named after Jim Davidson in recognition of his fund raising work for the Caister Volunteer Rescue Service, it being a station independent of the RNLI.[21]
- One of b3ta's weekly image challenges was called "What if Jim Davidson was Prime Minister?"
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, Manimal, Life's a pitch, CSI, Jim Davidson live at Sun City, What's on Next, Tiswas, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
Film
- Jim 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. The true story of a man who posed as director Stanley Kubrick during the production of Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut, despite knowing very little about his work and looking nothing like Kubrick.
Music
- "Watching Over You"
- "A Time for Remembering"
- "Love Please Stop Leaving Me"
Theatre
- Jim 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
- ^ a b c missingauthor (2003-08-27). "Davidson "nearly made bankrupt"". BBC News.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b missingauthor (missingdate). "missingtitle". BBC News.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Jack Kibble-White and Steve Williams. "Part Eighteen: I Heard a Seat in the Stalls Go "Gerdonk!"". Retrieved 2005-09-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|Work=ignored (|work=suggested) (help) - ^ "Where is Jim Davidson?". Pies, Gunge, and Water at Tiswas Online. Retrieved 2005-09-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ missingauthor (2004-04-24). "Davidson ready to make Tories laugh". The Daily Telegraph. missingpublisher.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Jim Davidson (1994-10-06). The Full Monty. Time Warner Paperbacks. ISBN 0751507377.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Jim Davidson (2002-08-01). Close to the Edge. Ebury Press. ISBN 0091883121.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ missingauthor (missingdate). "missingtitle". missingpublisher.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ missingauthor. "missingtitle". missingpublisher.
- ^ "Sir John Mills renews wedding vows". BBC News. 2001-01-16.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ missingauthor (missingdate). "missingtitle". The Daily Mirror. Mirror Group.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Rous, Nathan (2005-08-22). "Still space for a blue comedian?". Shropshire Star.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ missingauthor (missingdate). "missingtitle". missingpublisher.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ missingauthor (missingdate). "missingtitle". missingpublisher.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Martin Fletcher (2005-06-06). "Voyeurism, sexism and non-celebrity: reality TV eats itself". Socialist Democracy.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ missingauthor (missingdate). "missingtitle". Channel 4.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Hotel boss asks comic to leave". BBC News. 12 December, 2002.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Comic Davidson sued over fall". BBC News. 16 October, 2003.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Stand-ups square up over fat joke". BBC News. 5 August 2004.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ missingauthor (missingdate). "missingtitle". missingpublisher.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ missingauthor (missingdate). "missingtitle". missingpublisher.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)