Other
Characters: Jeff Clark 1968, Ned Stuart 1969, Return
to Collinwood, Dirk Wilkins 1897, Charles Delaware
Tate 1897, 1969-1970, Jeff Clark House of Dark
Shadows
The
brash, yet romantic Peter Bradford first encounters the Collins
family when he attempts to defend the prone Victoria Winters
during her witchcraft trial. He eventually kept his precious
promise to Victoria Winters, as he transcended time, to be
back in her arms. However, the once familiar figure, who sought
justice in a Collinwood courthouse, re-appeared in the present
as a mysterious man full of uncertainties about himself and
his future. Assurance for both his past and his future finally
arrived, just as the past chose to reclaim him...
Roger
Davis was born Jon Roger Davis in Bowling Green, Kentucky
on April 5, 1939. His early acting aspirations took him to
centre stage as the Archbishop in a school production of The
Prince and the Pauper.
While
attending Castle Height Military Academy in Tennessee, Roger
was the star of the high school debating team. At Columbia
University, he majored in American and British Literature
and also minored in architecture. During his college days,
Roger studied drama under Michael Howard. He practiced his
craft in New York doing summer stock and repertory theatre
engagements.
Fate
seemed to lead him to the west coast, when he accepted a teaching
position at UCLA, where he completed his master's degree and
a thesis on Robert Frost. An uncredited cameo in John Wayne's
Alamo proved to be the catalysis for his prolific acting
career.
In
1962, Roger debuted on the small screen as Private Roger Gibson
in The Gallant Men. Many more television appearances
followed as well as roles on the big screen in PT 109
and Ride the Wild Surf. He also appeared from 1963
until 1964 in NBC's Western series Empire.
Upon
his return to New York in the late 1960s, Roger returned to
theatre and was referred by the directors of a production
of MacBird he was appearing in for the first of his
many commercial voiceover jobs, which include Anacin, McDonalds,
American Express, Heinz Ketchup, Glad Bags and Nationwide
Insurance.
In
1968, Roger married longtime girlfriend Jaclyn Smith of Charlie's
Angels fame. The couple divorced in 1977.
After
the completing both the Dark Shadows series and movie,
Roger replaced Peter Duel in the role of Hannibal Heyes/Joshua
Smith in the TV western Alias Smith and Jones. Davis
started begun on the show as narrator
and replaced his friend Duel following his suicide, which
proved to be a distressing experience. He had previously worked
as a narrator for the series.
Davis'
many television guest appearances include roles in The
Twilight Zone, Bonanza, The Big Valley, The Most Deadly Game,
Medical Center, Night Gallery, Quincy ME, The New Perry Mason,
Faraday and Company, The Rockford Files, The Bionic Woman,
Wonder Woman, Galactica 1980, Matlock and Night Man.
He also appeared in numerous movies roles on television and
the big screen, such as Killer Bees (alongside Kate
Jackson), Education of Sonny Carson, A Little Bit of
Murder, Flash and the Firecat, Nashville Girl, Ruby, The Act,
Chameleons, Molly and Beyond the Pale.
During
the 1980s, Davis ventured into real estate investment and
development, while remaining active in the acting
profession. His building business brought him back to Kentucky
where he built a 20 storey Georgian-style luxury condominium
known as 1400 Willow and restored the haunted 1905 Seelbach
Hotel. In 2000, the building was featured extensively in the
film The Insiders.
Today,
Roger makes his home on a 10-acre spread in Malibu. While
continuing to be involved with real estate development projects
in exclusive LA neighborhoods, also maintains a shirt manufacturing
business, Packing Crate Classics, located in Santa Monica.
In
2003, Roger revisited Dark Shadows in the Return
to Collinwood reunion audio play. He reprised Ned Stuart,
now happily married to Carolyn Stoddard.
Biography
written by Vera Marano
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