Ian Davidson obit

Ian Davidson obituary

Comedy writer and performer who collaborated with Barry Humphries for more than half a century 

He was not on the list.

Comedy was in Ian Davidson’s veins. He wrote, directed and acted in programmes featuring some of British television’s biggest stars, including the Monty Python team, Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker, Les Dawson, Dave Allen and Little and Large.

Davidson, who has died of cancer aged 84, enjoyed his longest association – 53 years – with Barry Humphries, the British-based Australian most famous for his performance as the outrageous Dame Edna Everage, Melbourne “housewife superstar”, alongside characters such as the offensive Les Patterson and Sandy Stone, “Australia’s most boring man”.

They met when Davidson was directing The Late Show (1966-67), a satirical BBC Two series, and collaborated on scripts for both TV and theatre productions, in the UK, US and Australia.

“He knows I’ll start work on anything, with no money, no agreement, just for the joy of writing with him,” Davidson told the Independent in 1997. The friendship extended to Davidson being the butt of pranks. He recalled: “Once, we left Ronnie Scott’s [club] – me and him and the wives – and tried to find a cab. One came around the corner, we climbed in, and then after a while the driver leaned back and said: ‘Is that Mr ’Umphries? I’d like to say how much I admire your art, Mr ’Umphries.’ Note the word ‘art’. Then the cabby said: ‘As a matter of fact, I’d like to have a drink with you,’ and produced a bottle of champagne and four glasses on a tray from the front of the cab. It turned out Barry had set all this up.”

The Humphries-Davidson collaboration on television continued through Barry Humphries’ Scandals (1970), The Barry Humphries Show (1976-77), The Dame Edna Experience (1987-89), Dame Edna’s Neighbourhood Watch (1992), The Dame Edna Treatment (2007) and Dame Edna Rules the Waves (2019), as well as theatre shows such as the West End production of Housewife! Superstar! (Apollo theatre, 1976).

At Oxford University, Davidson wrote and performed with the future Monty Python stars Michael Palin and Terry Jones. They were reunited, together with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam, in Monty Python’s Flying Circus when he joined the supporting cast for 1969-70 episodes of the surreal series. The dozen characters he played included an RSPCA man intervening in the “How to feed a goldfish” sketch and a chief commissioner of police waving from a morgue drawer.

He and his other long-term writing partner, Peter Vincent, both wrote for Frost on Saturday (1968) before they joined the scriptwriting team for all 12 series (1971-87) of The Two Ronnies, starring Corbett and Barker, who had made an impression as part of the ensemble cast in David Frost’s satirical series. Davidson also served as script editor from 1977.

Together, he and Vincent created the sitcom Sorry! (1981-88). Corbett starred as Timothy Lumsden, a fortysomething librarian still living with his parents. Barbara Lott played the domineering mother, Phyllis, eager to keep him tied to her apron strings while William Moore acted her henpecked husband, Sidney.

Much later, the trio teamed up on radio for When the Dog Dies (2010-14), featuring Corbett as Sandy Hopper, widowed and resisting attempts by his grown-up children to make him downsize to cash in by selling the house. The title came from Sandy’s insistence that it will not go until his canine companion, Henry, has passed away. The Sunday Times critic Paul Donovan observed that “it is brisk, funny and has sharply drawn characters”, including Sandy’s manipulative lodger (played by Liza Tarbuck).

Born in Romford, Essex, Ian was the son of Denise (nee Free), a school secretary, and John Davidson, a headteacher, and attended the town’s Royal Liberty school.

On graduating in geography from Keble College, Oxford, in 1963, he wrote a sketch for the BBC satirical series That Was the Week That Was, directed an Oxford Theatre Group revue in the West End (Phoenix theatre, 1963), then became a research assistant on regional news at the ITV company Granada Television. While there, he, John Bird and Michael Frayn wrote scripts for the satirical series Second City Reports (1964).

Travelling to the US, he performed with the Second City improvisational theatre group in Chicago and took part in the warm-up for a Lyndon B Johnson speech at the city’s stadium.

Then, back at Granada, he had a short stint as Coronation Street’s script editor before Ned Sherrin, producer and “godfather of satire”, hired him to direct “silly” filmed inserts for the series titled BBC3 (1965-66).

He was assistant director on The Frost Report (1966-67), produced the second series of Do Not Adjust Your Set (1969) and provided scripts for The Kenneth Williams Show (1976), The Dawson Watch (1979), Kelly Monteith (1979), Not the Nine O’Clock News (in 1979, also performing), Carrott Confidential (1987-89), Frankie Howerd on Campus (1990) and The Ben Elton Show (1998). He was script editor on Dave Allen (1993-94).

With Vincent, he also created the sitcom Comrade Dad (1984-86) and jointly contributed scripts to All at No 20 (1986-87) and The Brittas Empire (1991-97). He devised French Fields with John Chapman and produced Keep It in the Family (1971 episodes) and Queenie’s Castle (1971 and 1972 episodes).

Davidson married Anthea Proud in 1967. She and their daughters Clemency, Grace and Hannah survive him, along with their grandchildren, Tobias, Ella, Joshua, Honor, Henry and Arthur. Another daughter, Rose, predeceased him.

 Ian Roger Charles Davidson, actor, writer, director and producer, born 4 August 1940; died 8 September 2024

Writer

Dame Edna Rules the Waves (2019)

Dame Edna Rules the Waves

5.1

TV Special

written by

2019

 

The Dame Edna Treatment (2007)

The Dame Edna Treatment

6.5

TV Series

writer

2007

1 episode

 

Christmas Night with the Stars (2003)

Christmas Night with the Stars

4.6

TV Special

Writer

2003

 

The Ben Elton Show

5.7

TV Series

additional material

1998

 

Lesley Joseph, Pauline Quirke, and Linda Robson in Birds of a Feather (1989)

Birds of a Feather

6.2

TV Series

written by

1998

1 episode

 

Chris Barrie in The Brittas Empire (1991)

The Brittas Empire

7.1

TV Series

by

written by

1996–1997

5 episodes

 

Dave Allen in Vintage Dave Allen (1996)

Vintage Dave Allen

Video

additional material

1996

 

Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch (1992)

Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch

7.6

TV Series

Writer

1992–1993

5 episodes

 

Edna Time (1993)

Edna Time

7.6

TV Series

Writer (1993)

1993

 

Dave Allen (1993)

Dave Allen

8.1

TV Series

writer

1993–1994

 

A Word in Your Era

4.8

TV Series

Writer (as Dr. Ian Davidson)

1992

1 episode

 

Frankie's On... (1992)

Frankie's On...

8.1

TV Series

additional material

1992

 

Dame Edna's Hollywood (1991)

Dame Edna's Hollywood

7.0

TV Series

Writer

1992

1 episode

 

French Fields (1989)

French Fields

6.4

TV Series

written by

1989–1991

19 episodes

 

Cool Head (1991)

Cool Head

TV Series

written by

1991

6 episodes

 

Arthur Bostrom, Kirsten Cooke, Sue Hodge, Gorden Kaye, Richard Marner, Vicki Michelle, Carmen Silvera, and Guy Siner in 'Allo 'Allo! (1982)

'Allo 'Allo!

8.4

TV Series

script by

written by

1989

1 episode

 

Bruce and Ronnie

6.4

TV Movie

writer

1988

 

Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, Ronnie Corbett, and Betty White in The Royal Variety Performance 1988 (1988)

The Royal Variety Performance 1988

TV Special

special material written by

1988

 

Ronnie Corbett in Sorry! (1981)

Sorry!

6.7

TV Series

written by

1981–1988

42 episodes

 

Carol Hawkins and Lisa Jacobs in All at Number 20 (1986)

All at Number 20

6.8

TV Series

writer

1987

4 episodes

 

The Ronnie Corbett Show

TV Series

written by

1987

3 episodes

 

Slinger's Day (1986)

Slinger's Day

6.0

TV Series

writer

1987

1 episode

 

Jasper Carrott in Carrott Confidential (1987)

Carrott Confidential

7.8

TV Series

Writer

1987–1989

 

Dave Allen - 1986 New Years Eve Special

TV Special

additional material

1986

 

Comrade Dad (1984)

Comrade Dad

6.4

TV Series

written by

1984–1986

8 episodes

 

Bombardemagnus (1985)

Bombardemagnus

TV Series

screenplay

1985

1 episode

 

Eddie Large and Syd Little in The Little and Large Show (1978)

The Little and Large Show

5.1

TV Series

additional material

with

1980–1985

2 episodes

 

Assaulted Nuts (1984)

Assaulted Nuts

7.2

TV Series

Writer

1984–1985

 

Leonard Rossiter in The Funny Side of Christmas (1982)

The Funny Side of Christmas

6.8

TV Movie

writer

1982

 

Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett in The Two Ronnies (1971)

The Two Ronnies

7.8

TV Series

written by

writer

1971–1982

13 episodes

 

Locker vom Hocker (1979)

Locker vom Hocker

6.4

TV Series

co-writer

1979–1980

3 episodes

 

Dave Allen in Dave Allen at Large (1971)

Dave Allen at Large

8.4

TV Series

written by

1979

1 episode

 

Kelly Monteith in Kelly Monteith (1979)

Kelly Monteith

7.2

TV Series

additional material

1979

6 episodes

 

Shirley

7.3

TV Series

writer

script

1979

6 episodes

 

The Ronnie Corbett Special

TV Series

additional material

1979

4 episodes

 

ABBA in Switzerland (1979)

ABBA in Switzerland

7.5

TV Movie

script

1979

 

Seaside Special (1975)

Seaside Special

5.9

TV Series

writer

1978

1 episode

 

The Barry Humphries Show

TV Series

written by

1976–1977

3 episodes

 

The Jack Jones Show

TV Series

script

1977

4 episodes

 

Kenneth Williams in The Kenneth Williams Show (1970)

The Kenneth Williams Show

8.3

TV Series

script

1976

1 episode

 

Meet Judith Durham

TV Movie

Writer

1970

 

Barry Humphries' Scandals

TV Series

writer

1970

6 episodes

 

Strangers in the Night

TV Movie

writer

1969

 

Diana Ross in BBC Show of the Week (1965)

BBC Show of the Week

8.5

TV Series

writer

1968

1 episode

 

Comedy Workshop: Love and Maud Carver

Writer

1964

 

Second City Reports

TV Series

writer

1964

6 episodes

 

Script and Continuity Department

An Audience with Ronnie Corbett (1997)

An Audience with Ronnie Corbett

7.3

TV Special

script associate

1997

 

Comedy Playhouse (1993)

Comedy Playhouse

5.0

TV Series

script associate

1993

1 episode

 

Dave Allen (1993)

Dave Allen

8.1

TV Series

script editor

1993–1994

 

Frankie Howerd on Campus (1990)

Frankie Howerd on Campus

8.0

TV Special

script associate

1990

 

Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett in The Two Ronnies (1971)

The Two Ronnies

7.8

TV Series

script associate

1977–1987

52 episodes

 

Rowan Atkinson, Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith, and Pamela Stephenson in Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979)

Not the Nine O'Clock News

7.9

TV Series

script associate (as Iaaan Daavidson)

1979

1 episode

 

The Dawson Watch (1979)

The Dawson Watch

6.8

TV Series

script associate

1979

5 episodes

 

Elephant's Eggs in a Rhubarb Tree

TV Series

script editor

1971

6 episodes

 

David Frost in Frost on Sunday (1968)

Frost on Sunday

8.0

TV Series

script editor

1970

13 episodes

 

Director

Sir Yellow

TV Series

Director

1973

6 episodes

 

Our Kid (1973)

Our Kid

6.7

TV Series

Director

1973

6 episodes

 

All Our Saturdays

5.4

TV Series

Director

1973

2 episodes

 

Diana Dors, Tony Caunter, Freddie Fletcher, Barrie Rutter, and Brian Marshall in Queenie's Castle (1970)

Queenie's Castle

7.1

TV Series

Director

1971–1972

12 episodes

 

Leeds

TV Series

Director

1972

1 episode

 

Tim Brooke-Taylor and Madeline Smith in His and Hers (1970)

His and Hers

TV Series

Director

1972

13 episodes

 

Keep It in the Family

TV Series

Director

1971

3 episodes

 

The Late Show

8.0

TV Series

film director

1966–1967

23 episodes