# Donald Davis (actor)
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{{Short description|Canadian actor (1928–1998)}}
{{For|other persons|Donald Davis (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Canadian English |date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox person
|image=File:Donald_Davis,_1984_Portrait.png
|caption=Donald Davis in 1984
|birth_date=February 26, 1928
|birth_place=[Newmarket, Ontario](/source/Newmarket%2C_Ontario), Canada
|death_date={{Death date and age|1998|01|23|1928|02|26}}
|death_place=[Toronto](/source/Toronto), Ontario, Canada
|occupation={{plainlist|
* actor
* director
* producer
}}
}}
'''Donald George Davis''' (February 26, 1928 – January 23, 1998) was a [Canadian](/source/Canadians) film and theatre actor, theatre director and theatre producer. He was a founder of the [Crest Theatre](/source/Crest_Theatre_Foundation) in Toronto, which pioneered Canadian actors, directors and plays.
==Early life==
He was born in [Newmarket, Ontario](/source/Newmarket%2C_Ontario), where his grandfather [Elihu James Davis](/source/Elihu_James_Davis) (and his uncle, Aubrey Davis) owned the Davis Leather Company. He attended [St. Andrew's College](/source/St._Andrew's_College_(Ontario)) from 1941 to 1946, graduating with the Class of 1946, and studied theatre at the [University of Toronto](/source/University_of_Toronto). In 1947, he performed in Robert Gills' first [Hart House Theatre](/source/Hart_House_Theatre) production, ''[Saint Joan](/source/Saint_Joan_(play))''.{{sfn|Benson|Conolly|1989|page=132}}
==Professional career==
Davis made his professional debut at the Woodstock Playhouse in [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) in 1947 in ''[The Barretts of Wimpole Street](/source/The_Barretts_of_Wimpole_Street)''.{{sfn|Benson|Conolly|1989|page=132}} In 1948, with his brother, Murray Davis, he founded a summer theatre company, the Straw Hat Players, at [Muskoka, Ontario](/source/Muskoka%2C_Ontario). Davis performed in [Britain](/source/Great_Britain) from 1950 to 1953 with the [Glasgow Citizens' Theatre](/source/Glasgow_Citizens'_Theatre) and the [Bristol Old Vic](/source/Bristol_Old_Vic).
In 1953, with his brother Murray and sister [Barbara](/source/Barbara_Chilcott), he co-founded the [Crest Theatre](/source/Crest_Theatre_Foundation) in [Toronto](/source/Toronto), which operated until 1966.{{sfn|Benson|Conolly|1989|page=132}} As well as acting at the Crest, he also directed several plays. He performed at the [Stratford Festival](/source/Stratford_Festival) in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1969 and 1970.{{sfn|Benson|Conolly|1989|page=132}} He also acted on radio and television for the [CBC](/source/Canadian_Broadcasting_Corporation).
In 1959, he left Canada to act in the United States. In 1959, he began performing [off-Broadway](/source/off-Broadway). He played Krapp in the North American premiere production of [Samuel Beckett](/source/Samuel_Beckett)'s ''[Krapp's Last Tape](/source/Krapp's_Last_Tape)'', for which he won an [Obie Award](/source/Obie_Award).[{{cite news |last1=Gussow |first1=Mel |title=Donald Davis, 69, Actor in Challenging Roles |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/28/arts/donald-davis-69-actor-in-challenging-roles.html|newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 28, 1998 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221213350/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/28/arts/donald-davis-69-actor-in-challenging-roles.html |archivedate=February 21, 2025}}] and he repeated the role at the Crest. This was the first in a series of roles in plays by Beckett and directed by [Alan Schneider](/source/Alan_Schneider), and Davis was considered a foremost interpreter of Beckett.