Roger Davis (television actor)
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Jon Roger Davis (born April 5, 1939) is an American actor and entrepreneur. He starred in the television series Dark Shadows and Alias Smith and Jones.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has also appeared in "Spur of the Moment", a fifth season episode of The Twilight Zone.<ref name=IMDb>"Roger Davis". IMDb.</ref>
Education
Roger Davis was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 5, 1939, and graduated from Columbia College in 1961, where he was classmates with Dark Shadows co-star Don Briscoe and director Brian De Palma.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Acting career
Davis first appeared on television in 1962. He portrayed Pvt. Roger Gibson in the television series The Gallant Men.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=Davis>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1963, he co-starred with Richard Egan in the series Redigo.<ref name=Davis/> In 1964, Davis appeared in one fifth season episode of The Twilight Zone, "Spur of the Moment", co-starring Diana Hyland, and had a supporting role in the 1964 film Ride the Wild Surf. He guest-starred twice in the western TV series Bonanza, as Harold Stanley in the 1966 eighth season episode "Ballad of the Ponderosa" and Bert Yates in the 1971 12th season episode "Top Hand".<ref name=":0"/>
From 1968 to 1970, Davis garnered attention playing multiple characters on the daytime Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. He played Peter Bradford, Jeff Clark, Ned Stuart, Dirk Wilkins, and Charles Delaware Tate.<ref name=Davis/>
In 1971, Davis narrated the voiceover theme sequence for the western series Alias Smith and Jones, starring Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes/Joshua Smith and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry/Thaddeus Jones.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He also appeared in one of the episodes ("Smiler with a Gun") as slick gunfighter Danny Bilson. Bilson has the distinction of being the only character kind-hearted Kid Curry was ever driven to kill during the series.<ref name=Davis/>
When Pete Duel committed suicide at the end of 1971, Davis replaced him as Hannibal Heyes on Alias Smith and Jones.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, after Davis completed just 17 episodes, it was clear the show would not achieve the same level of popularity it had with Pete Duel. The series ended in 1973 when competition from the popular Flip Wilson Show siphoned the show's ratings.<ref name=Davis/>
Davis continued to act in guest-starring roles on TV series throughout the 1970s as well as the occasional film appearance in movies such as Killer Bees (1974), Flash and the Firecat (1975), Nashville Girl (1976), Ruby (1977), and Aspen (1977), and he has been a voiceover actor for thousands of TV and radio commercials. In 2000, he appeared in the film Beyond the Pale. Davis regularly attends fan conventions for both Alias Smith and Jones and Dark Shadows, and in 2011, he reprised his role of Charles Delaware Tate in both The Blind Painter and The Crimson Pearl, new audio plays of Dark Shadows. In 2019, Davis appeared as himself in the documentary movie Master of Dark Shadows, a direct-to-DVD release.<ref name=Davis/>
Business career
Davis developed land and built homes in Southern California until 2010, and continues to design and renovate properties in the greater Los Angeles area as of 2022. He owns an interest in movie developer Lonetree Entertainment in Los Angeles. He also renovated the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, and built a condominium building there, known as 1400 Willow.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His family owned the Davis Tire Company in Louisville.<ref name=Davis/>
Personal life
In 1968, Davis married actress Jaclyn Smith. After a brief separation, they divorced in January 1975.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During his second marriage to Ohioan Suzanne Irwin (Emerson), Roger became a father to a daughter Margaret in 1981. The family resided at Spring Station, Louisville, Kentucky's oldest home, built in 1791.<ref name=":1"/> After a divorce in 1983, Davis was married to realtor Alice LeGette from 1985 to 1988. In 1991, Davis married Los Angeles attorney Donna Jenis; they divorced in 1996.<ref name=Davis/>