- Born
- Birth nameJames Cameron Davidson
- The son of a Scottish father from Glasgow and Irish mother from Cork, Davidson was born in Kidbrooke, London, and attended Kidbrooke Park Primary School, Blackheath, and St Austin's School in Charlton. Having impressed some acquaintances of his father with impressions of celebrities, he was chosen to appear in Ralph Reader's Gang Show at the Golders Green Hippodrome aged 12 and appeared on television in the Billy Cotton Band Show. He also briefly attended a stage school in Woolwich.
Upon leaving school he was a drummer for pub bands and worked as a supermarket shelf stacker, a messenger, air ticket clerk for a travel agency, a cashier for Wall's ice cream, for Rank Xerox (having trained as a reprographics operator) and as a window cleaner.
Davidson found his way into show business when as a regular in a pub in Woolwich, he undertook an act after the regular comedian had not turned up. He then became a regular on the London comedy circuit, and first auditioned for Opportunity Knocks (1956) in 1975, unsuccessfully; he was told by Hughie Green to "go away". His audition for New Faces (1973) was more successful, and he proceeded to win the show by one point, and then to come second in the overall contest.
His success was quickly followed by many more appearances on television, including What's on Next? (1976) and several series of his own show The Jim Davidson Show (1979) which ran for five complete series and won Davidson the TV Times award as "Funniest Man On Television".
Davidson's touring is developed from his original London comedy circuit show, for pub and club audiences. Aimed at a very different audience from that of his television work, it contains a lot more strong language, which he promotes as adult entertainment. This has also developed into his adult pantomime work, including productions with titles such as: Boobs in the Wood and SINderella.
- IMDb mini biography by: Charlie Barnes
- SpousesMichelle Cotton(September 18, 2009 - present)Tracy Hilton(February 2, 1990 - 2000) (divorced, 3 children)Alison Holloway(February 19, 1987 - 1988) (divorced)Julie Gullick(July 23, 1981 - 1986) (divorced, 1 child)Sue Walpole(November 6, 1971 - 1972) (divorced, 1 child)
- Is steadfast in his support of the armed forces of Britain, setting up The British Forces Foundation - of which he serves as Chairman - to provide concerts for the British troops. He has been in most battlefields as soon as possible to support and entertain them. Margaret Thatcher serves as president of the BFF, and the patron of his organisation is King Charles III, the Prince of Wales.
- In 2004, comedian Jimmy Carr threatened legal action against Davidson, accusing him of having plagiarised some of his comic material. Davidson responded by saying the claims were 'ridiculous', and no further action was taken.
- In 2007, Davidson was called on as a character witness to drug trafficker Brian Brendan Wright. Despite Davidson's testifying to Wright's character, the judge concluded that Wright was "a master criminal, manipulative, influential and powerful," and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
- Jim is a supporter of the Conservative Party. He has addressed Party conferences and fiercely opposes any further British integration with the European Union, believing that the UK's sovereignty is in danger.
- His humor has been condemned by some for being frequently racist, sexist and homophobic. He has responded by calling his critics "do-goody, leftie, white, socialist hybrids".
- People who know me know I am not homophobic.
- [on Jimmy Savile] A bloke who's a loner, dresses and acts like a nonce and thinks he is the most important person in the world. Hmmm. I knew... and didn't do anything. Mind you, I had no proof. To me he was just another pervert. There are lots of them in showbiz. There seems to be more gay ones than straight but that's because there are probably more gays in showbiz than most professions.
- I have been rearrested, which means you turn up thinking the first two allegations are gonna be dropped and another fucking load of shit drops on you from 1978. I don't know what I was doing in 1978, I don't even know what wife I was with then.
- I met Jimmy Savile, if he arrived you f*****d off, and now the git drops dead and Operation Yewtree decide to prove a point. They say 'we missed Jimmy Savile, now we're gonna arrest every other f****r that walks the planet'.
- Wasn't The Rockford Files (1974) the greatest theme tune ever done in the '70s?
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