JOHN DAVIDSON, the celebrated actor, singer, and television personality has joined The Fantasticks for a 5 week run beginning July 30th (appearing through September 2nd). Davidson, who played Matt in the 1964 Hallmark Hall of Fame television version, has returned to play Henry the old actor. Henry and his partner-in-crime, Mortimer, are introduced as theatrical mercinaries, actors for hire, as they assist El Gallo with the faux "Abduction" of Luisa. See Davidson perform as this fun and eccentric character through September 2nd. Don't miss your chance, reserve tickets now.
Davidson attended Denison University where he spent 3 summer seasons with the Denison Summer Theater graduating with a BA in theater arts. Television: 48 years ago John starred in The Hallmark Hall Of Fame version of The Fantasticks, playing Matt. He hosted That's Incredible, The New Hollywood Squares, One Hundred Thousand Dollar Pyramid, The Tonight Show, The John Davidson Daytime Talk Show, The Kraft Sumer Music Hall, and various prime time specials and beauty pageants. He also played Sally Field's husband in the television series The Girl With Something Extra.
Broadway: Able Frake in State Fair, Burt Lahr's son in Foxy. John received The Theater Guild Award for his portrayal of Curly in the New York City Center's revival of Oklahoma. Off-Broadway: High Infidelity with Morgan Fairchild. Recordings: 13 albums. Vegas: main showrooms at Caesar's Palace, the Las Vegas Hilton, The Aladdin Hotel and Casino, The MGM Grand, and the Desert Inn. Regional theater: Harold Hill in The Music Man, Abner in L'il Abner, Starbuck in 110 In The Shade, King Arthur and Lancelot in Camelot, Billy in Carousel, I Do I Do, Will in Will Rogers Follies, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Charlie Anderson in Shenandoah, Cervantes in Man Of La Mancha, and Teddy Roosevelt in the one-man-play, Bully. Feature film: Walt Disney musicals The Happiest Millionaire and The One And Only Genuine Original Family Band, Airport 80, Edward Scissorhands, and The Squeeze. John is the author of the educational book, The Art Of The Singing Entertainer, and his autobiographical play, The Boy Who Loved His Father.
Hallmark Hall of Fame - The Fantasticks
The very first episode in the 1964-1965 season of The Hallmark Hall of Fame series on NBC was The Fantasticks. Starring Ricardo Montalban, Bert Lahr, Stanley Holloway, Susan Watson and John Davidson, the show differed slightly from the Off-Broadway original. As one may note from the photographs, certain characters (Henry and Mortimer) were cut from the production due in part to the shorter run-time. The air date was October the 18th of 1964.
