Fogterop at 14:33, 28 May 2021

2021-05-28T14:33:28Z

Fogterop: Created page with " '''Robert Hartford-Davis''' (1923-1977) was a film producer, director and writer. == Biography == Robert Hartford-Davis (originally William Henry Davis) was born in Ramsgat..."

2021-05-28T14:28:13Z

Created page with " '''Robert Hartford-Davis''' (1923-1977) was a film producer, director and writer. == Biography == Robert Hartford-Davis (originally William Henry Davis) was born in Ramsgat..."

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'''Robert Hartford-Davis''' (1923-1977) was a film producer, director and writer.

== Biography ==

Robert Hartford-Davis (originally William Henry Davis) was born in Ramsgate, England on 23 July 1923 and had a career in film and television both in the United Kingdom and the United States. He came to South Africa in 1957 to produce a pilot episode for a television series to be transmitted overseas and a newspaper article stated that he was looking for a local leading man. The leading lady had already been cast. She was [[Marilyn Patterson]], a Canadian-born, South African-raised actress who had returned to Johannesburg to act in a stage production of ''[[Look Back in Anger]]''. According to the [[Sunday Times]] of 14 December 1958 they had been married since April 1957, but their marriage certificate states that the union took place on 24 November 1958.

In South Africa he formed a company called [[Assegai Films]], said to be backed by a syndicate of wealthy local businessmen. One project was a feature film based on South African crime writer Peter Godfrey’s short story ''Leopard by Night'' and another was a film version of the popular radio serial ''[[No Place to Hide]]'', written by [[Monte Doyle]]. In the event neither materialised, though he did produce a half-hour version of Dickens’s ''A Christmas Carol''. It was made for [[Alpha Film Studios]] and the cast included the likes of [[John Hayter]], [[Stuart Brown]], [[Gordon Mulholland]] and [[Bruce Anderson]]. Produced by [[Assegai Films]] was the documentary ''City of Contrasts'', a portrait of Johannesburg. There is no record of either of them having been shown in South Africa.

In April 1957 he and cameraman [[Tim Spring]] were filming the Rand Easter Show and in December 1958 he produced a variety show at the Johannesburg [[City Hall]] with a cast that included Diana Dors, Dicky Dawson, the Petersen Brothers, Virginia Lee and [[Gordon Mulholland]]. He and [[Marilyn Patterson]] were divorced early in 1960. He returned to England and he died in Beverly Hills of a heart attack on 12 June 1977.

== Sources ==

== Return to ==

Return to [[ESAT Personalities V]]

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 == Sources ==
 == Return to ==
-Return to [[ESAT Personalities V]]
+Return to [[ESAT Personalities H]]
 Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Personalities|South African Theatre Personalities]]

Robert Hartford-Davis - Revision history

Fogterop at 14:33, 28 May 2021

Fogterop: Created page with " '''Robert Hartford-Davis''' (1923-1977) was a film producer, director and writer. == Biography == Robert Hartford-Davis (originally William Henry Davis) was born in Ramsgat..."