Daniel Davis
About
Biography
Biography
Daniel Davis, with his salt-and-pepper hair and wry smile, came to TV prominence in middle age as Niles, the British butler and cook, on "The Nanny" TV series (CBS, 1993-99). The Arkansas native has a long resume of stage credits, including performances with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the national tour of "Coco" with Katharine Hepburn, a stint off-Broadway in "Futz," as a replacement as the repentant Salieri in "Amadeus" on Broadway and in numerous productions with the American Shakespeare Festival and the American Conservatory Theatre.
Eventually, he migrated to Los Angeles and began making episodic guest appearances on such series as "Frank's Place" and "Cagney & Lacey," before winning a regular, albeit supporting, role as the calculating Eliot Carrington (1979-83) on the short-lived NBC daytime series "Texas" (1979-83). By the late 80s, he began to win supporting parts in features. In "K-9" (1989), Davis was car dealer Halstead whose secret was his ties to the drug world. In "The Hunt for Red October" (1990), he was Captain Davenport, clearly skeptical of the motives of a Soviet submarine crew wanting to defect. His TV work was often sporadic, but he earned notice as Patrick Henry in the 1986 CBS miniseries "George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation." But it has been his turn as the wittily acerbic Niles on "The Nanny" that has brought him the most attention. Davis' character is the champion of Fran Drescher's rough-around-the-edges title character.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1968
Performed with Oregon Shakespeare Festival
1970
Early film credit (billed as Danny Davis), "Pigeons"
1971
Starred in "Hamlet" in Cincinnati
1981
Was stand-by for Ian McKellen in the role of Salieri in the Broadway production of "Amadeus"
1982
Played Salieri in a national tour of "Amadeus"
1985
Co-starred in feature "Chain Letters"
1986
Appeared as Patrick Henry in miniseries "George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation"
1989
Co-starred as Halstead in feature "K-9"
1994
Hosted Toronto segment of "All American Thanksgiving Day Parade" on CBS
1999
Co-starred as an affected hammy actor in "Wrong Mountain"; play first produced at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco; remounted briefly on Broadway in 2000; earned Tony Award nomination as Featured Actor in a Play
2001
Cast as Oscar Wilde in the Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's play "The Invention of Love"
