David Jones, although perhaps best remembered as "Davy", one of THE MONKEES, was wowing the critics on Broadway and in the West End long before television made him an international idol. Since those heady days of the sixties, he has never strayed far from the public eye, consolidating his many talents as an entertainer.
David Thomas Jones was born on December 30, 1945 in Manchester, England. It was in the BBC Radio Studios in Manchester, England, that David's career began at the age of 11. He became a firm favorite with the listeners as a regular reader of The Morning Story and of several radio plays. His cheerful voice and popularity won him the role of Edna Sharples' granson in the day-time drama "Coronation Street" along with various roles in many other television shows.
At 14, David left home to become an apprentice jockey at the world famous Newmarket racing stasbles, and there he might have stayed had fate not intervened. A visiting theatrical agent had seen him in "Coronation Street", and when they met, he was impressed by David's natural exuberance and extroverted personality. With some gentle persuasion from him and David's father, the young David Jones found himself at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon playing Michael Darling in "Peter Pan".
More television and stage work followed, but it was playing the role of The Artful Dodger in David Merrick's West End production of the smash hit "Oliver!" that really sealed David's fate. At Mr. Merrick's insistence, he went on to play the part on Broadway - to much critical acclaim (including a Tony Award nomination). Following that came the role of Sam Weller opposite Sir Harry Secombe in another Merrick production, "Pickwick".
It was on the strength of David's success and popularity on the American stage that he was offered a contract with Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems Television. Having signed him to their "stable" of talent, they had the idea of creating a new television series around this "young British kid" with a proposed story line about four young musicians who were trying to make it in the pop world. The rest is history. The Monkees was a phenomenal success, rating millions of viewers throughout the world and selling millions of records. Even as recently as 1986, The Monkees had ten albums in the Billboard charts.
The scope of his performances is wide and varied, but it is the theatre that remains David's first love. In the late 1970's, he successfully recreated his role as The Artful Dodger in "Oliver!" in the United States, playing along side Ron Moody. He was on tour following that in a major production of "The Boyfriend", and in 1978, he played the lead role of Oblio in the stage version of the musical "The Point" at London's Mermaid Theatre. The mid-eighties found David playing all the major theatres in Great Britain and Ireland to sell-out audiences as Jesus in "Godspell". The incredible box office success of the tour earmarked it for a West End run into the beginning of 1986 where audiences laughed, cried, and cheered at his much praised performance as Jesus.
Voted "Cutest Guy" by Nickelodeon for 1986 and 1987, David also appeared in the most highly acclaimed episodes of the American television series "My Two Dads". In 1993, fans found him once again guest starring as himself in an episode of the popular "Herman's Head."
Everything, they say, turns full circle and, in 1988, David was asked to play Fagin in "Oliver!" at Kansas City's Starlight Theatre. He played every night to capacity houses and received much critical acclaim for his performance. He has since played Fagin in Florida and Seattle, and in the summer of 1993, he enjoyed another successful run in Kansas City and St. Louis.
Never one to stay put for long, David has been touring with his band all over the United States, Australia, and Canada. He was received with standing ovations when he played himself on stage in "The Real Live Brady Bunch" in New York, Los Angeles, Pontica, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois. The success of David's "Brady" episode launched a national tour with the show with appearances at nearly 30 different colleges and universities.
He has recently completed a new book, "Mutant Monkees Meet the Masters of the Multimedia Manipulation Machine," about the early days of The Monkees, a follow up to the successful publication of and booksigning tour for "They Made A Monkee Out of Me."
David is a very keen and able horseman and holds an amateur jockey licence. He has a serious ambition to win The Grand National. He is also a regular on the charity sports circuit riding race horses and playing football, tennis, and golf. His proudest effort for charity was successfully completing the London Marathon in a credible 3 hours and 40 minutes. Most recently, a Multiple Sclerosis research fund has been established in David's name.
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