Harold Davies (actor)

Harold "Harry" Davies (born 1964 in Hampstead, London) is an English TV presenter and actor.

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Early life

Davies is from a legal family of long reputable standing; his father was made one of the first black members of the Queen's Counsel after his successful work in the wake of the Mau Mau Uprising.

On completing his secondary education at Shoreham Grammar School where he took A levels before going on to a pre-university course, Davies started his studies at Oxford where he met his future wife, Gabriella, in 1985. Following graduation, the young couple left for Gabriella's native Italy, where they were to spend the next 20 years.

Despite having followed a vocational course of studies, including a masters degree at the Bocconi University of Milan, he was deeply ambivalent about the first job he obtained in Italy, teaching marketing skills to employees of tyre company Pirelli. When the Italian television network put out a call for entertainers who would relate jokes, he applied and was called for an audition. The audition went well and attracted TV presenter Pippo Franco's attention.

Career

Davies' first television job was beginning and ending a show hosted by Pippo Franco by telling a joke.

What followed was a 20-year tour through Italy's national television stations and some of their most important network programming, as well as a hectic schedule of public appearances ranging from holding down a position as presenter of a prime time radio show broadcast on Italian radio from California, to acting in mainstream Italian cinema alongside veteran actor Carlo Verdone and making regular appearances on TV shows including Buona Domenica, the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune, The Price is Right and Striscia Ia Notizia (a tongue-in-cheek news show broadly similar to Have I Got News for You), as well as presenting his own shows, such as VIP Mania.

In 1991, Silvio Berlusconi (now Prime Minister of Italy) asked Davies to be his personal crowd warmer every time he had to give a speech. Before long, his performances had become an integral part of Berlusconi's public appearances.

Davies also wrote a clause on environmental protection that was presented on behalf of the Finnish government at the United Nations assembly.

Personal life

Davies now lives in the UK but still works in Italy. He has been an active member of the Rotary Club as well as giving speeches, motivational and otherwise, raising money for charity and acting as a motivator, he maintains regular ties with Italy.

Selected work experience

Additional accomplishments

Davies has recorded a total of 12 albums, film scores, radio and commercial sales. Other TV guest appearances on Striscia la Notizia, the Maurizio Constanzo TV Show, 30 Ore per la Vita, The Great Big VIP Quiz (Quizzone VIP) The Truth about VIPs (La Verita' VIP), "Italian VIP Festival (Festival Italiano VIP), VIP Couple's Games (Gioco della Coppie), Give me the Pleasure VIP (Ma mi faccia ii Piacere VIP), The House of Mosca (Casa Mosca), The Wheel of Fortune VIP (La Ruota della Fortuna VIP), The Price is Right VIP (Il Prezzo e Giusto VIP).

He has provided voice services for innumerable commercials on radio in several languages, including Italian, French, German and English. He was the official presenter of the last two Miss Italia pageant competitions held at the Forte Village Resort in Sardinia, Italy

Professional and charitable membership

Davies is a member of the Italian national club of artists, the Oxford Rotary Club, the Clarendon Club, the Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori (SIAE - Italian society for singers and songwriters and Entertainers) and the SIULP (Honorary member of the Italian Syndicate of Police).

External links