Brad Davis (actor)
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Robert Creel Davis (November 6, 1949 - September 8, 1991), better known as Brad Davis, was an American actor. He was perhaps best known for his role in the 1978 film, Midnight Express.
Davis, a descendant of Jefferson Davis, was born in Tallahassee, Florida to Eugene Davis, a successful dentist whose career declined due to alcoholism, and Anne Creel, both of whom were respected Southerners. His brother, Gene Davis, is also an actor. Davis was known as "Brad" during his youth, and officially took it as his stage name in 1973.
At seventeen, after winning a music talent contest, Davis worked at Theatre Atlanta. He later moved to New York City and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, as well as studied acting at the American Place Theater. After a role on the soap opera How to Survive a Marriage, he performed in off-Broadway plays. He played the lead role in Larry Kramer's play about AIDS, The Normal Heart (1985). His most successful film role was as the main character in Midnight Express (1978), for which he won a Golden Globe award. In 1980, he appeared in the film A Small Circle of Friends, playing one of three radical college students during the 1960s. The United Artists-released film received only a limited theatrical release, ultimately grossing under $1 million."50 Top-Grossing Films". (Week ending March 19, 1980). Variety, March 22, 1980
In 1991, Davis died of AIDS in Los Angeles; he was described as "the first heterosexual actor to die of AIDS", although he was in fact bisexual. He kept his condition secret until shortly before his death. His widow, Susan Bluestein, continues to campaign against AIDS.
Filmography
- The Player (1992)
- The Habitation of Dragons (1992)
- Hangfire (1991)
- Child of Darkness Child of Light (1991)
- Rosalie Goes Shopping (1990)
- The Plot to Kill Hitler (1990)
- Unspeakable Acts (1990)
- The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988)
- Cold Steel (1987)
- Heart (1987)
- When the Time Comes (1987)
- Blood Ties (1986)
- Vengeance (1986)
- Robert Kennedy and His Times (1984)
- Chiefs (1983)
- Querelle (1983)
- Chariots of Fire (1981)
- The Greatest Man in the World (1980)
- A Rumor of War (1980)
- A Small Circle of Friends (1980)
- Midnight Express (1978)
- What Really Happened to the Class of '65 (1978)
- The Campus Corpse (1977)
- Roots (TV miniseries) (1977)
- Sybil (1976)
References
Footnotes
External links
- [Brad Davis] at Findagrave.com
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