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Brad Davis (actor)

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.[1]

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. [2] He kept his condition secret until shortly before his death. His widow, Susan Bluestein, continues to campaign against AIDS.


Contents

Filmography

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". (Week ending March 19, 1980). Variety, March 22, 1980
  2. ^ http://www.glbtq.com article. Brad Davis. Retrieved on March 12, 2006.

Categories


American film actors | American stage actors | Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park | Florida actors | Bisexual actors | AIDS-related deaths | 1949 births | 1991 deaths

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