Donald Davis; Actor Known for Roles in Albee, Beckett Plays

Donald Davis, 69, stage actor known for his work in Samuel Beckett and Edward Albee plays. A native of Newmarket, Ontario, in Canada, Davis studied acting from childhood and in his youth founded a summer theater company in Ontario. In 1954, he started the Crest Theater, the first year-round professional theater company in Toronto. On Broadway, he played the title role in the New York premiere of Beckett’s “Krapp’s Last Tape” in 1960, which earned him an Obie award. He starred in four North American premieres of Beckett works and as Daddy in Albee’s “American Dream” and Peter in Albee’s “The Zoo Story.” Davis spent several seasons acting in England with the Bristol Old Vic company, in Connecticut with the American Shakespeare Festival, and in Canada with the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario. Among his leading ladies in American performances were Katharine Hepburn, Colleen Dewhurst and Judith Anderson. On Friday in Toronto of lung disease.