Editing Mark Wing-Davey

{{short description|British actor and director (born 1948)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{BLP sources|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Mark Wing-Davey
| image              =
| caption            = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1948|11|30|df=y}}<ref>[http://web.researcha.com/iccquery/detail/?did=4840630&c=uk Mark Wing-Davey profile], researcha.com; accessed 25 November 2015. {{dead link|date=June 2016}}</ref>
| birth_place        = [[London]], England
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| alma_mater         = [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]]
| education          = [[Woolverstone Hall School]]
| occupation         = {{Hlist|Actor|director}}
| years_active       = 1974–2013
| spouse             = {{Marriage|[[Anita Carey]]|2002|2023|end=died}}
| mother             = [[Anna Wing]]
| children           = 2
}}

'''Mark Wing-Davey''' (born 30 November 1948) is a British actor and director. He portrayed [[Zaphod Beeblebrox]] in the radio and television versions of ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''.

==Early life==
The son of actor Peter Davey and actress [[Anna Wing]],<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/mark.shtml Profile], bbc.co.uk; accessed 25 November 2015.</ref> Wing-Davey attended [[Woolverstone Hall School]] in [[Suffolk]] before studying English at [[Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge]], where he was a member of the [[Footlights]] between 1967 and 1970.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dwid0171bw''The Making of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'']</ref><ref>'Cambridge tripos: results in Economics and English,' ''The Times'', 1 July 1970.</ref> 

In February 1968, he performed with [[Nick Drake]] at [[Lady Mitchell Hall]], [[University of Cambridge|University Of Cambridge]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nick Drake Setlist at Lady Mitchell Hall, Cambridge |url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/nick-drake/1968/lady-mitchell-hall-cambridge-england-bd9c1de.html |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=setlist.fm |language=en}}</ref> Wing-Davey played violin in the string section accompanying Drake on orchestral arrangements of his songs by [[Robert Kirby]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Morton Jack |first=Richard |title=Nick Drake The Life |publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]] |year=2023 |isbn=9781529308105 |pages=156}}</ref>
==Career==
He had a featured role in the 1976 miniseries ''[[The Glittering Prizes]]''.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073999 ''The Glittering Prizes''] details, Internet Movie Database; accessed 25 November 2015.</ref> This role was later cited by [[Geoffrey Perkins]]<ref>''The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts''. [[Douglas Adams]], edited by [[Geoffrey Perkins]]. First US Printing, Harmony Books, New York, NY, USA. 1985. {{ISBN|0-517-55950-1}}</ref> as the likely reason for his being cast in arguably his most memorable role, that of the two-headed Galactic President, [[Zaphod Beeblebrox]], in the radio and TV versions of ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', written by [[Douglas Adams]]. He played a [[barrister]] in some episodes of the ITV television series ''[[Crown Court (TV series)|Crown Court]]'', [[Henry V of England|King Henry V]] in Episode 3 of [[James Burke (science historian)|James Burke]]'s ''[[Connections (British documentary)|Connections]]'',<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0818337 ''Connections'' details], imdb.com; accessed 25 November 2015.</ref> a record company executive in the film ''[[Breaking Glass (film)|Breaking Glass]]'' (1980) and an accountant in ''[[Absolutely Fabulous]]''.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/mark.shtml Profile], bbc.co.uk; accessed 25 November 2015.</ref>

In the 1983 television production of [[Alan Bennett]]'s ''[[An Englishman Abroad]]'', Wing-Davey played [[Prince Hamlet]] in the re-enactment of the [[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre]]'s 1958 tour of ''[[Hamlet]]'' to Moscow.<ref>{{cite web |title=An Englishman Abroad (1983) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b712307b0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310011951/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b712307b0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 March 2016 |website=[[BFI]] |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref> His theatre credits include [[James Stock (playwright)|James Stock]]'s ''Star-Gazy Pie and Sauerkraut'' ([[Royal Court Theatre]], 1995) and [[Caryl Churchill]]'s ''[[Mad Forest]]'', for which he won an [[Obie award]].<ref>[http://americanrepertorytheater.org/person/mark-wing-davey Mark Wing-Davey profile], americanrepertorytheater.org; accessed 25 November 2015.</ref> He was the first Artistic Director of The Actors Centre, London.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

In 2003, he returned to the role of Zaphod Beeblebrox for the [[Above the Title]] production of the Hitchhiker's Guide Tertiary to Quintessential Phase [[radio drama]]s for [[BBC Radio 4]]. More recently he has provided the voice of Judge Ghis in the English version of ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mark Wing Davey (visual voices guide) |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Mark-Wing-Davey/ |website=Behind The Voice Actors |access-date=4 July 2023}}</ref> Wing-Davey directed the off-Broadway production of ''Unconditional'' by [[Brett C. Leonard]] at [[The Public Theater]]. It was put up by [[Philip Seymour Hoffman]]'s theater group, [[LAByrinth Theater Company]], of which he is a member. It opened in February 2008.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

In May 2008, [[New York University]]'s [[Tisch School of the Arts]] announced that Wing-Davey had been named Chairman of, and arts professor in, the School's Graduate Acting Program.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2008/may/nyu_tisch_school_of_the_arts_nyu70.html|title=NYU Tisch School of the Arts Appoints Mark Wing-Davey Chair of Graduate Acting Program|publisher=[[New York University]]|date=12 May 2008|accessdate=29 January 2025}}</ref> He reprised the role of Zaphod Beeblebrox in 2012 for a live tour of ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''. Also in 2012, Wing-Davey directed the world premiere of Brett C. Leonard's "Ninth and Joanie" in a LAByrinth Theater Company production.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} In 2013, he directed [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Pericles, Prince of Tyre]]'' at [[Berkeley Repertory Theatre]].{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

==Personal life==
In 1973, while working as a theatre company member in [[Sheffield]], he met actress [[Anita Carey]]. The two began living together the following year after they appeared in a production together. They got married in 2002. The pair had two children together. Carey died in 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hayward |first1=Anthony |title=Anita Carey obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/aug/06/anita-carey-obituary |access-date=6 August 2023 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=6 August 2023}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=0934983|name=Mark Wing-Davey}}
*[https://tisch.nyu.edu/about/directory/grad-acting/104306630 Profile] at [[Tisch School of the Arts]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wing-Davey, Mark}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male comedians]]
[[Category:English male radio actors]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:English male voice actors]]
[[Category:British expatriate male actors in the United States]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Tisch School of the Arts faculty]]
[[Category:Comedians from London]]