![]() ![]() “He was not only dedicated but naturally gifted.” “He belonged in the front ranks of actors,” said Handman, who has taught Richard Gere, Christopher Walken, James Caan and Raul Julia. John Erman, who directed Davis in “When the Time Comes,” a film about assisted suicide, said: “He was a consummate professional but also had this little-boy quality that came through in his work.”ĭavis was born in Tallahassee, Fla., grew up in Titusville and moved to New York City at 18, spending two years at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before studying with noted acting teacher Wynn Handman. “He brought fury and overwhelming love to the role of Ned,” said playwright Larry Kramer, author of “The Normal Heart.” “He was also one of the first straight actors with the guts to play gay roles,” Kramer added.ĭavis also played a young, gay sailor in German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1982 “Querelle.” Ironically, Davis’ two most celebrated roles were as a drug smuggler suffering the hell of a Turkish prison in “Midnight Express” and as the lover of a man dying of AIDS in “The Normal Heart.” ![]() “He had a couple of experiences of sharing needles with people who later died of AIDS,” she said. She added that Davis, who drank heavily and used intravenous drugs until he joined Alcoholics Anonymous in 1981, apparently contracted the virus from drug use. ![]()
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