New Dixon! David is appearing in a new (2010) short film called "The Magician's Wife" made by students from the University of Westminster. He'll be starring alongside his old Hitchhiker friend Sandra Dickinson. There's loads more info on the official site, along with some great recent photos of David Dixon and a chance to donate and get your name in the films credits.
05/08/09-
David Dixon as "Uncle Pappy"
David Dixon recently starred as "Uncle Pappy" in "Teeth Thief" and "Uncle Pappy's Pink Sausage Loot". Two short films produced by "Paddington & Montgomery". Teeth Thief shows David removing teeth one by one, and Pink Sausage Loot, well, you'll just have to watch it, it's quite, quite strange, but as always, David Dixon is mesmorisingly good as an unhinged, be-vested Uncle Pappy.
David Dixon as Doctor Who
05/11/08-
Now David Tennant has announced he's stepping down, it's time for David Dixon to play the role he was born for. Alright, Ford Prefect in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy was the role he was born for, but Dr Who is next in line.
Too old? No way. Some of the best Dr Who actors have been older men, and David Dixon shines like no other when playing the alien. Call the BBC and tell them why you think Dixey Boy should be in the Tardis.
David Dixon is 61
28/10/08-
Hard to believe, but the world's most dashing young actor is now 61 years young this week.
Here's an interview from a Derbyshire newspaper with the big DD from last year-
When he was playing the part of Ford Prefect in the cult television series Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Derby-born actor David Dixon could explore the weird and wonderful expanse of Douglas Adams' extraordinary, satirical universe.
As a child, he lived in his own imagination through the magazines and comics he pored over above his father's newsagent's business on the corner of Hill Street, opposite the old Coliseum cinema.
Today, David looks back on those times in 1950s' Derby with great affection.
"Living in the centre of town meant that the only place to play was above my dad's shop and, along with my brother, I lived in my imagination.
"We acted out epic journeys across treacherous seas, ice caps and vast deserts, fighting off pirates, sea monsters, Red Indians and starvation.
"And there were books to read. Lots and lots of books. And best of all, comics - Hotspur, Victor, Beano, Dandy, Eagle. We were lucky. We got to read them all for free. Magical."
David was on born on October 28, 1947, at the Nightingale Maternity Home, near his father's shop at 94 London Road. The Dixons later moved to 14 St James's Road, Normanton, a property now used as a Sikh Gurdwara.
"My earliest memory of acting is being a shepherd in the Hardwick School nativity play. I had a tea towel on my head, National Health spectacles and a paper palm leaf to wave.
"One afternoon around that time, my dad, out of the blue, had taken me to the Cavendish cinema to see Olivier's Richard III. Why Dad wasn't at work, why I wasn't at school and why Richard III, I've no idea, but I was the only shepherd with a hump, a withered arm and a limp.
"We left Derby in 1959 for my dad's home town of Nottingham where, later, I studied drama at Clarendon College and then I went on to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. But it was in Derby that the seeds were sown."
David landed a small role in the police TV drama series, Z Cars, quickly followed by his first regular role in one of the classic drama series of the early 1970s, A Family At War.
Chronicling the fortunes of the Ashton family in Liverpool during the Second World War, the series broke new ground because it was not filled with flag-waving heroes, but with believable characters with real fears and faults.
It also dealt with the way in which convictions, relationships and circumstances can be transformed in wartime.
David's youthful appearance, yet mature demeanour, was perfect for the role of Robert Ashton, the 16-year-old naval volunteer trying to assume a man's role while still a boy.
In 1971, he appeared in Me, MacKenna, part of the Thirty-minute Theatre series. He also landed roles in the Play for Today's The Floater (1975); The Sweeney (1975); Rock Follies (1976); and Target (1978), which supplemented more high-profile parts like Prince John in The Legend of Robin Hood series (1975) and Prince Leopold in Lillie (1978).
In 1981 came Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. David clinched the role of Ford Prefect because of his serious face and unusual eyes, enhanced by coloured contact lenses.
Prefect, who was an alien in disguise, and a reporter for the Guide, saves his bewildered human friend, Arthur Dent, just as the Earth is being destroyed to make way for an intergalactic highway. The series became an instant cult hit.
Other TV work includes The Bill, A Touch of Frost and Boon. He was also a regular contributor to the comedy sketch series, Three of a Kind.
His impressive CV does not stop there. His stage credits include Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Raymond in Watch it Come Down, both at the National Theatre; Julius in Heroes at the Royal Court; Alan Strang in Equus, and Santo in Flashpoint, both in the West End.
He recently played the parts of Ecological Man and the Zirzla Leader in Radio 4's Quandary and Quintessential phases of Hitchhiker's Guide, and is a popular guest at conventions.
"But remember," says David, "it all started above that Derby newsagent's shop."
So maybe 94 London Road could be the new pilgrimage location for Dixonites??
David also appears, sort of, in this Youtube video I made.
Dixonites
There's a Livejournal site just for David Dixon fans at the lovely Dixonites site. Go visit them and see how many rabid fans David really has, there are people screencapping Dixon day and night. It's very heartwarming. A big hello to all Dixonites form the Dixionary. :)
David Dixon starred in "Slag Bag" - recently re-shown at the Barbican, London
From- The Guardian-
"Clearly, it's best to leave unreliable rockers out of the music doc equation altogether. Go instead for real actors such as David Dixon, he of the sea-cold eyes used to some effect in Get Some In and the BBC's TV version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (he played Ford Prefect). And what about Denis Lawson? A thoroughly decent sort - rather posh, too. They both starred in Jumping Bean Bag, a Play for Today given just one screening on BBC1 in February 1976, and a fake rock doc that ticks every box."
Jumping Bean Bag tells the story of Slag Bag, a band formed at public school, who play souped-up glam rock - a smidgeon of Roxy, a dab of Yes, plenty of Spiders From Mars - while wearing Woolworth's Martian fancy dress. After a secret gig at school, Slag Bag are expelled. Singer Ozzie Freemantle (Dixon) remains cool in front of the head: "Read about us in the Melody Maker, sir," he purrs. "Slag Bag, the public school transvestite group. We're going to be amazing, sir." And they duly are.
David Dixon appeared at the Earls Court LONDON FILM AND COMIC CONVENTION on Saturday 25th of June 2005 (see photo left). He and Sandra did a QA session, and theres is a write up in the latest
magazine of ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha - www,zz9.org. He signed autographs, and was generally brilliant.
David Dixon features extensively in the Extras on the "hitchhikers guide to the galaxy" BBC DVD boxset, and in cameos(not as Ford!) on the recent Hitchhikers radio series - "Quandary" phase, both of which are currently available at a discount from
There's a recent online music video here that a Dixionary contributer spotted, if you look carefully, it features David Dixon!
Who is David Dixon?
Born and raised in Derby, England, DAVID DIXON is a British actor, mostly famous as Ford Prefect in Douglas Adams' THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY BBC TV series in 1981, where he wore coloured contact lenses to portray Arthur Dent's alien friend who wasn't from Guildford after all. David replaced Geoffrey McGivern who had played Ford in Hitchhikers' Radio incarnation.
David has also done other television (The Bill, A Touch of Frost, Boon, The Legend of Robin Hood) and film (The Missionary, The Tempest) work, writing (Three of a Kind) and theatre. His quirky mannerisms, commitment to each role and attention to detail always shine through in whatever he does.
So fondly is his performance in Hitchhikers remembered, that when the debate over who should play "Dr Who" came up again recently, his name started coming up again as the perfect choice to play the alien timelord.
Where is he now then?
Ahhhh, a question often seen on the internet,( For instance here,here and here! ).
Recently, David played the parts of Ecological Man & Zirzla Leader in the BBC Radio 4 "Quandary" and "Quintessianal" phases of the "Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy". (see BBC website here.) He was recently seen in repeats of the Hitchhikers TV series on BBC2 and he'll be appearing at the London Film and Comic Convention on 25/06/05. He continues to be one of the most hoopy people on the planet.
The Photo on the left of David Dixon with Mark Wing-Davey (Zaphod Bebblebrox) was taken at the Third Douglas Adams Memorial
Lecture at the Royal Institution in London on March
10th 2005.
There's a Livejournal site just for David Dixon fans at the lovely Dixonites site. Go visit them and see how many rabid fans David really has, there are people screencapping Dixon day and night. It's very heartwarming. A big hello to all Dixonites form the Dixionary. :)
David Dixon appeared at the Earls Court LONDON FILM AND COMIC CONVENTION on Saturday 25th of June 2005 (see photo left). He and Sandra did a QA session, and theres is a write up in the latest
magazine of ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha - www,zz9.org. He signed autographs, and was generally brilliant.
So fondly is his performance in Hitchhikers remembered, that when the debate over who should play "Dr Who" came up again recently, his name started coming up again as the perfect choice to play the alien timelord.
The Photo on the left of David Dixon with Mark Wing-Davey (Zaphod Bebblebrox) was taken at the Third Douglas Adams Memorial
Lecture at the Royal Institution in London on March
10th 2005.