# Roger Davis (television actor)
**Roger Davis** (full name Jon Roger Davis, born April 5, 1939) is an American television actor best known for playing multiple roles on the gothic daytime serial *Dark Shadows* and for taking over the lead role of Hannibal Heyes in the Western series *Alias Smith and Jones* after the death of [Pete Duel](https://www.edgepedia.org/pete-duel).[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/roger-davis/3000402957/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205380/) He later left acting and works as a real estate developer in California.[3](https://darkshadows.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Davis)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | April 5, 1939; birth name Jon Roger Davis[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/roger-davis/3000402957/) |
| *Dark Shadows* | 1968–1970, playing Peter Bradford, Jeff Clark, Ned Stuart, Dirk Wilkins, and Charles Delaware Tate in 128 episodes[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205380/) • [3](https://darkshadows.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Davis) |
| *Alias Smith and Jones* | Series narrator, then Hannibal Heyes (Joshua Smith), replacing Pete Duel after Duel's death on the last day of 1971[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205380/) • [4](https://asjcollection.com/current/identity.html) |
| Marriage | Married actress Jaclyn Smith while on *Dark Shadows*; divorced in the mid-1970s, without children[3](https://darkshadows.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Davis) • [5](https://www.asjcollection.com/current/rdart.html) |
| Education | Master's degree in English literature from UCLA, where he taught freshman English[6](https://asjcollection.com/current/tv73.html) |
| Later career | Retired from acting; real estate developer in California[3](https://darkshadows.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Davis) |
## Early life and career
Davis was born on April 5, 1939. [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) and the *Dark Shadows* wiki give his birthplace as [Louisville, Kentucky](https://www.edgepedia.org/louisville-kentucky), while TV Insider lists San Francisco, California; the two accounts have not been reconciled.[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/roger-davis/3000402957/) • [3](https://darkshadows.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Davis) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/roger-davis/) He switched to UCLA, where he received a master's degree in [English literature](https://www.edgepedia.org/english-literature) and taught freshman English, before making a conscious decision to become an actor.[6](https://asjcollection.com/current/tv73.html) • [5](https://www.asjcollection.com/current/rdart.html)
His early television work included a soldier in the World War II series *The Gallant Men*, broadcast in the 1962–63 season, and a ranch hand in the short-lived 1963 Western *Redigo*, which was canceled in the middle of its first season.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205380/) He appeared in the *Twilight Zone* episode "Spur of the Moment," first broadcast February 21, 1964, and in the 1964 film *Ride the Wild Surf*.[8](https://asjcollection.com/current/rdfilm.html) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/roger-davis/) In 1966 he shot a pilot for a series based on [James Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-jones)'s novel *From Here to Eternity*, cast as Pvt. Robert E. Lee Pruitt, but the series was not picked up.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205380/) Between acting jobs he made a substantial income from voice-overs for products such as Close-up toothpaste and [Canada Dry](https://www.edgepedia.org/canada-dry) ginger ale, and acted in commercials for [Chevrolet](https://www.edgepedia.org/chevrolet) automobiles.[8](https://asjcollection.com/current/rdfilm.html)
## Dark Shadows
Davis joined the vampire-themed daytime serial *Dark Shadows* in 1968 and appeared as multiple characters for two years, through 1970.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205380/) His roles were Peter Bradford and Jeff Clark (71 episodes by the fan wiki's count), Ned Stuart, Dirk Wilkins, and Charles Delaware Tate, for a total of 128 episodes.[3](https://darkshadows.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Davis) He also played Jeff Clark in the 1970 movie *House of Dark Shadows*.[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/roger-davis/)
While he was a member of the show's repertory company, Davis married actress [Jaclyn Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaclyn-smith), whom producer Dan Curtis had wanted to join the cast as a new character; the couple later divorced.[3](https://darkshadows.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Davis) Smith went on to star in *Charlie's Angels*. Fan and press accounts record that Davis was unpopular with many of his co-stars, with Lara Parker a notable exception, and that some actresses had difficulty with his physical style in romantic scenes.[3](https://darkshadows.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Davis)
## Alias Smith and Jones and the recast
Before becoming a series regular, Davis had appeared in one episode of *Alias Smith and Jones* as a different character, and he served as the series' narrator.[9](https://mst3k.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Davis) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205380/) He had also worked with Pete Duel, the show's original star, in the 1970 pilot movie *The Young Country*, where the two became friends; in a later interview Davis recalled Duel's help on set and his account of Roy Huggins's office meeting that nearly swapped their roles.[10](https://www.peteduel.info/remembrances/roger-davis/)
Duel was found dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in the early hours of December 31, 1971, the day he was due at Universal Studios for a workday on the series.[4](https://asjcollection.com/current/identity.html) Davis was cast as the new Hannibal Heyes (alias Joshua Smith) and completed the remaining five episodes of the second season; the series ran until 1973.[11](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED423578.pdf) • [12](https://device.report/m/24b4310ed99e0ecdf2b5359ce8f490669122ebea8764731a4e5db260aea5b9db.pdf) Contemporary press covered the recast heavily, and some writers blamed Davis for the show's demise on the grounds that he could not fill Duel's boots, an assessment Davis disputed; he and producer Roy Huggins also denied recurring rumors that Davis had been the first choice for the role.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205380/) • [5](https://www.asjcollection.com/current/rdart.html) In a 1972 interview Davis dispelled the myth that he had originally been considered for a part in the series, and in a later interview he said of Duel, "Pete Duel is an important memory in my life, and a lasting memory, both personally and professionally."[5](https://www.asjcollection.com/current/rdart.html) • [10](https://www.peteduel.info/remembrances/roger-davis/)
## Later work
Davis continued in guest roles on television and in occasional low-budget films through the 1970s, but work became sparse in the 1980s.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205380/) His credits include *The Bionic Woman*, *The Rockford Files*, *Quincy, M.E.*, *Wonder Woman*, *Galactica 1980* (as Andromus in two episodes), *Matlock*, and *NightMan*, and the films *Ruby* (1977) and *Nashville Girl* (1976).[13](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/roger-davis/credits/3000402957/) • [14](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/84246/roger-davis) He is now retired from acting and works as a real estate developer in California.[3](https://darkshadows.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Davis)
## Notes on identity
Several film databases conflate this Roger Davis with an earlier actor of the same name (1884–1980), whose credits include the silent-era comedies *A Social Celebrity* (1926) and *Are You There?* (1930); those 1920s and 1930s films are not the television actor's work.[15](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205379/)
## References
1. [Roger Davis, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/roger-davis/3000402957/)
2. [Roger Davis, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205380/)
3. [Roger Davis, The Dark Shadows Wiki](https://darkshadows.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Davis)
4. [What It's Like To Take Over A Dead Man's Identity!, Movie Mirror, March 1975 (AS&J Collection)](https://asjcollection.com/current/identity.html)
5. [Roger Davis Articles, AS&J Collection](https://www.asjcollection.com/current/rdart.html)
6. [Roger Davis: A Different Kind of Hero, TV 73 by Peggy Hudson (AS&J Collection)](https://asjcollection.com/current/tv73.html)
7. [Roger Davis, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/roger-davis/)
8. [Roger Davis Filmography, AS&J Collection](https://asjcollection.com/current/rdfilm.html)
9. [Roger Davis, MST3K Fandom wiki](https://mst3k.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Davis)
10. [Interview with Roger Davis, The Pete Duel Memorial Site](https://www.peteduel.info/remembrances/roger-davis/)
11. [Alias Smith and Jones reference, ERIC Document ED423578](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED423578.pdf)
12. [Alias Smith and Jones cast listing (Hannibal Heyes: Pete Duel, Roger Davis)](https://device.report/m/24b4310ed99e0ecdf2b5359ce8f490669122ebea8764731a4e5db260aea5b9db.pdf)
13. [Roger Davis List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/roger-davis/credits/3000402957/)
14. [Roger Davis, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/84246/roger-davis)
15. [Roger Davis (1884–1980), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205379/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames D to E*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license