Olivier-Winning Director Howard Davies Dies at 71

Olivier Award-winning director Howard Davies died on October 25 at the age of 71. His death, which followed a brief battle with cancer, was confirmed to BBC News by his family.

Davies won Olivier Awards for directing The Iceman Cometh, All My Sons and The White Guard. On Broadway, he received Tony nominations for his work helming Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Iceman Cometh (a transfer of the aforementioned Almeida Theatre Company production) and the 2002 revival of Private Lives.

Born Stephen Howard Davies on April 26, 1945 in Durham, England, Davies studied at both Durham and Bristol Universities. In the early 1970s, he began his directing career with the Bristol Old Vic and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre before going on to serve as an associate director for the Royal Shakespeare Company and—beginning in 1988—the Royal National Theatre. At the latter, he directed 36 productions over the past 28 years.

After making his Broadway debut with Piaf in 1981, Davies went on to helm <>Good, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Translations and My Fair Lady and—most recently—A Moon or the Misbegotten in New York.

Davies’ final production, The Plough and the Stars (co-directed by Jeremy Herrin), concluded its run at the National Theatre earlier this week. Davies was also scheduled to helm Michael Frayn’s Wild Honey at Hampstead Theatre this December.

In 2011, Davies was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He is survived by his wife, actress Clare Holman.