Early Career

David Jason, a well known English actor, began a startlingly busy acting career back in 1964. It was his incredible sense of timing as well as his networking relationships with such greats as Humphrey Barclay that helped him start a successful comedic career in television. Different from many British comics, his style was less serious and intellectual and campy spoof. He created a balance, a foil to the big comedians of the day that made him stand out from the start as a master.

"'Hark At Barker' was Jason's first foray into work with Ronnie Barker, whose eye he had caught while working the variety show circuit."

His first role was the part of Bert Bradshaw in a television show called 'Crossroads.' He quickly followed it up in 1967 with various roles in a sketch comedy called 'Do Not Adjust Your Set.' His most famous role in this series was as the silly superhero, Captain Fantastic.

His success in multiple roles as required by 'Do Not Adjust Your Set' made him a standard on variety shows of the day. This was the heyday of variety shows, hugely popular in the western world, and won him quite a bit of recognition. Flanked as he was by such great performers as Benny Hill and Peter Cook, Jason received the attention he so richly deserved, including that of Ronnie Barker a man who makes a great difference in Jason's career later on.

David Jason was not only making the rounds of the big hits, keeping his comedic timing and talents in the spotlight, but he was breaking new ground as well. Today, spy spoof comedies abound with bumbling main characters who manage to solve cases almost in spite of themselves. Without Jason's breakthrough role in the show that created the genre, 'The Secret Life of Edgar Briggs,' Austin Powers would not have enjoyed the success it did. New, different, and hilarious Jason made comedy history with this show and set the stage for future comedians to make a name for themselves while further stamping his own name into the consciousness of the public.

After 'The Secret Life of Edgar Briggs,' Jason really started racking up the credits. He held a variety of roles, some of which gained quite a bit of attention. 'Hark At Barker,' 'Barker's Porridge,' and 'Open All Hours' all boasted his name among the top performers.

'Hark At Barker' was Jason's first foray into work with Ronnie Barker, whose eye he had caught while working the variety show circuit. As Dithers, the gardener, Jason got to exercise his green thumb as well as practice playing older characters – Dithers was 100 years old.

He followed up his acting career by Ronnie Barker's side when he played the role of Granville in the television comedy 'Open All Hours.' His fabulous performance as an employee of the general store helped the show get picked up and eventually reincarnated as a regular series.

Jason's next role with Barker was in the show, 'Barker's Porridge,' in which he played a prison inmate named Blanco. Clearly, his rapport with Ronnie Barker really boosted his career with memorable roles and experiences that kept him in the public eye.

The early career of David Jason did not stop here, however. He followed his performances with Barker in a variety of roles. One of the most memorable was his part in an episode of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,' in which he played B Ark Captain.

Never a shrinking violet; Jason wasn't resigned to supporting roles. He played the lead in a sitcom featured on ITV called 'A Sharp Intake of Breath.' Then, to show his versatility, he did radio. Always a comedian first, he honed his skills as a satirist on 'Week Ending' playing the role of political dignitaries, foreign and domestic.

If the early career of David Jason can be summed up at all, it can only be by saying that he spent his time taking care to avoid the trap of type casting, proving that every role was only another opportunity to make his audience laugh.