John Davidson was born on December 13, 1941, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the third of four boys born to Elizabeth and Allie Davidson, both ordained Baptist ministers. John spent his childhood in Brockton, Massachusetts and White Plains, New York. John's mother attests to the fact that, though it's rather hard to believe, John was painfully shy and would not speak in front of people because he was ashamed of his dimples.
By the time he attended college, he had evidently overcome this obstacle, graduating from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre. He made his Broadway debut in 1964, in David Merrick's "Foxy" and went on to star in productions of "Camelot" "L'il Abner", "Paint Your Wagon", "The Fantasticks", "I Do! I Do!", "Music Man" and the New York City Center production of "Oklahoma". John most recently directed and starred in a successful national tour of "Oklahoma" and "State Fair".
While starring in "Foxy", John was "discovered" by television producer Bob Banner, who had also "discovered" Carol Burnett. After "Foxy" closed, Banner cast John in the television show "The Entertainers" with Carol Burnett and Bob Newhart.
John was called to Hollywood in 1966 to star in "The Kraft Summer Music Hall", the first of what would be many starring roles on television. This national exposure led to Walt Disney casting John in his first movie role as the young Angier Duke opposite Leslie Ann Warren in "The Happiest Millionaire". This was followed by another Disney role in "The One and Only Original Genuine Family Band" with Walter Brennan, Buddy Ebsen and Kurt Russell.
In the late sixties and early seventies, John recorded 12 albums for Columbia and Twentieth Century Fox Records. He also found time to star in the comedy series "The Girl With Something Extra" with Sally Field for which he received the Golden Apple Award from the Hollywood Press Association. He signed with ABC for three Christmas specials of his own, as well as hosting other specials such as the prestigious Golden Globe Awards. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of "Most Promising Newcomer In Film" for Disney's "The Happiest Millionaire".
John's live performance career has always been his greatest love. Over the years he moved from smaller venues to the main showrooms of Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nevada. During the 1970's and 1980's John headlined at the Riviera, the Desert Inn, the MGM Grand and Caesars Palace, as well as the Harrah's showrooms in Reno and Tahoe. "The Tonight Show" kept John busy on television during these years with two weeks of hosting a year, more than any other singer. He also co-authored a book, "The Art of the Singing Entertainer" in his spare time.
By 1980, after ten years of travel and nightclub performances, John was ready for a more traditional life and asked his manager to "get him some TV" so that he could stay home with his children, Jennifer and John Jr.
This simple request led to John's hit television show "That's Incredible!" which ran for five years on ABC. Simultaneously, he took over for Mike Douglas, hosting his own daytime television show, ''The John Davidson Show" He also began his successful run as a game show host with the hits "Hollywood Squares" and "The $100,000 Pyramid". As in his earlier career John continued acting, with guest starring roles on "The Love Boat", "Fantasy Island" and "Spenser: For Hire" and film roles in "The Squeeze" and "Edward Scissorhands."
John and his wife Rhonda are moving into a new home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico because John wants to become fluent in Spanish. Their daughter, Ashleigh, is 20 years old and is following in her parents' footsteps -- she's in entertainment. John entertains on lots of cruise ships, tours all over Florida and other sites during the winter months, stars at the Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven, NJ anddoes his one-man show "Laugh Lines and Love Songs" all over. He's still going strong at 64!