Duane Davis

Early life

Davis was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and is the son of NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Willie Davis and Ann Davis. At the age of two he moved to Wisconsin. Davis played college football at the University of Missouri but suffered a knee injury in his sophomore and senior year.

Acting career

He has made something of a career of playing athletes—famous or otherwise. Davis played an athlete in the 1988 film, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. Davis pulled his hamstring during filming of the movie but said it was one of his most enjoyable roles. He was in the 1992 Stephen Seagal film, Under Siege. Davis's most celebrated role is as ESU football star Alvin Mack in the 1993 film, The Program. During filming, he broke the metacarpal in his hand and refused to do a scene in which his character broke his leg, as it was too close to his own college experience. He claims that fans still come up to him and repeat his lines. and the following year he played Buster Douglas in the HBO original movie, Tyson. He played Joe Louis in the 1999 made-for-TV movie about Rocky Marciano. In 2001 he played the part of Uno in Ghosts of Mars, and in 2004 he appeared in Paparazzi as Reggie.

Davis played Duke DePalma, a former boxer-turned-crime fighter, in Team Knight Rider, a short-lived spin-off series of the original Knight Rider TV series. He played a recurring character in Sisters, and has been in other TV shows such as M.A.N.T.I.S., L.A. Law, A Different World, What's Happening Now, Head of the Class, and Little Big League. He played a boxer in the movie, Diggstown, and also had a small role in Carl Reiner's 1987 comedy film, Summer School.

Personal life

Davis lives in California. His oldest son, David Davis played collegiate football as well.

Selected filmography

• Summer School (1987) as Jerome Watkins (Bathroom Guy)

References

References

1. Landis, Bill. (November 29, 2019). "How Ohio State stole Wyatt Davis, and the delicate balance it now faces with offensive line change".
2. (October 28, 2017). "A Place at the Table: South Carolina and the filming of 'The Program,' 25 years later". [[The Post and Courier]].
3. (May 23, 2016). "Son of 'The Program' and 'Neccessary Roughness' [sic] star is a 5-star OL". [[CBS Sports]].
4. (May 23, 2016). "Thanks to family, five-star Wyatt Davis no stranger to spotlight". [[Rivals.com]].
5. Sayles, Damon. (March 1, 2016). "Famous Bloodlines and Aggressive Play Style Helped Make Wyatt Davis a 5-Star".
6. (June 10, 1994). "The Showtime Original Movie: Past Tense". Variety.
7. (April 22, 1992). "Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story". Variety.
8. (December 16, 2016). "St. John Bosco 5-star lineman Wyatt Davis boasts famous bloodlines, nasty streak and loads of talent". MaxPreps.
9. (September 4, 2004). "Paparazzi". Variety.