0:00:04 > 0:00:07LAUGHTER
0:00:20 > 0:00:23MUSIC: "The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss II
0:00:26 > 0:00:31Ryan Davies's talent as a performer was truly unique.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35His comedy captivated both Welsh and English audiences.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39Quack twice and ask for Phyllis.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44Ryan worked ceaselessly to hone his gifts as an actor, singer,
0:00:44 > 0:00:46musician, composer and comic.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53But his tireless pursuit of excellence would ultimately
0:00:53 > 0:00:55end in tragedy.
0:01:12 > 0:01:19Thomas Ryan Davies was born in Glanaman, near Ammanford, in 1937.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Glanaman was a Welsh-speaking community
0:01:40 > 0:01:45with a long and rich tradition of amateur drama and choral singing.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49Glanaman was a very lively area. That whole Amman Valley was.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51He was...
0:01:51 > 0:01:55steeped in performing
0:01:55 > 0:01:58right from the beginning, right from the beginning.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03Ryan's mother, Nans, who was a matron in a children's home,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06came from a renowned family of actors and reciters.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10And Ryan's father, William Thomas Davies,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13was a miner and chapel organist.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Returning from service in the war one day, William Thomas was
0:02:17 > 0:02:21treated to a display of his young son's musical ability.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49At the age of eight, Ryan left Glanaman.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53The family moved to Llanfyllin in Powys, where Ryan's parents
0:02:53 > 0:02:57took over a nursing home that had once been a workhouse.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00And the cells were still there, in Y Dolydd in Llanfyllin,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02the home where I lived, the house where I lived
0:03:02 > 0:03:06and there were holes in the wall just big enough to take
0:03:06 > 0:03:10a certain size of stone, and there had to be a certain quota of stone
0:03:10 > 0:03:14broken up by the tramps, who in those days used to wander around the country
0:03:14 > 0:03:17before they'd had their breakfast the following morning.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19So I suppose, yes, I was brought up in the workhouse.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24- BELL RINGS - From the age of 11, Ryan attended Llanfyllin High School.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28There was something very stylish about Ryan from the very beginning.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31He was very self-aware, even as a child.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36He was very aware of his ability to enthral people and perform
0:03:36 > 0:03:38and he would, you know, mimic people.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Especially in school, he'd mimic the teachers.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44He knew he could make people laugh, even as a kid.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48It was at school that a dark-haired girl called Irene Williams
0:03:48 > 0:03:51caught Ryan's eye.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54They started courting, I'm sure, when Ryan was about 14.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56Irene and Ryan were always a couple.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00Irene was always "the one", right from the very beginning.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11After leaving school, Ryan did two years' national service before going
0:04:11 > 0:04:14to Bangor Normal College to study to be a teacher.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17As part of his course he studied drama,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21taking key roles in plays by Moliere and Christopher Fry.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24He was a compulsive actor.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Even when we went out of an evening, let's say,
0:04:27 > 0:04:32Saturday night to a pub or something as students,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35he would grab a chair and sit on it
0:04:35 > 0:04:39and all of a sudden he would be someone having a driving lesson
0:04:39 > 0:04:42for the first time and making a big hash of it.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44And hilarious, absolutely hilarious.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49And from the very beginning, he had an extraordinary talent,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51it was something special.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56At college, Ryan found himself among a crew of like-minded writers
0:04:56 > 0:04:58and performers.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Together they formed a "parti noson lawen", a concert party
0:05:02 > 0:05:06that travelled the country putting on shows in village halls.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10Ryan's party piece was a mime of a customer in a chip shop
0:05:10 > 0:05:14that would entertain audiences for years to come.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18LAUGHTER
0:05:29 > 0:05:32APPLAUSE
0:05:32 > 0:05:38Ryan not only acted in these shows he also sang, played piano
0:05:38 > 0:05:40and composed songs.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44He composed excellent melodies.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47There was something immediate about them,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50you took to them straight away.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51They were very, very singable.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57In 1959, Ryan graduated and moved to London.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03After a year studying at the Central School of Speech and Music,
0:06:03 > 0:06:07he took a job as a teacher in a primary school in Croydon.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11By the way, he was an excellent teacher, as you could imagine,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15with his acting skills and his musical skills.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Ryan and Irene were married in 1961.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23In Croydon, they became part of a thriving social scene
0:06:23 > 0:06:26based around the London Welsh Society.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32Ryan soon established himself as one of the society's star performers.
0:06:32 > 0:06:38The London Welsh contingent always came to the national Eisteddfod
0:06:38 > 0:06:44and they put on a whole night of their own and I got to see him
0:06:44 > 0:06:50then perform and it became obvious that this man was going to be
0:06:50 > 0:06:55a very important figure in Welsh light entertainment.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57In 1963,
0:06:57 > 0:07:02Meredydd Evans became head of BBC Welsh Language Light Entertainment.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05He knew he would need a core of professional performers
0:07:05 > 0:07:07to establish his department.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09He had no doubt who his first signing would be.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13And I said, "Well, the very first one I want is Ryan Davies.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17"Here is the man, here's the obvious person."
0:07:17 > 0:07:23He was the centre, something to build on and build around.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Ryan was offered a contract for one year only.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29He was faced with a dilemma.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33Irene had just given birth to their daughter, Bethan.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Would he sacrifice his permanent position as a teacher
0:07:36 > 0:07:40for a short-term contract as an entertainer?
0:07:40 > 0:07:44He was not sure at all, you know. It was quite a challenge for him.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48He was well-employed in London,
0:07:48 > 0:07:53he was in line for promotion to a headmastership.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57It was a risk for him.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Anyway he took it and in 1965, he came.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07# Have you ever seen my... Hob-y-deri dando
0:08:07 > 0:08:11# She's so neat and she's so pretty Hob-y-deri dando. #
0:08:11 > 0:08:17He was a producer and director's dream. He was thoroughly dependable.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22You knew before he ever appeared in rehearsal
0:08:22 > 0:08:25that he would give of his best.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27There was no playing around.
0:08:27 > 0:08:33He would have prepared carefully before he came.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36He could have done it straight away.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40Noswaith dda, which in English means good evening to you all.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42That comes from us all here at the barn tonight.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46So I used him as a quizmaster, presenter.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49He was a real all-rounder.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53He could do pretty well anything that you asked him to do.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57It was Ryan's gift for comedy in particular
0:08:57 > 0:09:01that would help Meredydd Evans realise a key ambition.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05The next thing I wanted was to get a duo.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10Two comedians, a straight man and the comic.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15Meredyddd Evans didn't have to look far for his straight man.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20He found him in the BBC Wales news studio.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24Ronnie Williams, who had been in the drama college in Cardiff,
0:09:24 > 0:09:29had started his career with the BBC as an announcer.
0:09:29 > 0:09:35I thought, well, why not put these two together and see what happens.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37That's it, and that's how it started.
0:09:42 > 0:09:49Ryan and Ronnie made their first public appearance together, at the 1967 National Eisteddfod in Bala,
0:09:49 > 0:09:54performing Green Green Grass Of Home, in the style of traditional Welsh verse singing.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01# Green green grass of home.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07When I awake, I look around me,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10at four grey walls that surround me,
0:10:10 > 0:10:15and I realise, yeah, I was only dreaming, because there's a guard...
0:10:20 > 0:10:24# Yes, they'll all come to meet me
0:10:26 > 0:10:29# In the shade of that old oak tree
0:10:31 > 0:10:39# As they lay me 'neath the green green grass of home. #
0:10:39 > 0:10:45THEY CONTINUE IN WELSH
0:10:45 > 0:10:48CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Within a year, the pair had a Welsh language comedy show of their own.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11Ow!
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Ow!
0:11:17 > 0:11:21THEY SPEAK WELSH
0:11:25 > 0:11:31In the show, Ronnie played straight man to Ryan's kaleidoscope of comic types.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34He was a creator of characters.
0:11:34 > 0:11:40He had a huge range of character portrayals.
0:11:40 > 0:11:46The character of Mam, for example, running the household, really.
0:11:46 > 0:11:52The barmaid, who was chattering, bubbling over.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56Come up and see me some time. Quack twice and ask for Phyllis.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04He was great in drag, and then there was the little diffident man.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09Shy, nervous, with the bowler hat.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11The real innocent abroad.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30The series provided a showcase for Ryan's comic acting,
0:12:30 > 0:12:34but he could equally hold his own as a straight actor.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43In 1971, Ryan briefly became part of a very different double act.
0:12:45 > 0:12:53He and Richard Burton travelled to Fishguard, to appear in a film adaptation of Under Milk Wood.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57It must be a big thrill for you, Richard, playing opposite a big star like Ryan.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Oh, dear me!
0:12:59 > 0:13:01I hope it's mutual!
0:13:14 > 0:13:16He was primarily an actor
0:13:16 > 0:13:19and could be as convincing in a serious play,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22as he could be hilarious in pantomime.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26In the film, Ryan played the role of Second Voice,
0:13:26 > 0:13:31providing a comic foil to Richard Burton's imposing First Voice.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33It's 11:30.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36It's been 11:30 here for 50 years.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42It's always opening time at the Sailors Arms.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Buy me a pint?
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Buy me one.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Ryan and Ronnie kept going from strength to strength.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08In an age when both English and Welsh programmes shared the same channel,
0:14:08 > 0:14:13Ryan and Ronnie's visual humour crossed over the language divide.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16HE SPEAKS WELSH
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Ryan and Ronnie were by now two of the biggest names in Wales.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Their show ran for seven series in all.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Meredydd Evans was certain the pair could appeal
0:15:00 > 0:15:02to an even wider public.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Two-shot and then out, as it develops.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Meredydd invited Bill Cotton,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11who at that time was head of light entertainment in London,
0:15:11 > 0:15:17for network, as we called it, and he invited him down to Cardiff,
0:15:17 > 0:15:21showed him a couple of tapes,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25and Bill Cotton said, "I'd like a series of this in English, please."
0:15:25 > 0:15:28And of course they were performing in Welsh,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31which does make it a bit difficult.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36But one could tell, the way that the audience reacted to them,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40that they had tremendous comedic potential.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50Ryan and Ronnie travelled to London to record their BBC One show
0:15:50 > 0:15:53in front of a live audience in a Shepherd's Bush theatre.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00This was their opportunity to bring Welsh humour to a British audience.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03What kind of programme did you have in your concerts?
0:16:03 > 0:16:07You better have a word with Tarquin Thomas. He's our musical advisor.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10Yes. Tarquin Thomas. What an unusual name.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14Oh, I don't know. There's lots of us Thomases in Wales. LAUGHTER
0:16:14 > 0:16:18On June 8th 1971, viewers across Britain tuned in
0:16:18 > 0:16:23to watch the first English-language edition of Ryan And Ronnie.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42- ENGLISH VOICE:- BBC calling! Rrrryan and Ronnie, hee-hee!
0:16:44 > 0:16:46I was, frankly, worried about them.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50I sat down with some trepidation to watch their first network programme.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55It was early in the evening, about half five, in a children's slot,
0:16:55 > 0:16:59which was a bit unfair, perhaps, but it was a good place to try them out.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03And I remember thinking, what they haven't got now that they're on network television,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06they don't have that tremendous goodwill
0:17:06 > 0:17:10that comes from the audience. They're now fighting for a new audience.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12That new audience may not understand Welsh humour.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16Unfortunately, all that survives of the series today
0:17:16 > 0:17:20is some behind-the-scenes footage and a handful of sketches,
0:17:20 > 0:17:25including one about a new method for producing rice pudding.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Now the milk and the rice goes down here, you understand.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32And it travels through here now, as far as the gurgle valve.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36- Right? Are you reasoning my thinking now?- Yes, indeed.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Then, later on, the rice and the sugar join the milk,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42come together, you understand, down here.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47One, two, three!
0:17:53 > 0:17:57- Have you seen Ryan and Ronnie? - Yes.- On television?- Yes.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01- What do you think of them? - Very good.- What about you?
0:18:01 > 0:18:04I've only seen snatches. He thoroughly enjoys it, I know.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Despite the show's early evening slot,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10it was well received by British audiences.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17Ryan and Ronnie found that the show had boosted their fame beyond Wales.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Riding high on the success of their network series,
0:18:23 > 0:18:27they were booked to do a summer season in Blackpool,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30topping the bill at the Central Pier.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36As we found out, we were big names in the north of England.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39We'd never been there. We were big names in Scotland,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43we'd never been there. And they all came to see us in the Central Pier
0:18:43 > 0:18:46where we broke all records of all time. It was a great thrill.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52While their double act enjoyed great success,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Ryan continued to work as a solo performer.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59Right then. I come from the audience into this area here.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02During rehearsals for a one-man show,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05he gave BBC Wales a preview of his act.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08She's a character we've done many times, Phyllis,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11She explains what she's been doing, cos she lives in Swansea.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16Phyllis is from Swansea, and they all talk like that in Swansea, all right?
0:19:16 > 0:19:20So she's married a man from Cardiff, like, and he now comes out
0:19:20 > 0:19:25from behind the screen, and he's going up to the city hall, like,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28cos he's going to complain about the drains down Portman Road,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31only they've become a real problem down there.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Since this is supposed to be a "real capital",
0:19:33 > 0:19:36we thought perhaps you better do something about it, like.
0:19:39 > 0:19:44Ryan combined this solo work with his demanding rehearsal
0:19:44 > 0:19:47and performance schedule for Ryan And Ronnie.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54They were working on television, they were working on cabaret,
0:19:54 > 0:19:58they were working in pantomime,
0:19:58 > 0:20:01they were performing in nosweithiau llawen.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06They worked hard, you know, they worked hard.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10Now, doing that as a pair
0:20:10 > 0:20:13for that amount of time
0:20:13 > 0:20:20must have generated certain tensions and so on.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24I think that this affected Ronnie far more than it did Ryan.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27And from what I understand,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Ronnie felt that the stresses were really too great.
0:20:30 > 0:20:31Get a life, you know?
0:20:31 > 0:20:34He really wanted to be with his family and so on.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Ronnie drew me aside one day
0:20:37 > 0:20:42and admitted to feeling mental and physical exhaustion.
0:20:42 > 0:20:48And he wanted to call it a day.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53Bill Cotton had offered the pair an hour-long BBC One special
0:20:53 > 0:20:55of their own, but it wasn't to be.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Acting on his doctor's advice, Ronnie,
0:20:58 > 0:21:04who was suffering from nervous exhaustion, told Ryan it was over.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08At Caerphilly's Double Diamond Club, on the 4th of May 1974,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11the pair took their final bow together.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17At the age of 37, Ryan was now on his own.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22The big question was, what he would do next?
0:21:22 > 0:21:24I think it was a feeling of relief for him.
0:21:24 > 0:21:31Because he was going to work out his own particular...
0:21:31 > 0:21:36he did not want to become just one of a pair.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40Just five months after the split,
0:21:40 > 0:21:45Ryan launched a new Welsh-language series of his own.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48As a solo artist, he now had the freedom
0:21:48 > 0:21:51to develop the musical side of his act.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54# Kaaaaaaaaa...
0:21:54 > 0:21:58# ..aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...
0:21:58 > 0:22:05# ..aaaaaaaaaaaaaaalinka, kalinka
0:22:05 > 0:22:08# Kalinka, kalink
0:22:10 > 0:22:15LAUGHTER
0:22:15 > 0:22:20# Oh, kalinka, kalinka, kalinka, kalink
0:22:20 > 0:22:24# V sadu yagoda malinka, malinka moya, hey!
0:22:24 > 0:22:27# Kalinka, kalinka, kalinka, kalink
0:22:27 > 0:22:30HE WHISTLES LOUDLY
0:22:36 > 0:22:41# Kalinka, kalinka, k... # RYAN CLEARS THROAT
0:22:41 > 0:22:46ALL: # Kalinka, hey! #
0:22:46 > 0:22:51He had a light, pleasant, lovely, light tenor voice.
0:22:51 > 0:22:58He could sell a song, you know, could really sell a song.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03# The double diamond Caerphilly is
0:23:03 > 0:23:08# All you lovely people Caerphilly is
0:23:08 > 0:23:11# One town that won't let you down
0:23:11 > 0:23:16# It's my kind
0:23:16 > 0:23:21# Of to-o-o-o-o-own. #
0:23:36 > 0:23:40When he wasn't on TV, Ryan was doing live cabaret and theatre work.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44His annual appearances in pantomime were legendary.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51When I used to go to the pantomimes in the Grand in Swansea,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55they would run from, sort of, Christmas until April.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00At the time they were the longest running pantos in the UK, full-stop.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05And to be jam-packed every night, you know, full to the rafters of people,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08coaches coming from all over the place,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11wow, this is big, this, you know?
0:24:13 > 0:24:18I played Mother Goose in Swansea and I'm down stage right there
0:24:18 > 0:24:20and I'm acting myself to death, right?
0:24:20 > 0:24:22And I got them, I know I got them.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24LAUGHTER
0:24:24 > 0:24:27They're in the palm of my hand, do you know?
0:24:27 > 0:24:30And the kids are looking at me and I'm singing,
0:24:30 > 0:24:33and there was one little angelic girl and she'd been wrapped up
0:24:33 > 0:24:36in the story from the word go, and she was looking at me,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39and I say to the goose, "Go away, I don't want you.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42"Go on, go away. Leave me." And the goose toddles off,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45and I happened to catch her eye just as the goose was disappearing
0:24:45 > 0:24:49into the wings, and the little girl looked up at me
0:24:49 > 0:24:51and she said, "You nasty bitch."
0:24:51 > 0:24:54LAUGHTER
0:24:54 > 0:24:57For Ryan, the work never stopped.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01From 1975 on, he starred in the Welsh language sitcom Fo A Fe,
0:25:01 > 0:25:05about two grandfathers from opposite ends of Wales
0:25:05 > 0:25:07forced to share the same house.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11The following year, he took on an even bigger challenge.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18In How Green Was My Father,
0:25:18 > 0:25:22Ryan was virtually the only actor on screen,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26playing all 13 principal roles.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34The film told the story of an American tourist
0:25:34 > 0:25:38visiting the Valleys to rediscover his Welsh roots.
0:25:38 > 0:25:39Yes, boy?!
0:25:42 > 0:25:48- Excuse me, sir.- Haha! A visitor from the vast beyond,
0:25:48 > 0:25:53a transatlantic tourist, a becamera-ed camarado from Colorado.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55I wonder if you could help me.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00- I am pursuing research into the family of Jenkins.- Jenkins?
0:26:00 > 0:26:04Our geography germinates generations of Jenkinses.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Genealogy is the juice of our jerry-built jungle,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10and all genuine jolack Jenkinses,
0:26:10 > 0:26:13mark you, none of your jejune jelly-belly Jenkinses.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16There's Jenkins the joiner, Jenkins the jeweller and Jenkins the Jew.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Jew, Jew.
0:26:19 > 0:26:25For one man to carry an entire film was a phenomenal feat.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Ryan pulled it off thanks to the meticulous professionalism
0:26:28 > 0:26:33with which he approached every project.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36He was such a conscientious and worrying person.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39He was highly strung in that sense,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43and concentrated very hard on what he was doing.
0:26:43 > 0:26:48Ryan's intense commitment to his work threatened to exacerbate
0:26:48 > 0:26:52long-standing problems with his health.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55He'd never be perfectly fit all his life.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58He suffered from asthma, he had ulcers.
0:26:58 > 0:27:04He used to carry a bottle of this chalk medicine around with him wherever he went.
0:27:04 > 0:27:10These health issues came to a head in 1977.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14Dad had finished the pantomime and he wanted a break,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16so we all went out to stay with a good friend of his
0:27:16 > 0:27:21who he was in school with, in New York State,
0:27:21 > 0:27:23just for a holiday, really, to recuperate.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26And, unfortunately, towards the end of the holiday, he fells ill.
0:27:26 > 0:27:32Ryan suffered a severe asthma attack, followed by a heart failure.
0:27:33 > 0:27:39On the 22nd April 1977, Ryan Davies died.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43He was aged just 40.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48It was so unexpected, and so far away, you know?
0:27:50 > 0:27:55It was a shock. Everybody was shocked.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Ryan died thousands of miles from home,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03but he lies buried at the foot of the Black Mountain.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Over three decades have passed since his death,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11but Wales has yet to produce an entertainer
0:28:11 > 0:28:16whose comedy unites the nation as his did.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20And I think it's quite rare to have somebody with all that talent,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23and all those different avenues that he could go down.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28It's a tough call to fill somebody's shoes, especially my father's.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34Ryan's memorial bust is inscribed with his own words.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38"Mae chwerthin yn swnio'r un fath yn y ddwy iaith" -
0:28:38 > 0:28:42"Laughter sounds the same in both languages".
0:28:52 > 0:28:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd