# Mr. Davies died
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-davies-died/832573
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 15, 2019, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-davies-died/832573 "2019-04-15T11:55:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2019, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-davies-died/832573/1 "2019-04-15T11:55:30Z")
Friends, it’s old news, but I just found out that my Dad’s old friend, and by extension, mine, Will Davies, died.
I call him “Mr. Davies,” because that is how I always referred to him. He was a friend of my father’s, and I was first introduced to him as a young child. “You can call me ‘Will,’” I recall him saying, before my Mother said sharply, “You will call him ‘Mr. Davies.’” So, “Mr, Davies” he always was, to me. Even as an adult, I called him, “Mr. Davies,” and even though he said I could call him “Will,” I just couldn’t. He was always, to me, “Mr. Davies.”
So who was Will Davies, and why am I writing this? Because he was Canada’s Norman Rockwell. (Canadians: Google “Will Davies,” and select “Images” and see if you do not recognize his work. ) An excellent illustrator, whose work I saw in magazines, in the Toronto subway, and on my cigarette pack, back in the day–he illustrated the Macdonald Lassie, the mascot of Export A cigarettes, and once signed a pack for me.
The last time I saw Mr. Davies was at my Dad’s funeral in Toronto in 2015. He was in a wheelchair with an attendant, but he still had that wit and friendliness that I knew so well, and we had a great chat and caught up. I am sorry that I’m late on this one, but friends, especially those who appreciate art, please spare a thought for Mr. Davies. He illustrated Canadian life in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s through advertisements.
And he was a family friend. Please, spare a thought for him.
---
### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2019, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-davies-died/832573/2 "2019-04-15T12:48:42Z")
Sorry to hear it Spoons
Quick Google brought up these :
Toronto Star : will Davies shares his love of art and cars
[https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.thestar.com/amp/autos/2016/04/02/will-davies-shares-his-art-and-his-love-of-cars.html](https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.thestar.com/amp/autos/2016/04/02/will-davies-shares-his-art-and-his-love-of-cars.html)
Canadian illustrator gets stamp of approval
> **[Canadian illustrator gets stamp of approval](https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/canadian-illustrator-gets-stamp-of-approval)**
>
> Like father, like daughter.
Will Davies obituary:
[https://m.legacy.com/obituaries/thestar/obituary.aspx?n=will-davies&pid=181442428&referrer=0&preview=false](https://m.legacy.com/obituaries/thestar/obituary.aspx?n=will-davies&pid=181442428&referrer=0&preview=false)
---
### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2019, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-davies-died/832573/3 "2019-04-15T13:29:07Z")
Wow, just wow!
---
### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-davies-died/832573/4 "2019-04-15T13:59:15Z")
> [@Spoons](#):
>
> Please, spare a thought for him.
Glad to! Thanks for the education today.
---
### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2019, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-davies-died/832573/5 "2019-04-17T06:43:18Z")
Wow! That is wonderful and touching. I wonder whether my high-school friend Todd Murrison, who I believe studied at OCAD, and later became an illustrator of some strength\*, ever studied under him?
\*Oh who am I kidding? In high school, he could draw people better than I have ever done, even now…
---
### Author:  [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2019, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-davies-died/832573/6 "2019-04-17T20:11:06Z")
I’m sorry about the circumstances, but thank you for drawing my attention to him. What a wonderful body of work.
---
### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2019, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-davies-died/832573/7 "2019-04-18T13:09:22Z")
Apparently the commemorative volume of his work had a limited edition of only 500, and was all sold before it was even published.
I imagine a lot of institutional libraries at art galleries and schools bought copies.
---
### Author:  [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-davies-died/832573/8 "2019-04-18T22:06:49Z")
I heard about the book, and its limited press run. I can only hope that a copy is resold through a rare bookseller at some point in the future.
I do have a couple of cheap reproductions. I won’t call them prints, because they were originally advertisements from the Toronto subway (well, at least one is). They’ll have to do.