Gerry Davis was a British author, notably of science fiction teleplays, best remembered today for his contribution to Doctor Who (1963) in the 1960s and as the co-creator of another cult series, Doomwatch (1970). A former
journalist and merchant seaman, Davis had a grounding in opera and had
worked as a cinema translator in Italy. His first professional output
as a writer was for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
In 1965, he
was employed as story editor by the BBC and the following year began a
long-standing association with
Doctor Who (1963). Together with
the series' scientific advisor Kit Pedler he
is credited with inventing the Cybermen. Davis worked on more than
seventy episodes, initially as story editor. Starting with The Tomb of the Cybermen: Episode 1 (1967), he also contributed original screenplays.
Although he was offered the chance to take over as the producer of
Doctor Who (1963) by Innes Lloyd,
he declined, preferring to concentrate on his writing.
Davis
subsequently collaborated with Pedler in creating the ecological drama
series Doomwatch (1970), as well as
working with him on several sci-fi novels. From 1976, he was based in
Hollywood, writing primarily for episodic television (though also
co-scripting one feature film,
Der letzte Countdown (1980)).
Davis latterly taught screenwriting at the UCLA film school. He died in
August 1991, aged 61, in California.
