Sad news [23 March 2020]
David Collings sadly passed away on 23 March 2020, aged 79.
David's dubbed English voice for Monkey, not to mention David Weir's faultless English adaptation of the series, was hugely significant in bringing the charm of Monkey to an audience outside Japan.
Even Masaaki Sakai, Monkey himself, was a fan - he reported watched the English-dubbed version of the first episode in 2000 and remarked at how similar David Collings' voice was to Masaaki Sakai's voice of Monkey.
His contribution to cult television was immense - including other TV shows which I was a huge fan of, such as Doctor Who, and Sapphire & Steel.
I am extremely grateful for getting the chance to meet David Collings in person in 2004, when he reprised his role as the voice of Monkey, for the 13 unseen Monkey episodes.
I would like to pass on my condolences to his family on behalf of Monkey fans all over the world.
David Collings: Monkey (1941-2020)
Brighton born actor who has left an indelible mark on the best of cult
television. Early roles came in Danger Man: "Sting in the Tail", Out of the
Unknown: "X117" and Gerry Anderson's U.F.O. He has notched up three
appearances in Doctor Who: "The Revenge of the Cybermen" and "The Robots of
Death", both with Tom Baker, and as the eponymous "Mawdryn Undead", with
Peter Davison. He also played the element Silver in Sapphire and Steel. In
1970 he played Bob Cratchit opposite Albert Finney's miser Scrooge and
featured in the 1972 big screen spin off of For the Love of Ada. In the
late seventies he played Blind Pew in Treasure Island, Tillotson in The 39
Steps with Robert Powell, and William Pitt in Prince Regent. He excelled as
the mild mannered Reverend Harmon in Miss Marple: "A Murder Is Announced",
with Joan Hickson.
He appeared in "Assignment 3" of Sapphire and Steel. You can see a picture of him in the DVD Times: Sapphire and Steel DVD box set review - fourth picture, just above the "Assignment 3" section. Unlike the episode of Doctor Who that he's in, in this one he doesn't sound much like Monkey, just an occasional bit where you can spot it.
He was the voice of Legolas in the 70s BBC radio adaption of The Lord of The Rings.
David Collings appeared at a Doctor Who convention in Manchester UK during the weekend of 2/3 September 2000.
See the PanoptiCon 2000 - The Doctor Who Convention page for full info!
Filmography for David Collings
David Collings,
c/o Kerry Gardner Management,
7 St. George's Square,
London,
SW1V 2HX,
UK
Tel: +44 207 828 7748