Editing David Jason (section)

===Early years===
Jason started his television career in the made-for-TV film ''Mother Goose'' (1965). He played Bert Bradshaw in ''[[Crossroads (British TV series)|Crossroads]]'' in 1966. In the following year, he played spoof super-hero [[Captain Fantastic (TV series)|Captain Fantastic]], among other roles, in the children's comedy series ''[[Do Not Adjust Your Set]]'' ([[Associated Rediffusion|Rediffusion London]]/[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]) with [[Eric Idle]], [[Terry Jones]], [[Denise Coffey]], and [[Michael Palin]]. [[Humphrey Barclay]], who recruited Jason to appear in ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'' (partly to counter the more [[highbrow]] style of Idle, Jones, and Palin),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wilmut|first1=Roger|title=From Fringe to Flying Circus: Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960–1980|date=1980|publisher=Eyre Methuen|page=181}}</ref> admired his sense of timing. The programme ended in 1969, and the character then appeared for a time in the [[Thames Television]] children's programme ''[[Magpie (TV series)|Magpie]]''. Jason appeared in the BBC comedy series ''[[Hugh and I]]'' in 1967, which starred [[Hugh Lloyd]] and [[Terry Scott]] as two friends who lived together in [[South London]]. He appeared in the ''[[Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)]]'' episode "[[That's How Murder Snowballs]]" (1969) as Abel, a framed performer in a major London theatre.

In 1968, Jason was initially cast in the role of [[Lance Corporal Jones]] in the [[Jimmy Perry]] and [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]] BBC comedy ''[[Dad's Army]]''. Croft had been very impressed with Jason and believed that he had the talent to play a man much older than his real age, but BBC executive [[Bill Cotton]] overruled him, casting [[Clive Dunn]] because he was better known. According to Jason, "I was cast at 12 o'clock and sacked by three."<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2003/04_april/rt_jason_bafta.shtml | title= Jason to receive this year's BAFTA Fellowship | work=BBC Online| date=7 April 2003 | access-date=5 April 2021}}</ref> Jason also missed out on the starring role of Frank Spencer in ''[[Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em]]'' in 1973 because BBC executives at the time believed that he lacked "star quality".<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/03/26/david-jason-rejected-lead-role-mothers-do-ave-em-bbc-execs-thought/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/03/26/david-jason-rejected-lead-role-mothers-do-ave-em-bbc-execs-thought/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | title= David Jason rejected for lead role in Some Mothers Do 'Ave Em because BBC execs thought he lacked 'star quality' | work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | date=26 March 2021 | access-date=5 April 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In the 1970s, he also acted in radio comedies, including the weekly topical [[satire]] ''[[Week Ending]]'' (in which he regularly played such figures as then UK Foreign Secretary [[David Owen|Dr David Owen]]) and ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' (as the "B Ark Captain" in the sixth episode). Jason also appeared in ''[[The Next Programme Follows Almost Immediately]]'' and made appearances on panel games such as ''The Impressionists'' as well as his own series, ''The Jason Explanation''. In the early 1970s, he appeared in ''Mostly Monkhouse''.

Jason appeared on stage in the [[West End theatre|West End]] in the [[farce]] ''[[No Sex Please, We're British]]'' playing Brian Runnicles for 18 months in 1973. He also starred with Valerie Leon in a stage comedy "Darling Mr London" which toured in 1975.

Jason appeared in variety shows as the supporting act of [[Dick Emery]] and his performances caught the attention of [[Ronnie Barker]]. Jason was recruited to appear in ''[[Hark at Barker]]'' ([[London Weekend Television|LWT]], 1969), starring opposite Barker's Lord Rustless, as Dithers, the 100-year old gardener. There was also a sequel, ''[[His Lordship Entertains]]'' (1972) for the [[BBC Television|BBC]]. Jason played [[Idealism|idealistic]] employee [[Granville (Open All Hours)|Granville]] in the first programme of the comedy anthology ''[[Seven of One]]'' (1973), called ''[[Open All Hours]]'' (BBC) and starring Barker as the curmudgeonly proprietor of a corner shop.

Four series of ''Open All Hours'' were made from 1976 to 1985. He featured in Barker's ''[[Porridge (1974 TV series)|Porridge]]'' (BBC), a prison comedy, as the elderly [[Blanco Webb|Blanco]] in three episodes. Jason also appeared with Barker in various disguises in ''[[The Two Ronnies]],'' including providing the "raspberry" sound effect for ''[[The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town]].''

Jason starred in [[London Weekend Television]]'s ''[[Lucky Feller]]'' (1975–76), written by [[Terence Frisby]] and produced by [[Humphrey Barclay]]. About two brothers in south-east London, the series was in many ways a forerunner to ''Only Fools And Horses''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Steve |title=Only some Lucky Fellers become sitcom stars : Correspondents 2012 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/correspondents/2012/09/27/16219/only_some_lucky_fellers_become_sitcom_stars |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=www.chortle.co.uk |language=en}}</ref> He played the lead role of Peter Barnes in the [[Associated Television|ATV]] sitcom ''[[A Sharp Intake of Breath]]'' (1977–81), alongside [[Alun Armstrong]] and [[Richard Wilson (Scottish actor)|Richard Wilson]]. In 1979, he appeared as [[Buttons (pantomime)|Buttons]] in the [[pantomime]] ''[[Cinderella]]'' at [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]]'s [[Theatre Royal, Newcastle|Theatre Royal]], starring Leah Bell and [[Bobby Thompson (comedian)|Bobby Thompson]], produced by Michael Grayson and directed by John Blackmore.