Mike Davis (actor)

Strickland was born on April 12, 1945, in Sacramento County, California and he attended Sacramento High School, graduating with the Class of 1963.^[3] A carpenter by trade, he developed high-level technical skills in California before moving into professional set design.^[4]

Under the name Winn Strickland (sometimes credited as Wynn Strickland), he established a successful career in mainstream entertainment during the 1970s.^[5]

Strickland served as an art director for several high-profile Hollywood productions, including Sixteen (1972), he was the art director for the independent feature film.^[5] Later The Osmond Family Show (1979) and he was the art director for the musical variety series and Carol Burnett & Company (1979) for which he was the art director for four episodes of the comedy-variety program.^[6]

Strickland was a highly regarded figure in the Las Vegas theater circuit.^[1] He won several prestigious awards for his set designs, most notably for the long-running Folies Bergère at the Tropicana and the production Fire and Ice.^[1]

In the late 1970s, Strickland was "discovered" by Colt Studios and began performing under the pseudonym Mike Davis.^[7][1]

Despite his popularity as a model and performer, Strickland was notably reluctant to take speaking roles due to a speech impediment about which he was deeply self-conscious.^[8] Consequently, the majority of his early work consisted of still photography and silent "loop" films.^[9] He was eventually persuaded by his close friend, director Al Parker, to perform in the 1982 film Games, which remains his only "talking" role.^[10]

Strickland's primary professional contribution to the industry was as the Art Director and master carpenter for Surge Studios, owned by Al Parker and Steve Taylor.^[1] Parker frequently remarked that Strickland had the unique ability to "make one dollar look like five" on screen.^[11] His notable art direction credits included Therapy, he created the "eerie alley" set, Strange Places, Strange Things and he designed a realistic sewer sequence later Century Mining (1985) it is considered his masterpiece; Strickland designed and constructed the film's massive, complex mine sets in just 72 hours despite being in the advanced stages of illness.^[1] Mike's other credits includes films such as Head Trips, Hard Disk Drive, and One in a Billion.^[1]

Strickland died in his sleep from AIDS-related complications in West Hollywood on January 21, 1986, at the age of 40.^[1] Following his wishes, his ashes were released along the California coast.^[1]