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Severn Darden
Acting
Biography
Severn Teakle Darden Jr. (November 9, 1929 – May 27, 1995) was an American comedian and actor, and a founding member of The Second City Chicago-based comedy troupe as well as its predecessor, the Compass Players. He is known from his film appearances for playing the human leader Kolp in the fourth and fifth Planet of the Apes films. His live comedy improv skit under the character of "Walther von der Vogelweide" was influential with two generations of comic performers.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, he attended the University of Chicago, where he was a "campus legend" according to poet Paul Carroll. Darden’s offbeat and intellectual sense of humor was a major element in the style of The Sec…
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Severn Teakle Darden Jr. (November 9, 1929 – May 27, 1995) was an American comedian and actor, and a founding member of The Second City Chicago-based comedy troupe as well as its predecessor, the Compass Players. He is known from his film appearances for playing the human leader Kolp in the fourth and fifth Planet of the Apes films. His live comedy improv skit under the character of "Walther von der Vogelweide" was influential with two generations of comic performers. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, he attended the University of Chicago, where he was a "campus legend" according to poet Paul Carroll. Darden’s offbeat and intellectual sense of humor was a major element in the style of The Second City at that time, and is evident throughout his work. Carroll described him as a combination of surrealistic New Orleans and tough, caustic "Chicago Style" comedy. An example of his offbeat humor is the way he squeezed the phrase "Know thyself" into the seven-character limitation of a New Mexico license plate: NOYOSEF. Darden was a core comedian in Paul Sills' Compass Players, the first improvisation theater in the US; it performed around the Chicago area during the mid-1950s. Sills went on to found The Second City in 1959 and brought in many of the comedians from Compass Players, including Darden.
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BODY OF WORK
Severn Darden's Filmography
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The Telephone
The Princess Who Had Never Laughed
as Farmer Silas
Back to School
as Dr. Barazini
Real Genius
as Dr. Meredith
Half Nelson
as Morgue Attendant
Quarterback Princess
as Mr. Hobart
Rooster
as Conway
Saturday the 14th
as Van Helsing
Evita Peron
as Alfredo Suero
No Poster
A Cry for Love
as Paul
In God We Tru$t
as Priest
Hopscotch
as Maddox
Why Would I Lie?
as Dr. Barbour
A Small Circle of Friends
as Art Professor
Orphan Train
as Mr. Barrington
Love for Rent
as Fred Hallem
Once Upon a Midnight Scary
as Jonathan Barnavelt
No Poster
Rendezvous Hotel
as Albert Church
Wanda Nevada
as Merlin Bitterstix
No Poster
Outside Chance
as Sheriff Dempsey
Never Con a Killer
as Cap
Victory at Entebbe
as Moshe Meyer
The Disappearance of Aimee
as S.I. Gilbert
Mother, Jugs & Speed
as Moran
Jackson County Jail
as Sheriff Dempsey
I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?
as Mr. Fletch / Dr. DeHart
The Legend of Hillbilly John
as Mr. Marduke
Skyway to Death
as Steve Kramer
The Day of the Dolphin
as Schwinn
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
as Kolp
The Man Who Died Twice
as Harry
Dirty Little Billy
as Big Jim McDaniel
Play It as It Lays
as Hypnotist
Playmates
as Roger, Man in Gallery
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
as Kolp
The War Between Men and Women
as Dr. Harris
Cisco Pike
as Lawyer
The Last Movie
as Mayor
The Hired Hand
as McVey
Werewolves on Wheels
as One
Vanishing Point
as J. Hovah
Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You
as Dr. Fahrquardt
The Movie Murderer
as Jimmy Apache
Bongo Wolf’s Revenge
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
as Cecil
Fearless Frank
as The Good Doctor / Claude
To See or Not to See
Justine
as Bathazar
The Mad Room
as Nate
Model Shop
as Camera Shop Owner
The Virgin President
as U.S. President / Fillmard Millmore
P.J.
as Shelton Quell
The President's Analyst
as Kropotkin
Luv
as Vandergist
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round
as Miles Fisher
Point of View
The Double-Barrelled Detective Story
as H.S. Stevens
Goldstein
as Doctor