Severn Darden
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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Films (59)
The Telephone
1988
The Princess Who Had Never Laughed
1986 · Farmer Silas
Back to School
1986 · Dr. Barazini
Real Genius
1985 · Dr. Meredith
Half Nelson
1985 · Morgue Attendant
Quarterback Princess
1983 · Mr. Hobart
Rooster
1982 · Conway
Saturday the 14th
1981 · Van Helsing
Evita Peron
1981 · Alfredo Suero
A Cry for Love
1980 · Paul
Hopscotch
1980 · Maddox
In God We Tru$t
1980 · Priest
Why Would I Lie?
1980 · Dr. Barbour
A Small Circle of Friends
1980 · Art Professor
Orphan Train
1979 · Mr. Barrington
Love for Rent
1979 · Fred Hallem
Once Upon a Midnight Scary
1979 · Jonathan Barnavelt
Rendezvous Hotel
1979 · Albert Church
Wanda Nevada
1979 · Merlin Bitterstix
Outside Chance
1978 · Sheriff Dempsey
Never Con a Killer
1977 · Cap
Victory at Entebbe
1976 · Moshe Meyer
The Disappearance of Aimee
1976 · S.I. Gilbert
Mother, Jugs & Speed
1976 · Moran
Jackson County Jail
1976 · Sheriff Dempsey
I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?
1975 · Mr. Fletch / Dr. DeHart
The Legend of Hillbilly John
1974 · Mr. Marduke
Skyway to Death
1974 · Steve Kramer
The Day of the Dolphin
1973 · Schwinn
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
1973 · Kolp
The Man Who Died Twice
1973 · Harry
Dirty Little Billy
1972 · Big Jim McDaniel
Play It as It Lays
1972 · Hypnotist
Playmates
1972 · Roger, Man in Gallery
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
1972 · Kolp
The War Between Men and Women
1972 · Dr. Harris
Cisco Pike
1972 · Lawyer
The Last Movie
1971 · Mayor, Original Music Composer
The Hired Hand
1971 · McVey
Werewolves on Wheels
1971 · One
Vanishing Point
1971 · J. Hovah
Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You
1970 · Dr. Fahrquardt
The Movie Murderer
1970 · Jimmy Apache
Bongo Wolf’s Revenge
1970
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
1969 · Cecil
Fearless Frank
1969 · The Good Doctor / Claude
To See or Not to See
1969
Justine
1969 · Bathazar
The Mama Cass Television Program
1969 · Writer
The Mad Room
1969 · Nate
Model Shop
1969 · Camera Shop Owner
The Virgin President
1968 · U.S. President / Fillmard Millmore, Writer, Producer
P.J.
1968 · Shelton Quell
The President's Analyst
1967 · Kropotkin
Luv
1967 · Vandergist
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round
1966 · Miles Fisher
Point of View
1966
The Double-Barrelled Detective Story
1965 · H.S. Stevens
Goldstein
1965 · Doctor
Séries (32)
Beauty and the Beast
1987 · Waterman, Mr. Smythe
Take Five
1987
Mike Hammer
1984 · Merinow, Merinow (uncredited)
Cheers
1982 · Professor DeWitt
Faerie Tale Theatre
1982 · Farmer Silas
The Fall Guy
1981
Beyond Westworld
1980 · Foley
Flying High
1978
City of Angels
1976 · Winnie
The Practice
1976
Laverne & Shirley
1976 · Charles Pfisher Krane
The Bionic Woman
1976
Starsky & Hutch
1975 · Mr. Wheeler
Barbary Coast
1975
Barney Miller
1975 · Randolph Cook
Baretta
1975
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
1974 · Dr. Aaron Pollack
Harry O
1974
Lincoln
1974 · Gideon Welles
The Six Million Dollar Man
1974 · Apploy
Getting Together
1971
The Man and the City
1971
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
Barefoot in the Park
1970
The Name of the Game
1968 · Cameron
Occasional Wife
1966
The Monkees
1966 · Guggins, Mental Problem Specialist (uncredited)
I Dream of Jeannie
1965 · Milton
Honey West
1965 · Dr. Gregory Ames
Daniel Boone
1964 · Sir Hubert Spencer
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955 · Franklin
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951 · S.I. Gilbert, Aimee's lawyer