Severn Darden
Acting
1929-11-09
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.
Filmography
The Telephone
1988 · Movie
Beauty and the Beast
1987 · Series
Take Five
1987 · Series
The Princess Who Had Never Laughed
1986 · Movie
Back to School
1986 · Movie
Real Genius
1985 · Movie
Half Nelson
1985 · Movie
Quarterback Princess
1983 · Movie
Cheers
1982 · Series
Faerie Tale Theatre
1982 · Series
Rooster
1982 · Movie
The Fall Guy
1981 · Series
Saturday the 14th
1981 · Movie
Evita Peron
1981 · Movie
A Cry for Love
1980 · Movie
In God We Tru$t
1980 · Movie
Hopscotch
1980 · Movie
Why Would I Lie?
1980 · Movie
A Small Circle of Friends
1980 · Movie
Beyond Westworld
1980 · Series
Orphan Train
1979 · Movie
Love for Rent
1979 · Movie
Once Upon a Midnight Scary
1979 · Movie
Rendezvous Hotel
1979 · Movie
Wanda Nevada
1979 · Movie
Outside Chance
1978 · Movie
Flying High
1978 · Series
Never Con a Killer
1977 · Movie
Victory at Entebbe
1976 · Movie
The Disappearance of Aimee
1976 · Movie
Mother, Jugs & Speed
1976 · Movie
Jackson County Jail
1976 · Movie
City of Angels
1976 · Series
The Practice
1976 · Series
Laverne & Shirley
1976 · Series
The Bionic Woman
1976 · Series
I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?
1975 · Movie
Starsky & Hutch
1975 · Series
Barbary Coast
1975 · Series
Barney Miller
1975 · Series
Baretta
1975 · Series
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
1974 · Series
Harry O
1974 · Series
Lincoln
1974 · Series
The Legend of Hillbilly John
1974 · Movie
Skyway to Death
1974 · Movie
The Six Million Dollar Man
1974 · Series
The Day of the Dolphin
1973 · Movie
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
1973 · Movie
The Man Who Died Twice
1973 · Movie
Dirty Little Billy
1972 · Movie
Play It as It Lays
1972 · Movie
Playmates
1972 · Movie
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
1972 · Movie
The War Between Men and Women
1972 · Movie
Cisco Pike
1972 · Movie
The Last Movie
1971 · Movie
Getting Together
1971 · Series
The Man and the City
1971 · Series
The Hired Hand
1971 · Movie
Werewolves on Wheels
1971 · Movie
Vanishing Point
1971 · Movie
Alias Smith and Jones
1971 · Series
Barefoot in the Park
1970 · Series
Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You
1970 · Movie
The Movie Murderer
1970 · Movie
Bongo Wolf’s Revenge
1970 · Movie
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
1969 · Movie
Fearless Frank
1969 · Movie
To See or Not to See
1969 · Movie
Justine
1969 · Movie
The Mama Cass Television Program
1969 · Movie
The Mad Room
1969 · Movie
Model Shop
1969 · Movie
The Virgin President
1968 · Movie
The Name of the Game
1968 · Series
P.J.
1968 · Movie
The President's Analyst
1967 · Movie
Luv
1967 · Movie
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round
1966 · Movie
Point of View
1966 · Movie
Occasional Wife
1966 · Series
The Monkees
1966 · Series
The Double-Barrelled Detective Story
1965 · Movie
I Dream of Jeannie
1965 · Series
Honey West
1965 · Series
Goldstein
1965 · Movie
Daniel Boone
1964 · Series
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955 · Series
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951 · Series