Severn Darden
Known for: Acting
Born: November 9, 1929
Died: May 27, 1995
Place of birth: —
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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Filmography
59 movies · 31 TV shows, newest first
4.4
The Telephone
1988
7.4
Beauty and the Beast
19879.0
Take Five
1987
8.0
The Princess Who Had Never Laughed
1986
6.3
Back to School
1986
6.7
Real Genius
1985
NR
Half Nelson
1985
6.9
Quarterback Princess
1983
7.6
Cheers
1982
8.1
Faerie Tale Theatre
1982
4.5
Rooster
1982
7.6
The Fall Guy
1981
5.1
Saturday the 14th
1981
NR
Evita Peron
198110.0
A Cry for Love
1980
7.0
Hopscotch
1980
6.1
In God We Tru$t
1980
7.5
Why Would I Lie?
1980
6.7
A Small Circle of Friends
1980
5.4
Beyond Westworld
1980
5.9
Orphan Train
1979
3.5
Love for Rent
1979
8.9
Once Upon a Midnight Scary
19797.0
Rendezvous Hotel
1979
5.8
Wanda Nevada
19794.0
Outside Chance
1978
6.3
Flying High
1978
10.0
Never Con a Killer
1977
5.1
Victory at Entebbe
1976
8.7
The Disappearance of Aimee
1976
5.4
Mother, Jugs & Speed
1976
5.6
Jackson County Jail
1976
5.6
City of Angels
1976
7.5
The Practice
1976
7.1
Laverne & Shirley
1976
7.0
The Bionic Woman
1976
3.6
I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?
1975
7.3
Starsky & Hutch
1975
8.3
Barbary Coast
1975
7.3
Barney Miller
1975
6.5
Baretta
1975
7.7
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
1974
5.2
Harry O
1974
8.0
Lincoln
1974
6.3
The Legend of Hillbilly John
1974
5.3
Skyway to Death
1974
7.3
The Six Million Dollar Man
1974
5.8
The Day of the Dolphin
1973
5.7
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
1973
7.0
The Man Who Died Twice
1973
5.0
Dirty Little Billy
1972
6.1
Play It as It Lays
1972
10.0
Playmates
1972
6.2
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
1972
6.4
The War Between Men and Women
1972
5.6
Cisco Pike
1972
5.7
The Last Movie
19716.0
Getting Together
19717.5
The Man and the City
1971
6.1
The Hired Hand
1971
4.6
Werewolves on Wheels
1971
7.1
Vanishing Point
1971
7.0
Alias Smith and Jones
19716.0
Barefoot in the Park
1970
4.3
Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You
1970
6.9
The Movie Murderer
1970
10.0
Bongo Wolf’s Revenge
1970
7.6
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
1969
5.6
Fearless Frank
1969
6.7
To See or Not to See
1969
4.4
Justine
1969
9.0
The Mama Cass Television Program
1969
6.2
The Mad Room
1969
6.5
Model Shop
1969
7.0
The Virgin President
1968
7.0
The Name of the Game
1968
5.7
P.J.
1968
5.9
The President's Analyst
1967
4.8
Luv
1967
5.6
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round
1966
9.0
Point of View
1966
8.0
Occasional Wife
1966
6.5
The Monkees
1966
9.0
The Double-Barrelled Detective Story
1965
7.8
I Dream of Jeannie
1965
7.2
Honey West
1965
5.8
Goldstein
1965
7.0
Daniel Boone
1964
7.8
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
8.8
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951