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.
90 acting credits
Acting · 90
Cheers
1982
Barney Miller
1975
The Six Million Dollar Man
1974
I Dream of Jeannie
1965
Daniel Boone
1964
Starsky & Hutch
1975
The Fall Guy
1981
The Name of the Game
1968
Laverne & Shirley
1976
Baretta
1975
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
Faerie Tale Theatre
1982
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
The Bionic Woman
1976
Harry O
1974
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
1974
Honey West
1965
The Monkees
1966
Flying High
1978
Occasional Wife
1966
City of Angels
1976
Barbary Coast
1975
Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You
1970
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
Beyond Westworld
1980
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
1972
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
1973
Real Genius
1985
Barefoot in the Park
1970
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
1969
Vanishing Point
1971
The Practice
1976
Getting Together
1971
LA 2017
1971
Back to School
1986
Lincoln
1974
The Man and the City
1971
Take Five
1987
Justine
1969
Hopscotch
1980
Cisco Pike
1972
Beauty and the Beast
1987
Mother, Jugs & Speed
1976
P.J.
1968
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round
1966
Luv
1967
The President's Analyst
1967
The Last Movie
1971
The Day of the Dolphin
1973
Victory at Entebbe
1976
Wanda Nevada
1979
The War Between Men and Women
1972
Saturday the 14th
1981
Model Shop
1969
Playmates
1972
Dirty Little Billy
1972
Evita Peron
1981
Never Con a Killer
1977
The Hired Hand
1971
The Telephone
1988
Skyway to Death
1974
Rooster
1982
The Disappearance of Aimee
1976
A Small Circle of Friends
1980
Quarterback Princess
1983
In God We Tru$t
1980
The Legend of Hillbilly John
1974
Why Would I Lie?
1980
Fearless Frank
1969
Half Nelson
1985
Orphan Train
1979
Play It as It Lays
1972
I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?
1975
Outside Chance
1978
Jackson County Jail
1976
The Mad Room
1969
The Movie Murderer
1970
Love for Rent
1979
Werewolves on Wheels
1971
The Double-Barrelled Detective Story
1965
A Cry for Love
1980
The Princess Who Had Never Laughed
1986
Once Upon a Midnight Scary
1979
The Virgin President
1968
The Man Who Died Twice
1973
Goldstein
1965
Rendezvous Hotel
1979
Bongo Wolf’s Revenge
1970
To See or Not to See
1969
Point of View
1966