Severn Darden

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 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.

Most Known For

Cheers

as Professor DeWitt

The Six Million Dollar Man

as Apploy

I Dream of Jeannie

as Milton

Barney Miller

as Randolph Cook

Starsky & Hutch

as Mr. Wheeler

Laverne & Shirley

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

as Dr. Aaron Pollack

Daniel Boone

as Sir Hubert Spencer

The Monkees

as J.B. Guggins Jr.

The Fall Guy

The Bionic Woman

The Name of the Game

as Cameron

Baretta

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Franklin

Alias Smith and Jones

Faerie Tale Theatre

as Farmer Silas

Harry O

Honey West

as Dr. Gregory Ames

Battle for the Planet of the Apes

as Kolp

Beyond Westworld

as Foley