Skelton Barnaby Knaggs

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Skelton Barnaby Knaggs (June 27, 1911 – April 30, 1955) was an English stage actor who also appeared in films, especially in horror films.

[edit] Biography

Knaggs was born in the Hillsborough district of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. He moved to London where he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and became a Shakespearean actor. In addition to appearing on stage in Shakespeare's Cymbeline, Knaggs appeared in a few British films, including an uncredited role as a German orderly in Michael Powell's The Spy in Black.

At some point he moved to Los Angeles, California and found work as a character actor in Hollywood. Diminutive and eccentric-looking, he was typed in sinister roles, often in horror movies. These ranged from uncredited bit parts to prominent roles in the Sherlock Holmes thriller Terror by Night and in the Val Lewton production The Ghost Ship. In the latter, a voice-over narrative by Knaggs is heard, representing the thoughts of his character, a mute seaman.

Back in London, he married Thelma Crawshaw in 1949, then returned to Hollywood. The last film in which he appeared, just before his death in Los Angeles, was Fritz Lang's period adventure Moonfleet.