Esmond Knight
| Esmond Knight | |
|---|---|
 Esmond Knight as Fluellen (1944) | |
| Born |
Esmond Penington Knight 4 May 1906 East Sheen, Surrey, England, UK |
| Died |
23 February 1987 (aged 80) London, England, UK |
Resting place | Cremated |
| Occupation | Actor, dialogue coach |
| Years active | 1928-1987 |
| Spouse(s) |
Nora Swinburne (1946-1987) Frances Clare (1929-1946) |
| Website | |
| http://www.esmondknight.org.uk/ | |
Esmond Penington Knight (4 May 1906 – 23 February 1987) was an English actor.
He was an accomplished actor with a career spanning over half a century. For much of his career Esmond Knight was virtually blind. He had been badly injured in 1941 whilst on active service on board HMS Prince of Wales when she fought the Bismarck at the Battle of the Denmark Strait, and remained totally blind for two years, though he later regained some sight in his right eye.
During this period, Esmond dictated an early autobiography to his secretary, Annabella Cloudsley, Seeking the Bubble (Hutchinson & Co. 1943). He played Captain John Leach of HMS Prince of Wales in the 1960 film Sink the Bismarck!
Esmond was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1957 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the King's Theatre in Hammersmith, London.
He starred as Professor Ernest Reinhart in the 1961 British science fiction television series, A for Andromeda, alongside Patricia Kneale and Peter Halliday.
Knight died of a heart attack and was cremated. His daughter is the actress Rosalind Knight.
Work
Stage
- The Wild Duck - Pax Robertson's Salon, London (1925)
- Various Shakespeare productions - full season, Old Vic (1926)
- Various productions - Children's Theatre, London (1928)
- Hamlet - Queen's Theatre, London (with John Gielgud and Donald Wolfit) (1930)
- Full Season - King's Theatre, Hammersmith (1939)
- Full Season - Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon (1948–1949)
- Caesar and Cleopatra - St James's Theatre, London (with Laurence Olivier, Peter Cushing and Vivien Leigh) (1951)
- The Emperor's New Clothes - Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York (with Lee J. Cobb) (1953)
- Full Season - The Old Vic, London (1962–1963)
- Agincourt - The Archer's Tale - Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester (one man show) (1973)[1]
- The Family Reunion - Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester (with Edward Fox) (1973 & 1979)
- Moby-Dick - Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester (with Edward Fox) (1983–1984)
Selected filmography
- The Blue Peter (1928)
- The Ringer (1931)
- The Bermondsey Kid (1933)
- The Blue Squadron (1934)
- Crime Unlimited (1935)
- Someday (1935)
- The Vicar of Bray (1937)
- The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939)
- Contraband (1940)
- This England (1941)
- The Silver Fleet (1943)
- Henry V (1944)
- A Canterbury Tale (1944)
- Black Narcissus (1947)
- Uncle Silas (1947)
- Holiday Camp (1947)
- The Red Shoes (1948)
- Hamlet (1948)
- Gone to Earth (1950)
- The River (1951)
- The Steel Key (1953)
- Richard III (1954)
- The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)
- Battle of the V-1 (1958)
- Peeping Tom (1960)
- Sink the Bismarck! (1960)
- The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
- Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
- Robin and Marian (1976)
- The Man in the Iron Mask (1977)
- The Element of Crime (1984)
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Television
- Arrow to the Heart (1952)
- Nicholas Nickleby (as Wackford Squeers, 1957)
- A for Andromeda (1961)
- Danger Man (1961)
- The Third Man (1965)
- Doctor Who - (The Space Pirates) (1969)
- Z-Cars (1969)
- Cousin Bette (1971)
- She Stoops to Conquer (1971)
- Elizabeth R (1971)
- Quiller (1975)
- I, Claudius (1976)
- Return of the Saint (1978)
- The Borgias (1981)
- Troilus and Cressida (1981)
- Antony and Cleopatra (1981)
- A Voyage Round My Father (1982)
- Blott on the Landscape (1985)
- Fortunes of War (1987)
Notes
References
External links
- Esmond Knight at the Internet Movie Database
- Esmond's daughter Rosalind Knight recalls her father's appearance on This Is Your Life
- Esmond Knight at Find a Grave
- Esmond Knight biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
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