Alexander Knox
| Alexander Knox | |
|---|---|
|
in Paula (1952) | |
| Born |
16 January 1907 Strathroy, Ontario, Canada |
| Died |
25 April 1995 (aged 88) Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, UK |
| Years active | 1931-1986 |
| Spouse(s) | Doris Nolan (1943-1995) (his death) |
| Children | Andrew Knox (1947-1987) |
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Alexander Knox (16 January 1907 – 25 April 1995) was a Canadian actor and author of adventure novels set in the Great Lakes area during the 19th century.
Life and career
Knox was born in Strathroy, Ontario and graduated from the University of Western Ontario. He later moved to Boston, Massachusetts to perform on the stage with the Boston Repertory Theatre. After the company folded following the stock market crash of 1929, Knox returned to London, Ontario where, for the next two years, he worked as a reporter for The London Advertiser[1] before moving to London, England where, during the 1930s, he appeared in several films. He starred opposite Jessica Tandy in the 1940 Broadway production of Jupiter Laughs and, in 1944, he was chosen by Darryl F. Zanuck to star in Wilson, the biographical film about US President Woodrow Wilson, for which he won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. However, during the McCarthy Era, he was blacklisted by the Hollywood film studio bosses,[2] and he returned to Britain.
Knox had major roles in The Sea Wolf, Over 21, Sister Kenny, The Vikings, Europa '51, None Shall Escape and Nicholas and Alexandra, as well as supporting roles, late in his career, in The Damned, Joshua Then and Now and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He also wrote six adventure novels: Bride of Quietness (1933), Night of the White Bear (1971), The Enemy I Kill (1972), Raider's Moon, The Kidnapped Surgeon and Totem Dream. He also wrote plays and at least three detective novels under a pseudonym prior to 1945.[1]
Personal life
Knox was married to American actress Doris Nolan (1916–1998) from 1944 until his death in 1995. They had a son Andrew Joseph Knox (b. 1947; committed suicide,[3] 1987) who became an actor and appeared in Doctor on the Go, and who was married to Imogen Hassall.[4] Alexander Knox died in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland from bone cancer.
Partial filmography
- The Ringer (1931) as Bit Role (uncredited, unconfirmed)
- Rembrandt (1936) as Ludwick's Assistant (uncredited)
- The Gaunt Stranger (1938) as Dr. Lomond
- The Four Feathers (1939) as Bit Part (uncredited)
- Cheer Boys Cheer (1939) as Saunders
- The Sea Wolf (1941) as Humphrey Van Weyden
- This Above All (1942) as Rector
- Commandos Strike at Dawn (1942) as German Captain
- None Shall Escape (1944) as Wilhelm Grimm
- Wilson (1944) as Woodrow Wilson
- Over 21 (1945) as Max W. Wharton
- Sister Kenny (1946) as Dr. McDonnell
- The Judge Steps Out (1947) as Judge Thomas Bailey
- The Sign of the Ram (1949) as Mallory St. Aubyn
- Tokyo Joe (1949) as Mark Landis
- I'd Climb the Highest Mountain (1951) as Tom Salter
- Two of a Kind (1951) as Vincent Mailer
- Saturday's Hero (1951) as Professor Megroth
- The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951) as Dr. Curtis Lanyon
- Man in the Saddle (1951) as Will Isham
- Paula (1952) as Dr. Clifford Frazer
- Europa '51 (1952) as George Girard
- The Sleeping Tiger (1954) as Dr. Cilve Esmond
- One Just Man (1954) as Judge Craig
- The Divided Heart (1954) as The Chief Justice
- The Night My Number Came Up (1955) as Owen Robertson
- Alias John Preston (1955) as Dr. Peter Walton
- Reach for the Sky (1956) as Mr. Joyce
- High Tide at Noon (1957) as Stephen MacKenzie
- Hidden Fear (1957) as Hartman
- Davy (1958) as Sir Giles
- Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958) as Chandler Brisson
- The Vikings (1958) as Father Godwin
- Intent to Kill (1958) as Dr. McNeil
- Passionate Summer (1958) as Leonard Pawley
- The Two-Headed Spy (1958) as Gestapo Leader Müller
- Operation Amsterdam (1959) as Walter Keyser
- The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959) as Petrie
- Oscar Wilde (1960) as Sir Edward Clarke
- Crack in the Mirror (1960) as President
- The Share Out (1960) as Col. Claderwood
- The Longest Day (1962) as Maj. Gen. Walter Bedell Smith
- In the Cool of the Day (1963) as Frederick Bonner
- The Damned (1963) as Bernard
- Man in the Middle (1964) as Col. Burton
- Woman of Straw (1964) as Detective Inspector
- Crack in the World (1965) as Sir Charles Eggerston
- Mister Moses (1965) as Rev. Anderson
- The Psychopath (1966) as Frank Saville
- Modesty Blaise (1966) as Minister
- Khartoum (1966) as Sir Evelyn Baring
- Accident (1967) as University Provost
- The 25th Hour (1967) as D.A.
- Bikini Paradise (1967) as Commissioner Lighton
- You Only Live Twice (1967) as American President (uncredited)
- How I Won the War (1967) as American General
- Villa Rides (1968) as President Madero
- Shalako (1968) as Henry Clarke
- Fräulein Doktor (1969) as Gen. Peronne
- Run a Crooked Mile (1969, TV) as Sir Howard Nettleton
- Skullduggery (1970) as Buffington
- Puppet on a Chain (1971) as Colonel De Graaf
- Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) as The American Ambassador
- Holocaust 2000 (1977) as Meyer
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) as Control
- Gorky Park (1983) as General
- Joshua Then and Now (1985) as Senator Hornby
References
Notes
- 1 2 Clara Thomas, Canadian Novelists 1920-1945, Toronto: Longmans, Green & Company, 1946, p. 75. Thomas notes, "he refuses to divulge" his pen name.
- ↑ Slide, Anthony (1999). Actors on red alert : career interviews with five actors and actresses affected by the blacklist. Lanham, Md. [u.a.]: Scarecrow Press. pp. 117–127. ISBN 978-0810836495.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0461475/bio
- ↑ Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries, Paul Donnelley, Omnibus Press, 2000, pg 315-6
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexander Knox. |
- Alexander Knox at the Internet Movie Database
- Alexander Knox at the Internet Broadway Database
- New York Times obituary