--- name: "Severn Darden" canonical: "https://film.one/person/severn-darden" roles: ["Actor"] born: "9 November 1929" died: "27 May 1995" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 54 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-19T16:44:13.462679+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Severn Darden Actor. Born 9 November 1929 in New Orleans. Died 27 May 1995. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 9 November 1929, New Orleans - **Died:** 27 May 1995 - **Active:** 1972–1973 - **Frequently works with:** [Arthur P. Jacobs](https://film.one/person/arthur-p-jacobs.md), [J. Lee Thompson](https://film.one/person/j-lee-thompson.md), [Roddy McDowall](https://film.one/person/roddy-mcdowall.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 54, as actor, over 2 titles - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severn_Darden, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q267029, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0201089/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/99829 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Conquest of the Planet of the Apes*](https://film.one/film/conquest-of-the-planet-of-the-apes.md) (73) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Severn Darden > A founding voice of Chicago improvisation whose films caught only the edges of him: the pseudo-professor's digressions became, on screen, a run of clammy, patient villains. Kolp in *Conquest of the Planet of the Apes* is the one to watch. In *Conquest of the Planet of the Apes* (1972) Severn Darden does the interrogating. Don Murray's Governor Breck sweats and shouts; Darden's Kolp does not need to. He waits, and his patience is clammy, the patience of a man who has all afternoon and is not sorry about it. We found him more unpleasant than any of the shouting. Breck wants the scene over; Kolp would happily sit there all night. It is the best thing Darden did in a film, and it is a supporting part in a cheap one. He came to this from a stage of a particular kind. Darden was with the Compass Players in Chicago in the mid-1950s and a founding member of Second City from 1959, working with the improv director Paul Sills. His signature was Professor Walther von der Vogelweide, a pseudo-intellectual whose lectures on metaphysics digressed until they fell over. The style was intellectual and wandering, half New Orleans surrealism and half Chicago causticness. That is a rare combination, and the films never found a use for it. From the mid-1960s he took supporting parts on screen, and casting directors saw the eccentric and the sinister and stopped looking. Kropotkin in *The President's Analyst* (1967) let him amble, and it is the part people who remember him tend to name. Cecil in *They Shoot Horses, Don't They?* (1969) was straight drama. Kolp came twice, in *Conquest* and then *Battle for the Planet of the Apes* (1973), and there was a dean, Dr Meredith, in *Real Genius* (1985). Then the character work thinned into semi-retirement, and he died in 1995. An improviser's gift is time: the space to let a thought go wrong and follow it. Film rarely gave Darden any. Compare the two Kolps. In *Conquest* he has a prisoner and a few minutes, and he fills them. In *Battle* he has a greatcoat, an underground garrison and a permanent sneer, and he is good value, but that is all the film asks of him, and the battle of the title is a scuffle in a wood. The difference between the performances is the difference between the films. He told Roger Ebert: "I don’t want to be known as the American Peter Sellers. I’d much rather be known as the California Arpad Steiner." He got neither. What he got was a shelf of small villains and one proper scene of quiet menace in a rubber-mask allegory, and if you want to see what the Chicago stage lost to Hollywood, start there, with the man who does not raise his voice. ## Biography Severn Darden was an American actor and comedian. Born in New Orleans, he attended the University of Chicago and performed with the Compass Players in the mid-1950s. He was a founding member of the Chicago comedy troupe The Second City when it opened in 1959. Darden appeared in numerous films and television series. He played Kolp in *Conquest of the Planet of the Apes* (1972) and reprised the role in *Battle for the Planet of the Apes* (1973). Other credits include roles in *They Shoot Horses, Don't They?* (1969), *Vanishing Point* (1971), *Real Genius* (1985) and *Back to School* (1986), as well as guest appearances on series such as *Cheers* (1982) and *The Six Million Dollar Man* (1974). He died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1995. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, secondcity.com, imdb.com, planetoftheapes.fandom.com, chicagotribune.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *Battle for the Planet of the Apes* (1973), Fi1m 36, as Kolp — [page](https://film.one/film/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes.md) - *Conquest of the Planet of the Apes* (1972), Fi1m 73, as Kolp — [page](https://film.one/film/conquest-of-the-planet-of-the-apes.md) ## Complete filmography (90) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Telephone* (1988), Actor - *Beauty and the Beast* (1987), series, as Waterman, Mr. Smythe - *Take Five* (1987), series, Actor - *The Princess Who Had Never Laughed* (1986), as Farmer Silas - *Back to School* (1986), as Dr. Barazini - *Real Genius* (1985), as Dr. Meredith - *Half Nelson* (1985), as Morgue Attendant - *Quarterback Princess* (1983), as Mr. Hobart - *Cheers* (1982), series, as Professor DeWitt — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/cheers.md) - *Faerie Tale Theatre* (1982), series, as Farmer Silas - *Rooster* (1982), as Conway - *The Fall Guy* (1981), series, Actor - *Saturday the 14th* (1981), as Van Helsing - *Evita Peron* (1981), as Alfredo Suero - *A Cry for Love* (1980), as Paul - *Hopscotch* (1980), as Maddox - *In God We Tru$t* (1980), as Priest - *Why Would I Lie?* (1980), as Dr. Barbour - *A Small Circle of Friends* (1980), as Art Professor - *Beyond Westworld* (1980), series, as Foley - *Orphan Train* (1979), as Mr. Barrington - *Love for Rent* (1979), as Fred Hallem - *Once Upon a Midnight Scary* (1979), as Jonathan Barnavelt - *Rendezvous Hotel* (1979), as Albert Church - *Wanda Nevada* (1979), as Merlin Bitterstix - *Outside Chance* (1978), as Sheriff Dempsey - *Flying High* (1978), series, Actor - *Never Con a Killer* (1977), as Cap - *Victory at Entebbe* (1976), as Moshe Meyer - *The Disappearance of Aimee* (1976), as S.I. Gilbert - *Mother, Jugs & Speed* (1976), as Moran - *Jackson County Jail* (1976), as Sheriff Dempsey - *City of Angels* (1976), series, as Winnie - *The Practice* (1976), series, Actor - *Laverne & Shirley* (1976), series, Actor - *The Bionic Woman* (1976), series, Actor - *I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?* (1975), as Mr. Fletch / Dr. DeHart - *Starsky & Hutch* (1975), series, as Mr. Wheeler - *Barbary Coast* (1975), series, Actor - *Barney Miller* (1975), series, as Randolph Cook - *Baretta* (1975), series, Actor - *Kolchak: The Night Stalker* (1974), series, as Dr. Aaron Pollack - *Harry O* (1974), series, Actor - *Lincoln* (1974), series, as Gideon Welles - *The Legend of Hillbilly John* (1974), as Mr. Marduke - *Skyway to Death* (1974), as Steve Kramer - *The Six Million Dollar Man* (1974), series, as Apploy - *The Day of the Dolphin* (1973), as Schwinn - *Battle for the Planet of the Apes* (1973), as Kolp — Fi1m 36, [page](https://film.one/film/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes.md) - *The Man Who Died Twice* (1973), as Harry - *Dirty Little Billy* (1972), as Big Jim McDaniel - *Play It as It Lays* (1972), as Hypnotist - *Playmates* (1972), as Roger, Man in Gallery - *Conquest of the Planet of the Apes* (1972), as Kolp — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/conquest-of-the-planet-of-the-apes.md) - *The War Between Men and Women* (1972), as Dr. Harris - *Cisco Pike* (1972), as Lawyer - *The Last Movie* (1971), as Mayor · Original Music Composer - *Getting Together* (1971), series, Actor - *The Man and the City* (1971), series, Actor - *The Hired Hand* (1971), as McVey - *Werewolves on Wheels* (1971), as One - *Vanishing Point* (1971), as J. Hovah - *Alias Smith and Jones* (1971), series, Actor - *Barefoot in the Park* (1970), series, Actor - *Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You* (1970), as Dr. Fahrquardt - *The Movie Murderer* (1970), as Jimmy Apache - *Bongo Wolf’s Revenge* (1970), Actor - *They Shoot Horses, Don't They?* (1969), as Cecil - *Fearless Frank* (1969), as The Good Doctor / Claude - *To See or Not to See* (1969), Actor - *Justine* (1969), as Bathazar - *The Mama Cass Television Program* (1969), Writer - *The Mad Room* (1969), as Nate - *Model Shop* (1969), as Camera Shop Owner - *The Virgin President* (1968), as U.S. President / Fillmard Millmore · Writer, Producer - *The Name of the Game* (1968), series, as Cameron - *P.J.* (1968), as Shelton Quell - *The President's Analyst* (1967), as Kropotkin - *Luv* (1967), as Vandergist - *Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round* (1966), as Miles Fisher - *Point of View* (1966), Actor - *Occasional Wife* (1966), series, Actor - *The Monkees* (1966), series, as Guggins, Mental Problem Specialist (uncredited) - *The Double-Barrelled Detective Story* (1965), as H.S. Stevens - *I Dream of Jeannie* (1965), series, as Milton - *Honey West* (1965), series, as Dr. Gregory Ames - *Goldstein* (1965), as Doctor - *Daniel Boone* (1964), series, as Sir Hubert Spencer - *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, as Franklin - *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as S.I. Gilbert, Aimee's lawyer --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/severn-darden