Esmond Knight | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Esmond Penington Knight (1906-05-04)4 May 1906 East Sheen,Surrey, England |
| Died | 23 February 1987(1987-02-23) (aged 80) London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, dialogue coach |
| Years active | 1925–1987 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Rosalind Knight |
| Relatives | C. W. R. Knight (uncle) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1940–41 |
| Rank | .png) Lieutenant,RNVR |
| Battles / wars | |
| Website | http://www.esmondknight.org.uk/ |
Esmond Penington Knight (4 May 1906 – 23 February 1987) was an Englishactor.[1] He had a successful stage and film career beforeWorld War II. For much of his later career Knight was half-blind. He had been badly wounded in 1941 while on active service on boardHMSPrince of Wales when she fought theBismarck at theBattle of the Denmark Strait, and remained totally blind for two years, though he later regained some sight in his right eye.[2]
Knight was born on 4 May 1906 inEast Sheen, Surrey, the third son of Francis and Bertha Knight. His father was involved in the family cigar import business.
In 1917, Knight and his older brother, Robert, alleged that the writerNorman Douglas indecently assaulted them during a 1916 visit to theNatural History Museum in London.[3] Robert identified Douglas amongst a group of men at the Westminster Police Court.[3] Douglas provided an alibi of being overseas at the time and it was proven to be a case of mistaken identity.[4]
Knight was educated atWillington Preparatory School inPutney and thenWestminster School.[5]
He was an accomplished actor with a career spanning over half a century. He established himself in the 1920s on stage. InJohn Gielgud's 1930 production ofHamlet he played Rosencrantz.[6] He also appeared in films. InRomany Love (1931) he played "a swaggering gypsy who never stopped singing". ForThe Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), Knight and his uncleC. W. R. Knight trained the falcons used in the hunting scenes.[7] InAlfred Hitchcock'sWaltzes from Vienna (1934), he played the lead role asJohann Strauss.[8] Following this, he landed a number of roles in Hollywood films. He travelled to Germany to star inBlack Roses (originallySchwarze Rosen, 1935), a film about a Finnish anti-communist.[9] The film was shot in three versions, in English (asDid I Betray?), German, and French.[10]Julius Streicher visited the set during filming.[10] Thereafter Knight appeared in various film and theatre productions in Britain.[10]
After war was declared, Knight continued to act, appearing inPowell and Pressburger's filmContraband (1940).[11] He sought a naval commission, but after theevacuation of Dunkirk he became involved in trainingLocal Defence Volunteers. In late 1940, he was accepted for naval training. In 1941, Knight was asked to play the lead role of fanatical Nazi Lieutenant Hirth in another Powell and Pressburger propaganda film49th Parallel (1941), butEric Portman took the role as Knight was required for military training. He did appear inThis England (also 1941), another propaganda film.
After completing his Naval training, Knight was appointed, with the rank ofSub-lieutenant,RNVR, to the battleshipHMS Prince of Wales.[5] In 1941, the ship received orders to pursue the German battleshipBismarck and the heavy cruiserPrinz Eugen. In theBattle of the Denmark Strait on 24 May 1941, Knight witnessed the sinking ofHMS Hood before being blinded by shrapnel. A shell fired byBismarck either passed through the bridge of thePrince of Wales and did not explode or exploded near the ship. Either way, fragments from the ship's superstructure hit Knight in the face, causing him to lose his left eye and leaving his right eye severely damaged.
Though blind, Knight insisted that he would continue his acting career. During this period, he dictated an early autobiography to his secretary, Annabella Cloudsley,Seeking the Bubble (Hutchinson & Co. 1943).[12] Knight continued to act in radio productions. Though still totally blind, he also appeared on film, once more as a Nazi villain, in Powell and Pressburger'sThe Silver Fleet (1943).[13]
During 1943, Knight received a series of treatments from Dr Vincent Nesfield designed to restore sight to his remaining eye. The treatment was a great success, restoring much of Knight's sight. The partial return of his sight made a major difference to his career. He appeared briefly in another Powell and Pressburger film, playing the roles of the village idiot and the "Seven Sisters Soldier" inA Canterbury Tale (1944), also adding the voice-over reading ofChaucer.[14] His major breakthrough back into the mainstream came when he was cast asFluellen, the brave but eccentric Welsh officer inLaurence Olivier's version ofHenry V (1944).
Knight continued to work with Olivier and with Powell and Pressburger, appearing in the former's Shakespearean filmsHamlet (1948) andRichard III (1955). For the latter, he appeared inBlack Narcissus (1947) andThe Red Shoes (1948).[14] He also starred inJean Renoir'sThe River (1951).[15]
Knight was the subject of aThis Is Your Life episode in 1957 when he was surprised byEamonn Andrews at the King's Theatre inHammersmith, London.[citation needed]
In the filmSink the Bismarck! (1960), he playedJohn Leach, the captain of HMSPrince of Wales, the ship in which he had been serving when he was blinded (though the captain is not named in the film).[16] In the same year he playedJack Cade in the BBC Shakespeare seriesAn Age of Kings.
He starred as Professor Ernest Reinhart in theBritish science fiction television seriesA for Andromeda (1961), alongsidePatricia Kneale andPeter Halliday.[17]
InRobin and Marian (1976), a film directed byRichard Lester, he played a blind old man who defiesRichard I of England. For the role, Knight removed his glass eye.[18]
Knight was married twice. He married actress Frances Clare in 1929. The couple had a daughter, actressRosalind Knight.[19]
During the 1930s, he had a long-running affair withNora Swinburne, of which his wife was aware. She was also an actress who appeared with him in several stage plays. After a short-lived attempt to end the affair, Knight left Frances for Nora. The couple married in 1946 and remained together until his death.
Knight died of a heart attack in Londonon 23 February 1987.
