Esmond Knight

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Esmond Knight
Esmond Knight as Fluellen (1944)
Born	Esmond Penington Knight 4 May 1906(1906-05-04) East Sheen, Surrey, England
Died	23 February 1987 (aged 80) London, England
Occupation	Actor, dialogue coach
Years active	1928-1987
Spouse(s)	Nora Swinburne (1946-1987) Frances Clare (1929-1946)
Official website

Esmond Penington Knight (4 May 1906 – 23 February 1987) was an English actor.

He was probably best known for his role as Professor Ernest Reinhart in the 1961 British science fiction drama, A for Andromeda, alongside Patricia Kneale and Peter Halliday.

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 was attacked by the Bismarck, 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 the captain of the HMS Prince of Wales in the 1960 movie Sink the Bismarck! He died of a heart attack. 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) (930)
• 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 Theater, New York (with Lee J. Cobb) (1953)
• Full Season - The Old Vic, London (1962-1963)
• The Family Reunion - Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester (with Edward Fox) (1973 & 1979)
• Moby-Dick- Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester (with Edward Fox) (1983-1984)

External links

• Esmond Knight at the Internet Movie Database
• Esmond Knight biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline