Donald Sinclair Davis (August 4, 1942 – June 29, 2008) was an American

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

best known for playing General George Hammond in the television series ''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...

'' (1997–2007), and earlier for playing Major Garland Briggs on the television series ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

'' (1990–1991) and Captain William Scully in ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

''. In animation, he was also known as Wild Bill in the 2003

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

animated movie '' G.I. Joe: Spy Troops'' and its 2004 sequel, '' G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom''. He was also a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, and

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

captain.

Early life and education

Davis was born and raised in Aurora, Missouri.Biography
at DonSDavis.com He earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in theater and art from Southwest Missouri State College. He said that "during the Vietnam era" he "was with the 7th Infantry in Korea" and at another point was "a personnel and administration officer; I ran records branches." He was a captain at

Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a United States Army, U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri The Ozarks, Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of the city of St. Robert, Missouri, St. Robert. The post was created in De ...

by the time he left the U.S. Army, "and worked with General Officers, so I've been able to use that in Hammond and other characters." In 1970 he received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in theatre from the

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...

(SIU); his thesis was "Design and Construction of Stage Settings for Black Comedy and The Two Executioners". He taught for several years before returning to SIUC to complete a Ph.D. degree in theatre; his dissertation was "The Evolution of Scenography in the Western Theater". He began working in the film industry in the 1980s, while teaching at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

. In 1987, he stopped teaching in order to pursue acting full-time.

Career

Davis stated that he landed the role of the eloquently spoken Major Briggs when "I was living in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and doing local work. But because of my accent in the '80s I couldn't play a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

in commercials. So someone suggested that I get an agent in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. I did and was able to get commercial work and acting jobs there. I had a good resume. So when they were casting the ''Twin Peaks''

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

my agent sent me out to the audition. I met series creator

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

and didn't actually read for him—we just visited. ... David liked me and started writing for me. He liked the chemistry I had with other players. I did three days on the pilot and then went on to the series. That was the luckiest break I could have had. There are at least a dozen people from that show who are lifelong friends because of that show. It was a life-changing experience." In the TV show ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the MacGyver (1985 TV series), 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in Mac ...

'', Davis was the stunt/photography double for

Dana Elcar Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as in the 1960s television series ''Dark Shadows'' as Sheriff George Patterson and the 1980s and 1 ...

. He was often mistaken for Elcar, and vice versa. Davis did appear in two episodes of ''MacGyver'', as a different character each time. His first appearance was as a cement truck driver in the episode "Blow Out", and his second appearance was as the poacher Wyatt Porter in "The Endangered". He also played

Dana Scully Dana Katherine Scully, M.D., is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists in the Fox science-fiction, supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by Gillian Anderson. Scully is a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Spe ...

's father in the series ''

''. Canadian audiences may also be familiar with Davis thanks to his appearance in one of the famous '' Heritage Minutes'', in which he played an arrogant American gold prospector who pulls a gun on Mountie

Sam Steele Major-general Sir Samuel Benfield Steele (5 January 1848 – 30 January 1919) was a Canadian soldier and policeman. He was an officer of the North-West Mounted Police, head of the Yukon detachment during the Klondike Gold Rush, and commandin ...

. He also played the role of the

Racine Belles The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The Belles won the league's first championship. The team played its home games at Horlick F ...

' manager in the movie ''

A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). It stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Ma ...

''. He also had a guest-starring role in the pilot episode of the comedy-drama television series ''

Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened o ...

'', playing the character of Mr. McCallum. He was a member of the main cast of ''

'' during the first seven seasons of that television series, portraying General Hammond, commander of

Stargate Command Over its decade of existence, science fiction TV series ''Stargate SG-1'' developed an extensive and detailed backdrop of diverse characters. Many of the characters are members of alien species discovered while exploring the galaxy through the S ...

(SGC). He appeared in a recurring role during Seasons 8 to 10, cutting back his commitment due to health problems. He also played the character in one episode of the ''Stargate'' spin-off series ''

Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an Adventure film, adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad W ...

''.

Later life and death

Davis died of a heart attack on June 29, 2008, at the age of 65. He had been suffering from heart disease and diabetes. At the time of his death, Davis was living in Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The writers of ''

'' paid him homage by mentioning the death of his character George Hammond and naming a spaceship after him in the final episode of the show airing January 9, 2009. He was again honored in October 2009, with the appearance of the spaceship ''Hammond'' in the pilot episode of ''

Stargate Universe ''Stargate Universe'' (often abbreviated as ''SGU'') is a military science fiction drama television series and part of MGM's ''Stargate'' franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the An ...

''. Coincidentally, in episode 16 of season 4 of ''SG-1'', "2010" (an episode set in the future which originally aired in January 2001), it is stated that General Hammond had died of a heart attack prior to the episode's events. His character on ''The X-Files'', William Scully, had also died of a heart attack fourteen years earlier. Davis did not live to see the release of one of his final performances, '' Stargate: Continuum'', released on July 29, 2008, one month after his death.

Personal life

Davis married Ruby Fleming in 2003, by which time he had a son, Matt Davis, from a previous marriage. Davis was also a visual artist, spending most of his free time painting or carving. He grew up painting, sculpting, and drawing, and continued to pursue these crafts his entire life, supplementing his income with design commissions and art sales. On the DVD commentary track for ''Stargate SG-1'' season 6 episode 17 ("Disclosure"), Davis said that he once had a job carving wooden

cigar store Indian The cigar store Indian or wooden Indian is an advertisement figure, in the likeness of a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American, used to represent tobacconists. The figures are often three-dimensional wooden sculptures measuring fr ...

s that were sold at

Silver Dollar City Silver Dollar City is a theme park in Stone County, Missouri, near the cities of Branson, Missouri, Branson and Branson West, Missouri, Branson West. The park is located off of Missouri Route 76 on the Indian Point peninsula of Table Rock Lake ...

Selected filmography

*'' The Journey of Natty Gann'' (1985) — Railroad Brakeman *'' Malone'' (1987) — Buddy *'' Stakeout'' (1987) — Prison Gate Guard *'' Watchers'' (1988) — Veterinarian *'' Beyond the Stars'' (1989) — Phil Clawson *''

Look Who's Talking ''Look Who's Talking'' is a 1989 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling and produced by M.C.E.G. Productions, Inc. and released on October 13, 1989 by Tri-Star Pictures. Starring John Travolta and Kirstie Alley, ...

'' (1989) — Dr. Fleischer *''

Cadence In Classical music, Western musical theory, a cadence () is the end of a Phrase (music), phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution (music), resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don ...

'' (1990) — Haig (uncredited) *'' Look Who's Talking Too'' (1990) — Dr. Fleischer *'' Omen IV: The Awakening'' (1991, TV movie) — Jake Madison *'' Chaindance'' (1991) — Sergeant *''

Mystery Date ''Mystery Date'' is a 1991 American dark comedy film directed by Jonathan Wacks, and starring Ethan Hawke, Teri Polo, and Brian McNamara. Shock-rockers Gwar have a brief cameo in the film. Plot Tom McHugh quickly learns that his perfect big ...

'' (1991) — Doheny *'' The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw'' (1991, TV movie) — Rodeo announcer *''

Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

'' (1991) — Dr. Fields *'' Kuffs'' (1992) — Police gun instructor *'' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992) — Maj. Garland Briggs (scenes deleted) *''

'' (1992) — Charlie Collins (Racine coach) *''

Cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or bef ...

'' (1993) — Stuart *'' Needful Things'' (1993) — Reverend Willie Rose *''Max'' (1994) — Earl Pomerance *'' Hideaway'' (1995) — Dr. Martin *'' The Fan'' (1996) — Stook *''

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

'' (1996) — Sergeant Grazer *'' Prisoner of Zenda, Inc.'' (1996, TV movie) — Colonel Zapf *'' Volcano: Fire on the Mountain'' (1997, TV movie) — Mayor Bob Hart *''

Dad's Week Off ''National Lampoon's Dad's Week Off'' is a 1997 American comedy television film written and directed by Neal Israel, based on a story by Robert Kosberg, and starring Henry Winkler, Olivia d'Abo, and Richard Jeni. It premiered on Showtime on March ...

'' (1997, TV movie) — Hank *''

Con Air ''Con Air'' is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Simon West and starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich in the lead roles. Written by Scott Rosenberg and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film centers on a pr ...

'' (1997) — Man driving Volvo *'' Suspicious River'' (2000) — Golf shirt man *'' Best in Show'' (2000) — Mayflower Best in Show Judge Everett Bainbridge *''

The 6th Day ''The 6th Day'' is a 2000 American science fiction action film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rapaport, Michael Rooker, Sarah Wynter, and Robert Duvall. In the film, a family man of t ...

'' (2000) — Cardinal de la Jolla *''Deadly Little Secrets'' (2002) — The Chief *'' G.I. Joe: Spy Troops — The movie'' (2003, TV movie) — Wild Bill (voice) *''

Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

'' (2004) — Bob Fleming *''Stargate: SG3000'' (2004, Short) — Computer Representation of George Hammond (voice) *''Savage Island'' (2004) — Keith Young *'' Meltdown'' (2004, TV movie) — NRC Carl Mansfield *'' G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom'' (2004) — Wild Bill (voice) *'' The Still Life'' (2006) — Mr. Fernot *''

Seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

'' (2006) — Davis *''

Beneath Beneath may refer to: Film and television * ''Beneath'' (2007 film), an American thriller directed by Dagen Merrill * ''Beneath'' (2013 film), an American horror film directed by Larry Fessenden *''Beneath'', a 2013 film directed by Ben Ketai * "B ...

'' (2007) — Joseph *'' Beyond Loch Ness'' (2008, TV movie) — Neil Chapman *'' Stargate: Continuum'' (2008) — Lt. Gen. George Hammond *'' Vipers'' (2008, TV movie) — Dr. Silverton *''

Far Cry ''Far Cry'' is an anthology franchise of first-person shooter games published by Ubisoft. The first game, '' Far Cry'', was developed by Crytek to premiere their CryEngine software, and released in March 2004. Subsequently, Ubisoft obtained ...

'' (2008) — General Roderick *'' The Uninvited'' (2009) — Mr. Henson *''

Wyvern The wyvern ( ), sometimes spelled wivern ( ), is a type of mythical dragon with bipedalism, two legs, two wings, and often a pointed tail. The wyvern in its various forms is important in heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools an ...

'' (2008, TV movie) — Colonel Travis Sherman (dedicated to Davis) *'' Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods - Final Cut'' (2009) — Maj. Gen. George Hammond (dedicated to Davis) *''

Woodshop Woodshop may refer to: * A place for woodworking, the craft of making items from wood ** A vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type ...

'' (2009) — Principal Jamison *'' Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces'' (2014) — Major Garland Briggs

Partial television credits

*''

'' (1985–1991) — stunt double for

*''

21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired from April 12, 1987 to April 27, 1991, spanning 103 episodes over five s ...

'' (1987) — Principal Harris, and (1988) — Frank *'' Booker'' (1989) — Sheriff *''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

'' (1990) — Judge Richard Bartke *''

'' (1990–1991) — Major Garland Briggs *'' Columbo: A Bird in the Hand'' (1992) — Bertie *'' Highlander: The Series'' (1993) — Palance *''

Heritage Minutes ''The Heritage Minutes'' is a series of sixty-second short films, each illustrating an important moment in History of Canada, Canadian history. Published by Historica Canada the ''Minutes'' integrate Canadian history, Canadian folklore, folklore ...

'' (1993) — Norris *''

'' (1994) — Captain William Scully (2 episodes) *''

Northern Exposure ''Northern Exposure'' is an American comedy-drama television series about the eccentric residents in the fictitious town of Cicely, Alaska, that originally aired on CBS from July 12, 1990, to July 26, 1995, with a total of 110 episodes. It rec ...

'' (1994) — Lloyd Hillegas, season 5, episode 23 *'' Madison'' (1994—1996) — Mr. Winslow (7 episodes) *'' Black Fox'' (1995 miniseries) — Sergeant *'' The Outer Limits'' (1995) — General Callahan, Detective Wilson *'' Poltergeist: The Legacy'' (1996) — Harold Taggart *''

In Cold Blood ''In Cold Blood'' is a non-fiction novel by the American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 Clutter family murders in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the quadruple murder bef ...

'' (1996 miniseries) *''

Viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

'' (1996) — Lloyd *''

'' (1997–2007) — Major General/Lieutenant General George Hammond *'' Atomic Train'' (1999 miniseries) — General Harlan Ford *''

The Chris Isaak Show ''The Chris Isaak Show'' is an American sitcom that follows a fictionalized version of the life of American rock musician Chris Isaak. The show portrays Isaak and his band members as everyday people with everyday problems. The series was produced ...

'' (2002) — Del *'' Just Cause'' (2002) — Thornton *''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' (2003) — Dr. Tate *''

'' (2004) — Major General George Hammond *'' Andromeda'' (2004) — Avineri *''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'' (2004) — MTAC Control Officer *''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...

'' (2005) — Reverend Don Butler *'' The Dead Zone'' (2005) — Senator Harlan Ellis (3 episodes) *''

'' (2006) — Mr. McCallum *''

Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

'' (2007) — Trotter *''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...

'' (2007) — Mr. Mitchell *'' Burn Up'' (2008 miniseries) — The Man *'' Twin Peaks: The Return'' (2017) — Major Garland Briggs (archival footage)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Don S. 1942 births 2008 deaths Male actors from Missouri American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Missouri State University alumni People from Aurora, Missouri Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumni United States Army officers Academic staff of the University of British Columbia American expatriate academics in Canada 20th-century American male actors