HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Severn Teakle Darden Jr. (November 9, 1929 – May 27, 1995) was an American
comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...
and actor, and a founding member of
The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre o ...
Chicago-based comedy troupe as well as its predecessor, the Compass Players. He is known from his film appearances for playing the human leader
Kolp Kolp may refer to: Places * Kolp (river), a river in Leningrad Oblast and Vologda Oblast (Russia) People * Pierre Kolp, Belgian composer * Ray Kolp, American baseball player Fictional characters * Kolp a character in the ''Planet of the Apes'' ...
in the fourth and fifth ''
Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...
'' films. His live
comedy improv Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...
skit under the character of "Walther von der Vogelweide" was influential with two generations of comic performers.


Background

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, he attended the University of Chicago, where he was a "campus legend" according to poet Paul Carroll. Darden’s offbeat and intellectual sense of humor was a major element in the style of The Second City at that time, and is evident throughout his work. Carroll described him as a combination of surrealistic New Orleans and tough, caustic "Chicago Style" comedy. An example of his offbeat humor is the way he squeezed the phrase " Know thyself" into the seven-character limitation of a New Mexico license plate: NOYOSEF. Darden was a core comedian in Paul Sills' Compass Players, the first improvisation theater in the US; it performed around the Chicago area during the mid-1950s. Sills went on to found The Second City in 1959 and brought in many of the comedians from Compass Players, including Darden. He was present at the February 12, 1964
Acid Test Acid test or acid tests may refer to: Scientific or metallurgical test *Acid test (gold), a chemical or metallurgical test that uses acid, now also a general term for ''verified'', ''approved'', or ''tested'' in a large number of fields *Acid te ...
organized by the Merry Pranksters in
Watts, Los Angeles Watts is a neighborhood in southern Los Angeles, California. It is located within the South Los Angeles region, bordering the cities of Lynwood, Huntington Park and South Gate to the east and southeast, respectively, and the unincorporated com ...
at ''Youth Opportunities''. He participated with the experimental artists collective "The TeePee Video Space Troupe" (aka "The TP Video Space Troupe") organized by filmmaker Shirley Clarke. Darden appeared in various movies and television series. A signature performance is in the comedy ''
The President's Analyst ''The President's Analyst'' is a 1967 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by Ted Flicker and starring James Coburn. The film has elements of political satire and science fiction, including themes concerning modern ethics a ...
''; there he plays a major role as Kropotkin, a Soviet agent with a laid-back persona, much like Darden's own. He played a junk dealer in another early film, '' Luv (1967)'', based on the play of the same title by Murray Schisgal), which also starred
Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...
,
Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series '' Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which h ...
,
Elaine May Elaine Iva May (née Berlin; born April 21, 1932) is an American comedian, filmmaker, playwright, and actress. She has received numerous awards including an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Grammy, and a Tony. She made her initial impact in the 1950s with h ...
, and Nina Wayne. He also played the cold-hearted
Kolp Kolp may refer to: Places * Kolp (river), a river in Leningrad Oblast and Vologda Oblast (Russia) People * Pierre Kolp, Belgian composer * Ray Kolp, American baseball player Fictional characters * Kolp a character in the ''Planet of the Apes'' ...
in '' Conquest of the Planet of the Apes'' and '' Battle for the Planet of the Apes''. Among his early TV roles were the artist Karpathia in the ''
Car 54 Where Are You? ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched New York City ...
'' episode "Toody and the Art World"; a toy manufacturer in an episode of ''
The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...
''; and Dr. Herb Chisholm in a 1976 episode of the sitcom ''
The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...
''. He appeared in "Never Con a Killer," the 1976 pilot for the crime drama '' The Feather and Father Gang''. Darden was later featured in the 1985 comedy '' Real Genius'' as a highly respected, but befuddled college dean, and in 1986 in the Off-Broadway improvisational sketch comedy show '' Sills & Company,'' directed by Paul Sills. After triple heart bypass surgery, he lived in semi-retirement in Los Angeles; he then moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1992, where he died of congestive heart failure at age 65. His interment was at Lake Lawn Park and Mausoleum in his hometown of New Orleans.


Works


Routines


''The Metaphysics Lecture''

This faux university lecture was developed by Darden while with the Compass Players. It was first performed as a solo act in 1959 at the Gate of Horn music club. According to his ''New York Times'' obituary, this routine was influential with two generations of comedians. Darden assumes the character of a German-accented speaker, Prof. Walther von der Vogelweide (borrowing the name of the famous medieval poet). An announcer introduces the lecture as ''A Short Talk on the Universe'', and the professor begins as follows: "Now, why — you will ask me — have I chosen to speak on the Universe, rather than some other topic. Well, it's very simple: there isn’t anything else!" The lecture is loaded with digressions and double-talk about time, space, etc., ending with questions from the audience on which he improvises.


''Oedipus''

This was another Prof. Walther von der Vogelweide lecture (with the assistance of the rest of the Second City cast). The subject was "free will and necessity in the light of ��''
Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...
''", or "what would have happened to Oedipus if he had read the book before going on the journey". The professor plays the role of
Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
and refuses to perform the acts that would lead to his fate, but finds that despite his apparent
agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...
the other characters respond in ways that produce the same results. In the first scene, Oedipus encounters his father
Laius In Greek mythology, King Laius (pronounced ), or Laios ( el, Λάϊος) of Thebes was a key personage in the Theban founding myth. Family Laius was the son of Labdacus. He was the father, by Jocasta, of Oedipus, who killed him. Mythol ...
, knowing that if all goes according to the book the two will get into a
brawl Brawl or Brawling may refer to: * Brawl, a large-scale fist fight usually involving multiple participants *'' Brawl Stars'', a game desarrollated by Supercell, created at 2018 * Brawl, Scotland, a crofting community on the north coast of Scotland ...
, and he will commit the serious sin of killing his own father. Aware of this, Oedipus is very deferential to Laius, only to find that the father is extremely touchy and hostile to anything that smacks of sycophancy. Despite Oedipus' continued deference and protestations, Laius becomes increasingly angry and finally suffers a fatal
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...
. In the next scene, the
Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches o ...
energetically tries to wheedle him into answering her riddle correctly, which Oedipus does not want to do. At one point she says, "Think of the power—of the glory—". He responds, "I don't need power and glory, I'm a
full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
." In the last scene, Oedipus is on the very point of gouging his eyes out when he suddenly stops and says "Wait a minute." He has realized something which he announces to the crowd: the actual results were due to chance or forced on him against his will. He explains how that applies to each "choice" and ends with "It's not my fault!" The people murmur among themselves for a few seconds, then repeatedly shout in agreement, and his eyes are saved. The professor ends the sketch by saying, "So you see, my dear students, the lesson that we learn from this is that Man ''has'' free will, but tragic poets do not, and Art is not Nature."


''Football Comes to the University of Chicago''

This sketch was originally developed for the Compass Players and revisited for Second City. It satirized the university and its students, presenting a possible explanation for the failure to introduce football. A typical coach teaches "Football 202" and struggles with the intellectual students. Darden plays Morgenstern, a student who states his field is the "history of arithmetic". After the coach mentions the football positions called "ends", Morgenstern asks where the beginnings for those ends are, because ends must have beginnings, according to
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatet ...
. The coach presents the football, and Morgenstern declares, "It's a demi-poly-tetrahedron."


Films

* '' Goldstein'' (1964) – Doctor * ''The Double-Barrelled Detective Story'' (1965) – H.S. Stevens * '' Dead Heat on a Merry-go-round'' (1966) – Miles Fisher * '' Fearless Frank'' (1967) – Doctor / Claude * '' Luv'' (1967) – Vandergist * ''
The President's Analyst ''The President's Analyst'' is a 1967 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by Ted Flicker and starring James Coburn. The film has elements of political satire and science fiction, including themes concerning modern ethics a ...
'' (1967) – V.I. Kydor Kropotkin * '' P.J.'' (1968) – Shelton Quell * '' Model Shop'' (1969) – Portly Man * '' The Mad Room'' (1969) – Nate * '' Justine'' (1969) – Bathazar * ''The Virgin President'' (1969) – U.S. President / Fillmard Millmore * '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' (1969) – Cecil * ''
To See or Not to See ''To See or Not to See'' (french: Psychocratie) is a 1969 Canadian animated short film, directed by Břetislav Pojar for the National Film Board of Canada. An exploration of fear, the film centres on a scientist who develops a pair of glasses ...
'' (animated short; 1969) – Voice * '' Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You'' (1970) * ''Bongo Wolf's Revenge'' (1970) * ''
Vanishing Point A vanishing point is a point on the image plane of a perspective drawing where the two-dimensional perspective projections of mutually parallel lines in three-dimensional space appear to converge. When the set of parallel lines is perpen ...
'' (1971) – J. Hovah * '' The Hired Hand'' (1971) – McVey * '' Werewolves on Wheels'' (1971) – One * '' The Last Movie'' (1971) (also composer) – Mayor * '' Cisco Pike'' (1972) – Lawyer * '' The War Between Men and Women'' (1972) – Dr. Harris * ''
Every Little Crook and Nanny ''Every Little Crook and Nanny'' is a 1972 comedy film starring Victor Mature who came out of retirement to play the role. It was his first major film role since 1966. "They caught me when I felt like saying yeah," said Mature.Aljean Harmetz, "Vict ...
'' (1972) – Dominic * '' Conquest of the Planet of the Apes'' (1972) – Kolp * ''The Legend of Hillbilly John'' (1972) – Mr. Marduke * '' Play It as It Lays'' (1972) – Hypnotist * '' Dirty Little Billy'' (1972) – Big Jim McDaniel * '' Battle for the Planet of the Apes'' (1973) – Governor Kolp * ''
The Day of the Dolphin ''The Day of the Dolphin'' is a 1973 American science fiction thriller film directed by Mike Nichols and starring George C. Scott. Based on the 1967 novel ''Un animal doué de raison'' (lit. ''A Sentient Animal''), by French writer Robert Mer ...
'' (1973) – Schwinn – Foundation * '' I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?'' (1975) – Mr. Fletch / Dr. deHart * '' Jackson County Jail'' (1976) – Sheriff Dempsey * '' Mother, Jugs & Speed'' (1976) – Moran * ''
Victory at Entebbe ''Victory at Entebbe'' is a 1976 American made-for-television action-drama film for broadcast on ABC, directed by Marvin J. Chomsky. The film starred Helmut Berger, Linda Blair, Anthony Hopkins, Burt Lancaster, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Dreyfuss, ...
'' (1976, TV Movie) – Moshe Meyer * ''
Wanda Nevada ''Wanda Nevada'' is a 1979 American Western film starring Peter Fonda and Brooke Shields as the title character. (archive) It was also directed by Peter Fonda. Henry Fonda makes a cameo appearance as an Arizona prospector, making it the only fi ...
'' (1979) – Merlin Bitterstix * ''
A Small Circle of Friends ''A Small Circle of Friends'' is a 1980 American drama film directed by Rob Cohen (in his directing debut) and starring Brad Davis, Karen Allen and Jameson Parker. It was distributed by United Artists. Premise The film follows the life of th ...
'' (1980) – Art Professor * '' Why Would I Lie?'' (1980) – Dr. Barbour * '' In God We Tru$t'' (1980) – Priest * ''
Hopscotch Hopscotch is a popular playground game in which players toss a small object, called a lagger, into numbered triangles or a pattern of rectangles outlined on the ground and then hop or jump through the spaces and retrieve the object. It is a chi ...
'' (1980) – Maddox * ''Soggy Bottom U.S.A.'' (1981) – Horace Mouthamush * ''
Saturday the 14th ''Saturday the 14th'' is a 1981 American comedy horror film starring real-life husband and wife Paula Prentiss and Richard Benjamin, co-written and directed by Howard R. Cohen and produced by Julie Corman. Despite the implications of the film's ...
'' (1981) – Van Helsing * '' Quarterback Princess'' (1983) – Mr. Hobart * ''A Minor Miracle'' (1983) – Seminary Provincial * '' Real Genius'' (1985) – Dr. Meredith * '' Back to School'' (1986) – Dr. Borozini * ''
The Telephone ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1988) – Max


Television series

* ''
Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...
'', "Beta Delta Gamma" (1961) * ''
Charlie Paradise Charlie may refer to: Characters * "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise * Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority * ...
'' TV series pilot (1960). Darden played an eccentric painter named Flute who is murdered in his Greenwich Village studio in this unsold pilot intended as a spinoff to the Edward Binns CBS drama "Brenner", and which was eventually repackaged for air as the last episode of the series. * ''
Car 54, Where Are You? ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched New York City p ...
'': "Toody and the Art World" (1962). Darden plays Karpathia, a painter whose work appears to awaken an enthusiasm for modern art in Toody. This episode is particularly notable because Karpathia's temperament and accent somewhat resemble those of Professor Walther von der Vogelweide. Thus the portrayal gives us a hint of what Darden was like in his lectures. Darden's scenes take up about 9 minutes of the episode. * '' Honey West'', "Little Green Robin Hood" (1966) * ''
The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...
'', "Monkee vs. Machine" (1966). He plays the confused president of a toy company who is manipulated by Daggart (
Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. His best-known works include "St. George and the Dragonet", ...
), a scheming executive who wants to make shoddier toys for the purpose of "planned obsolescence". * ''
The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...
'', "The Monkee's Paw" (1968). In a very brief scene, Darden has an uncredited role as a psychiatrist who angrily insists that the Monkees' interpretations of inkblots are wrong. This is notable because the portrayal is exactly like Professor Walther von der Vogelweide in his most vehement moments. * ''
I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually marr ...
'', "Jeannie and the Great Bank Robbery" (1967) * ''
Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the w ...
'' (1968) * '' It Takes a Thief, "Saturday Night In Venice" (1969) * ''
Alias Smith and Jones ''Alias Smith and Jones'' is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. The show initially starred Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, outlaw cousins who are tr ...
, "Never Trust An Honest Man" (1971) In a dual role, as father and son. * '' Night Gallery'': "You Can't Get Help Like That Anymore" (1972) * '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker'': "The Spanish Moss Murders" (1974) * ''
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as being ...
'', "The New Original Wonder Woman" (1975) * '' The Ghost Busters'': "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...Together, for the First Time!" (1975) * ''
Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...
'', "The Mole" (1976) * ''Captains and the Kings'' (1976) * ''
The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin is r ...
'', episodes "The Secret of Bigfoot" (parts I and II) and "The Return of Bigfoot, part I" (all 1976). * '' The Bionic Woman'', "The Return of Bigfoot: Part II" (1976) * ''
Laverne & Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' (originally ''Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney'') is an American sitcom television series that played for eight seasons on ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of '' Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' st ...
'', "Citizen Crane" (1977) * ''
Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...
'', "Homicidal Ham," with fellow Second City alumni Shelley Long and
George Wendt George Robert Wendt Jr. (born October 17, 1948) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the television sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982–1993), which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Em ...
. (1983) * ''
The Paper Chase The Paper Chase (stylized as "the pAper chAse") was an American alternative rock band formed in 1998 by producer/engineer John Congleton in Dallas, Texas, who were signed to Kill Rock Stars and Southern Records. Their albums ''God Bless Your Blac ...
'', "The War of the Wonks" (1984) * '' Faerie Tale Theatre'', "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed" (1986) * ''
Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...
'', "When the Blue Bird Sings" (1989)


Recordings

* ''The Metaphysics Lecture'' (recorded Jan. 30, 1961) and ''Oedipus'' are on an LP of Darden comedy routines titled . * ''Football Comes to the University of Chicago'' is on CD 3 of the collection .


References


External links

* * *
Football Comes to the University of Chicago
(excerpt, video) o
Second City's official Vimeo channel
This is a different performance from that on the ''American Comedy Box'' (see above).

The
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...
professor recalls some anecdotes from his time as a University of Chicago student, including a few of Darden's escapades. His brother, José Benardete, is cited in the Metaphysics Lecture as the author of an imaginary work. {{DEFAULTSORT:Darden, Severn American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from New Orleans 1929 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American comedians Comedians from Louisiana