Skelton Barnaby Knaggs (27 June 1911 – 30 April 1955) was an English stage actor who also appeared in films, especially in horror films.
Biography Knaggs was born in the Hillsborough district of Sheffield, England. (A published source referred to Knaggs as "The London-born actor ...") He moved from England to Syracuse, New York, in 1923 and finished Porter School in 1924. After attending Roosevelt Junior High School, he graduated from Vocational High School in 1929. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Knaggs, and he had two brothers.
Knaggs acted in stock theater in Syracuse before he moved to London where he trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and subsequently became a Shakespearean actor. In addition to appearing on stage in George Bernard Shaw's adaptation of Shakespeare's Cymbeline, Knaggs appeared in a few British films, debuting in Everything Is Thunder. He had an uncredited role as a German orderly in Michael Powell's The Spy in Black.
At some point he moved to Los Angeles, California, and found work as a character actor in Hollywood. Diminutive and distinctive-looking, with a strongly featured pock-marked face and charismatically voiced with an English Midlands provincial accent, he was cast in sinister roles, often in horror films. These ranged from uncredited bit parts to prominent roles in the Sherlock Holmes thriller Terror by Night, the all-star monster rally House of Dracula and three Val Lewton productions including The Ghost Ship. In the last, a voice-over narrative by Knaggs is heard, representing the thoughts of his character, a mute seaman.
Back in London, he married Thelma Crawshaw in 1949, then returned to Hollywood. The last film in which he appeared was Fritz Lang's period adventure based on J. Meade Falkner's novel Moonfleet.
Death An alcoholic, Knaggs died of cirrhosis of the liver in Hollywood, California, on May 1, 1955, aged 44. His body was buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1936 Everything Is Thunder Young Man with Lantern Film debut, Uncredited Rembrandt Minor Role Uncredited 1937 The High Command Fazerack 1938 South Riding Reg. Aythorne1939 The Spy in Black German Sailor Looking for Capt. Hardt Uncredited Torture Ship Jesse Bixel 1940 Diamond Frontier Morgan1943 Thumbs Up Shooting Gallery Concessionaire Uncredited Headin' for God's Country Jeff Thank Your Lucky Stars Villager in Pub Uncredited The Ghost Ship Finn - the Mute Uncredited1944 The Lodger Man with Cart Uncredited The Scarlet Claw Villager in Pub Uncredited The Invisible Man's Revenge Alf Perry - a Cabman Uncredited None But the Lonely Heart Lou 'Slush' Atley Uncredited1945 The Picture of Dorian Gray Blue Gate Fields Waiter Uncredited Isle of the Dead Henry Robbins Uncredited House of Dracula Steinmuhl1946 Terror by Night Sands Just Before Dawn Louie Uncredited Bedlam Varney Uncredited Night and Day Newspaper Vendor Uncredited A Scandal in Paris Cousin Pierre Dick Tracy vs. Cueball Rudolph1947Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome X-Ray Forever Amber Blueskin Uncredited 1948 The Paleface Pete 1949 Master Minds Hugo 1951 Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere Retner Serial1952 Million Dollar Mermaid Cheering Man on Tower Bridge Uncredited Blackbeard the Pirate Gilly1953 Botany Bay Newgate Prisoner Drawing on Cell Wall Uncredited Rogue's March Fish 1954 Casanova's Big Night Little Man Uncredited General Electric Theater Man on Crutches 1 episode1955 Son of Sinbad Sidewalk Spectator Uncredited TV Reader's Digest Gibson 1 episode Moonfleet Jacob Final film
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