# Don Knight (actor)

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**Donald Knight** (16 February 1933 – 18 August 1997) was an English-born film, television, and [stage](/source/Stage_(theatre)) actor. He worked largely in the United States, and often played tough guys.

## Early life

Born in Manchester, [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire), he served a short stint in the [British Army](/source/British_Army), and shortly afterward left England for Canada. Knight began acting at the age of seven. He studied at [Sir George Williams University](/source/Concordia_University) in Montreal, Quebec, and later at [Wesley Theological Seminary](/source/Wesley_Theological_Seminary) in Washington, D.C.[1] He obtained degrees in English, philosophy, theology, and drama.[2]

## Acting career

In 1965, he moved to the United States to pursue acting, and was primarily a character actor, making numerous guest appearances in television series such as *[Combat!](/source/Combat!)*, *[The Time Tunnel](/source/The_Time_Tunnel)*, *[Bewitched](/source/Bewitched)*, *[Hogan's Heroes](/source/Hogan's_Heroes)*, *[The Big Valley](/source/The_Big_Valley)*, *[Hawaii Five-O](/source/Hawaii_Five-O_(1968_TV_series))*, *[It Takes a Thief](/source/It_Takes_a_Thief_(1968_TV_series))*, *[Bonanza](/source/Bonanza)*, *[Mannix](/source/Mannix)*, *[Mission: Impossible](/source/Mission:_Impossible_(1966_TV_series))*, *[Columbo](/source/Columbo_(TV_series))*, *[Banacek](/source/Banacek)*, *[Night Gallery](/source/Night_Gallery)*, *[Cannon](/source/Cannon_(TV_series))*, *[Kojak](/source/Kojak)*, *[Little House on the Prairie](/source/Little_House_on_the_Prairie_(TV_series))*, and *[Barnaby Jones](/source/Barnaby_Jones)*, as well as semi-regular roles in series such as *[The Immortal](/source/The_Immortal_(1970_TV_series))*.[3]

In 1976, he was in the Disney film *[Treasure of Matecumbe](/source/Treasure_of_Matecumbe)*. His character was Skaggs.[4]

He appeared in the [PBS](/source/PBS) telefilm *[The Canterville Ghost](/source/The_Canterville_Ghost_(1985_film))*. Its other distributors were [WonderWorks](/source/WonderWorks) and the [Disney Channel](/source/Disney_Channel).

## Personal life and death

Educated in theology, Knight became an ordained [minister](/source/Minister_(Christianity)) in 1956.[3] During his acting career, he sometimes served as a church pastor. He was a minister at the [United Church of Christ](/source/United_Church_of_Christ) in [Simi Valley, California](/source/Simi_Valley,_California).[5]

Knight died on 18 August 1997 in [Squaw Valley, Fresno County, California](/source/Squaw_Valley,_Fresno_County,_California), USA, following a stroke earlier that month.[2]

## Filmography

Year Title Role Notes 1966 Munster, Go Home! Minor Role Uncredited 1967 Kill a Dragon Ian 1968 The Hell with Heroes Pepper 1968 The Virginian (TV series) Cal Hobson season 7 episode 11 (The mustangers) 1970 The Virginian (TV series) Henry season 8 episode 21 (A King’s Ransom) 1970 Too Late the Hero Pte Connolly 1970 The Hawaiians Milton Overpeck 1971 Something Big Tommy McBride 1973 Trader Horn Colonel Sinclair 1974 Little House on the Praire Jack Peters - 1975 The Apple Dumpling Gang John Wintle 1976 Treasure of Matecumbe Skaggs 1982 Swamp Thing Ritter

## References

1. Scott, Vernon (30 August 1970). ["Preacher gets star TV role"](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/37989235/). *[The Argus](/source/The_Argus_(Fremont))*. p. 39. Retrieved 12 September 2014. – via Newspapers.com.

1. ["Don Knight"](https://www.knightrec.net/). *Knight Time Recreation*. Retrieved 12 September 2014.

1. ["Don Knight"](https://variety.com/1997/scene/people-news/don-knight-111662250/). *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))*. 6 October 1997. Retrieved 12 September 2014.

1. ["Treasure of Matecumbe"](https://movies.disney.com/treasure-of-matecumbe). *[Disney](/source/The_Walt_Disney_Company)*. Retrieved 12 September 2014.

1. ["Actor Chosen to Fill Shepherd of Valley Post"](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/30469128/). *[Valley News](/source/Los_Angeles_Daily_News)*. 14 March 1974. p. 5. Retrieved 12 September 2014. – via Newspapers.com.

## External links

- [Don Knight](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0460878/) at IMDb
- [Actor Don Knight](http://www.knightrec.net)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Don Knight (actor)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Knight_(actor)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Knight_(actor)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.