Alexander Knox

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Alexander Knox
Knox in the 1940s
Born(1907-01-16)January 16, 1907
DiedApril 25, 1995(1995-04-25) (aged 88)
Occupation(s)Actor, Author
Years active1931–1986
Spouse
(m. 1944)
Children1

Alexander Knox (16 January 1907 – 25 April 1995) was a Canadian actor and writer. He appeared in over 100 film, television, and theatrical productions over a career spanning from the 1920s until the late 1980s. He was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for his performance as American President Woodrow Wilson in the 1944 film Wilson. However, his career in the United States was hampered by McCarthyism, and he spent the rest of his career in the United Kingdom.

Knox portrayed

John le Carre's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He acted in such films as Europe '51, The Vikings, The Longest Day, The Damned, and Modesty Blaise. He often worked with director Joseph Losey
, a fellow American blacklistee living in the UK.

Aside from his acting career, Knox was also an author, writing adventure novels set in the Great Lakes area during the 19th century as well as plays and detective novels.

Life and career

Knox was born in

McCarthy Era, his liberal views and work with the Committee for the First Amendment hurt his career, but he was not blacklisted,[3]
and he returned to Britain.

Knox in Paula (1952).

Knox had major roles in

Europa '51 (1952), and The Vikings (1958), as well as supporting roles late in his career, such as in The Damned (1963), Modesty Blaise (1966), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), Joshua Then and Now (1985; his last film role) and the miniseries Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
.

He depicted Governor Hudson Inverest in "The Latin Touch", the second episode of the first season of The Saint in 1962.

Writing

He wrote several adventure novels: Bride of Quietness (1933), Night of the White Bear (1971), The Enemy I Kill (1972; republished as Totem Dream in 1973), Raider's Moon, and The Kidnapped Surgeon. He also wrote plays and at least three detective novels under a pseudonym before 1945.[1]

Personal life

Knox was married to American actress Doris Nolan (1916–1998) from 1944 until his death in 1995. They starred together in the 1949 Broadway play The Closing Door, which Knox also wrote. They had a son Andrew Joseph Knox (born 1947; died by suicide in 1987[citation needed]) who became an actor and appeared in Doctor on the Go, and who was married to Imogen Hassall.[4]

Knox died in Berwick-upon-Tweed from bone cancer on April 25, 1995.[5]

Complete filmography

Selected stage roles

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b Clara Thomas, Canadian Novelists 1920-1945, Toronto: Longmans, Green & Company, 1946, p. 75. Thomas notes, "he refuses to divulge" his pen name.
  2. ^ Davies, Robertson, Peterborough Examiner, August 22, 1940
  3. .
  4. ^ Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries, Paul Donnelley, Omnibus Press, 2000, pp. 267
  5. ^ William Grimes (29 April 1995). "Alexander Knox, 88, Actor Who Played Woodrow Wilson". The New York Times.

External links