Editing Alexander Knox

{{Short description|Canadian actor and writer (1907–1995)}}
{{about|the Canadian actor|the Irish theologian|Alexander Knox (theologian)|the Australian sculptor|Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=July 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Alexander Knox
| image              = Alexander Knox.jpg
| alt                =
| caption            = Knox in the 1940s
| birth_name         =
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1907|01|16}}
| birth_place        = [[Strathroy-Caradoc|Strathroy]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1995|04|25|1907|01|16}}
| death_place        = [[Berwick-upon-Tweed]], [[Northumberland]], England
| occupation         = Actor, [[Author]]
| yearsactive        = 1931–1986
| spouse             = {{Marriage|[[Doris Nolan]]<br>|1944}}
| children           = 1
}}

'''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 [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Oscar]] and won a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Golden Globe]] for his performance as American President [[Woodrow Wilson]] in the 1944 film ''[[Wilson (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 [[Control (fictional character)|Control]] in the 1979 [[BBC]] [[Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (TV series)|miniseries adaptation]] of [[John le Carre]]'s ''[[Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy]]''. He acted in such films as ''[[Europe '51]]'', ''[[The Vikings (film)|The Vikings]]'', ''[[The Longest Day (film)|The Longest Day]]'', ''[[The Damned (1963 film)|The Damned]]'', and ''[[Modesty Blaise (1966 film)|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 [[Strathroy-Caradoc|Strathroy, Ontario]], where his father was the minister of the Presbyterian Church. He graduated from the [[University of Western Ontario]]. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to perform on stage with the [[Boston Repertory Theatre]]. After the company folded following the stock market crash of 1929, Knox returned to London, Ontario, where, for the next two years, he worked as a reporter for ''[[Media in London, Ontario#Newspapers|The London Advertiser]]''<ref name=thomas/> before moving to London, England, where, during the 1930s, he appeared in several films. He also appeared in various roles at the Old Vic such as the Judge in [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s  ''Geneva''.  Canadian novelist [[Robertson Davies]] described his performance thus: "To this role he brought a dignity which did much to heighten the effect of the famous court-scene which makes up the third act...".<ref>Davies, Robertson, ''Peterborough Examiner'', August 22, 1940</ref> In 1939, at the Malvern Festival, he acted in Shaw's [[In Good King Charles's Golden Days]]. His own play ''Old Master'' was also staged.  He starred opposite [[Jessica Tandy]] in the 1940 Broadway production of ''[[Jupiter Laughs]]'' and as Friar Laurence in [[Romeo and Juliet]] with [[Vivien Leigh]] and [[Laurence Olivier]]. Then in 1944, he was chosen by [[Darryl F. Zanuck]] to star in ''[[Wilson (1944 film)|Wilson]]'' (1944), the biographical film about American President [[Woodrow Wilson]], for which he won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor#1940s|Academy Award for Best Actor]]. However, during the [[McCarthy Era]], his liberal views and work with the [[Committee for the First Amendment]] hurt his career, but he was not [[Hollywood blacklist|blacklisted]],<ref name="Red Alert">{{cite book|last1=Slide|first1=Anthony|title=Actors on red alert : career interviews with five actors and actresses affected by the blacklist|url=https://archive.org/details/actorsonredalert0000slid|url-access=registration|date=1999|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Lanham, Md. [u.a.]|isbn=978-0810836495|pages=[https://archive.org/details/actorsonredalert0000slid/page/117 117–127]}}</ref> and he returned to Britain.

[[File:Alexander Knox in Paula (1952) trailer.jpg|thumb|right|Knox in ''[[Paula (1952 film)|Paula]]'' (1952).]]

Knox had major roles in ''[[The Sea Wolf (1941 film)|The Sea Wolf]]'' (1941), ''[[None Shall Escape]]'' (1944), ''[[Over 21]]'' (1945), ''[[Sister Kenny]]'' (1946), ''[[Man In The Saddle]]'' (1951), ''[[Paula (1952 film)|Paula]]'' (1952), ''[[Europa '51]]'' (1952), and ''[[The Vikings (film)|The Vikings]]'' (1958), as well as supporting roles late in his career, such as in ''[[The Damned (1963 film)|The Damned]]'' (1963), ''[[Modesty Blaise (1966 film)|Modesty Blaise]]'' (1966), ''[[Nicholas and Alexandra]]'' (1971), ''[[Joshua Then and Now (film)|Joshua Then and Now]]'' (1985; his last film role) and the miniseries ''[[Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (TV series)|Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy]]''.

He depicted Governor Hudson Inverest in "The Latin Touch", the second episode of the first season of ''[[The Saint (TV series)|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.<ref name="thomas">Clara Thomas, ''Canadian Novelists 1920-1945'', Toronto: Longmans, Green & Company, 1946, p. 75. Thomas notes, "he refuses to divulge" his pen name.</ref>

==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|date=December 2022}}) who became an actor and appeared in ''[[Doctor on the Go]]'', and who was married to [[Imogen Hassall]].<ref>Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries, Paul Donnelley, Omnibus Press, 2000, pp. 267</ref>

Knox died in [[Berwick-upon-Tweed]] from bone cancer on April 25, 1995.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/29/obituaries/alexander-knox-88-actor-who-played-woodrow-wilson.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Alexander Knox, 88, Actor Who Played Woodrow Wilson|author=William Grimes|date=April 29, 1995}}</ref>

==Complete filmography==
{{div col}}
* ''[[The Ringer (1931 film)|The Ringer]]'' (1931) (uncredited)
* ''[[Rembrandt (1936 film)|Rembrandt]]'' (1936) as Ludwick's Assistant (uncredited)
* ''The Tiger'' (1936 TV movie) as American Liaison Officer
* ''Everyman'' (1937 TV movie) as Everyman
* ''Polly'' (1937 TV movie) as Cawwawkee
* ''Deirdre'' (1938 TV movie) as Naisi
* ''[[The Gaunt Stranger]]'' (1938) as Dr. Lomond
* ''[[The Four Feathers (1939 film)|The Four Feathers]]'' (1939) (uncredited)
* ''[[Cheer Boys Cheer]]'' (1939) as Saunders 
* ''[[The Sea Wolf (1941 film)|The Sea Wolf]]'' (1941) as Humphrey Van Weyden
* ''[[This Above All (film)|This Above All]]'' (1942) as Rector
* ''[[Commandos Strike at Dawn]]'' (1942) as German Captain
* ''[[None Shall Escape]]'' (1944) as Wilhelm Grimm
* ''[[Wilson (1944 film)|Wilson]]'' (1944) as [[Woodrow Wilson]]
* ''[[Over 21]]'' (1945) as Max W. Wharton
* ''[[Sister Kenny]]'' (1946) as Dr. McDonnell
* ''[[The Judge Steps Out]]'' (1948) as Judge Thomas Bailey
* ''[[The Sign of the Ram]]'' (1949) as Mallory St. Aubyn
* ''[[Tokyo Joe (film)|Tokyo Joe]]'' (1949) as Mark Landis
* ''[[I'd Climb the Highest Mountain]]'' (1951) as Tom Salter
* ''[[Two of a Kind (1951 film)|Two of a Kind]]'' (1951) as Vincent Mailer
* ''[[Saturday's Hero]]'' (1951) as Professor Megroth
* ''[[The Son of Dr. Jekyll]]'' (1951) as Dr. Curtis Lanyon
* ''[[Man in the Saddle (1951 film)|Man in the Saddle]]'' (1951) as Will Isham
* ''[[Paula (1952 film)|Paula]]'' (1952) as Dr. Clifford Frazer
* ''[[Europe '51|Europa '51]]'' (1952) as George Girard
* ''[[The Sleeping Tiger]]'' (1954) as Dr. Cilve Esmond
* ''[[The Divided Heart]]'' (1954) as The Chief Justice
* ''[[The Night My Number Came Up]]'' (1955) as Owen Robertson
* ''[[Alias John Preston]]'' (1955) as Dr. Peter Walton
* ''[[Reach for the Sky]]'' (1956) as Mr. Joyce
* ''[[High Tide at Noon]]'' (1957) as Stephen MacKenzie
* ''[[Hidden Fear]]'' (1957) as Hartman
* ''[[Davy (film)|Davy]]'' (1958) as Sir Giles
* ''[[Chase a Crooked Shadow]]'' (1958) as Chandler Brisson
* ''[[The Vikings (film)|The Vikings]]'' (1958) as Father Godwin
* ''[[Intent to Kill (1958 film)|Intent to Kill]]'' (1958) as Dr. McNeil
* ''[[Passionate Summer (1958 film)|Passionate Summer]]'' (1958) as Leonard Pawley
* ''[[The Two-Headed Spy]]'' (1958) as Gestapo Leader Müller
* ''[[Operation Amsterdam]]'' (1959) as Walter Keyser
* ''[[The Wreck of the Mary Deare (film)|The Wreck of the Mary Deare]]'' (1959) as Petrie
* ''[[Oscar Wilde (film)|Oscar Wilde]]'' (1960) as [[Edward Clarke (barrister)|Sir Edward Clarke]]
* ''[[Crack in the Mirror]]'' (1960) as President
* ''[[The Share Out]]'' (1962) as Col. Calderwood
* ''[[The Longest Day (film)|The Longest Day]]'' (1962) as Maj. Gen. [[Walter Bedell Smith]]
* ''[[The Damned (1963 film)|The Damned]]'' (1963) as Bernard
* ''[[In the Cool of the Day]]'' (1963) as Frederick Bonner
* ''[[Man in the Middle (film)|Man in the Middle]]'' (1964) as Col. Burton
* ''[[Woman of Straw]]'' (1964) as Detective Inspector
* ''[[Crack in the World]]'' (1965) as Sir Charles Eggerston
* ''[[Mister Moses]]'' (1965) as Rev. Anderson
* ''[[The Psychopath (1966 film)|The Psychopath]]'' (1966) as Frank Saville
* ''[[Modesty Blaise (1966 film)|Modesty Blaise]]'' (1966) as Minister
* ''[[Khartoum (film)|Khartoum]]'' (1966) as Sir Evelyn Baring
* ''[[Accident (1967 film)|Accident]]'' (1967) as University Provost
* ''[[The 25th Hour (film)|The 25th Hour]]'' (1967) as D.A.
* ''[[Bikini Paradise]]'' (1967) as Commissioner Lighton
* ''[[You Only Live Twice (film)|You Only Live Twice]]'' (1967) as American President (uncredited)
* ''[[How I Won the War]]'' (1967) as American General
* ''[[Villa Rides]]'' (1968) as President Madero
* ''[[Shalako (film)|Shalako]]'' (1968) as Henry Clarke
* ''[[Fräulein Doktor]]'' (1969) as Gen. Peronne
* ''[[Run a Crooked Mile]]'' (1969 TV movie) as Sir Howard Nettleton
* ''[[Skullduggery (1970 film)|Skullduggery]]'' (1970) as Buffington
* ''When We Dead Awaken'' (1970 TV movie) as Rubek
* ''[[Puppet on a Chain]]'' (1971) as Colonel De Graaf
* ''[[Nicholas and Alexandra]]'' (1971) as The American Ambassador
* ''Truman at Potsdam'' (1976 TV movie) as Henry L. Stimson
* ''[[Holocaust 2000]]'' (1977) as Meyer
* ''[[Churchill and the Generals]]'' (1979 TV movie) as Henry Stimson - Secretary of War
* ''Suez 1956'' (1979 TV movie) as John Foster Dulles
* ''[[Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (TV series)|Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy]]'' (1979 TV mini-series) as Control - Chief of Circus
* ''Cry of the Innocent'' (1980 TV movie) as Thornton Donegin
* ''[[Gorky Park (film)|Gorky Park]]'' (1983) as General
* ''Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues'' (1984 TV movie) as Mr. Gilman
* ''[[The Last Place on Earth]]'' (1985 TV [[serial (radio and television)|serial]] as Sir Clements Markham
* ''[[Joshua Then and Now (film)|Joshua Then and Now]]'' (1985) as Senator Hornby
{{div col end}}

==Selected stage roles==
* ''[[Smoky Cell]]'' by [[Edgar Wallace]] (1930)
* ''[[Jupiter Laughs]]'' by [[A.J. Cronin]] (1944)
* ''[[Return to Tyassi]]'' by [[Benn Levy]] (1950)

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Alexander Knox}}
* {{IMDb name|0461594}}
* {{IBDB name}}

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{{GoldenGlobeBestActorMotionPictureDrama 1943–1960|state=collapsed}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Alexander}}
[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners]]
[[Category:Canadian male stage actors]]
[[Category:Canadian male film actors]]
[[Category:Canadian male novelists]]
[[Category:Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States]]
[[Category:Canadian expatriate male actors in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Hollywood blacklist]]
[[Category:People from Strathroy-Caradoc]]
[[Category:Deaths from bone cancer in England]]
[[Category:University of Western Ontario alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian male writers]]
[[Category:Male actors from Ontario]]