# Skelton Knaggs

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. Knaggs 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 Shakespeare's Cymbeline, Knaggs appeared in a few British films, including 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 Los Angeles in 1955 at the age of 43. His body was buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1936 | Everything Is Thunder | Young Man with Lantern | Film debut, Uncredited |
| 1936 | Rembrandt | Minor Role | Uncredited |
| 1937 | The High Command | Fazerack | |
| 1938 | South Riding | Reg. Aythorne | |
| 1939 | The Spy in Black | German Sailor Looking for Capt. Hardt | Uncredited |
| 1939 | Torture Ship | Jesse Bixel | |
| 1940 | Diamond Frontier | Morgan | |
| 1943 | Thumbs Up | Shooting Gallery Concessionaire | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Headin' for God's Country | Jeff | |
| 1943 | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Villager in Pub | Uncredited |
| 1943 | The Ghost Ship | Finn - the Mute | Uncredited |
| 1944 | The Lodger | Man with Cart | Uncredited |
| 1944 | The Scarlet Claw | Villager in Pub | Uncredited |
| 1944 | The Invisible Man's Revenge | Alf Perry - a Cabman | Uncredited |
| 1944 | None But the Lonely Heart | Lou 'Slush' Atley | Uncredited |
| 1945 | The Picture of Dorian Gray | Blue Gate Fields Waiter | Uncredited |
| 1945 | Isle of the Dead | Andrew Robbins | Uncredited |
| 1945 | House of Dracula | Steinmuhl | |
| 1946 | Terror by Night | Sands | |
| 1946 | Just Before Dawn | Louie | Uncredited |
| 1946 | Bedlam | Varney | Uncredited |
| 1946 | Night and Day | Newspaper Vendor | Uncredited |
| 1946 | A Scandal in Paris | Cousin Pierre | |
| 1946 | Dick Tracy vs. Cueball | Rudolph | |
| 1947 | Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome | X-Ray | |
| 1947 | Forever Amber | Blueskin | Uncredited |
| 1948 | The Paleface | Pete | |
| 1949 | Master Minds | Hugo | |
| 1951 | Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere | Retner | Serial |
| 1952 | Million Dollar Mermaid | Cheering Man on Tower Bridge | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Blackbeard the Pirate | Gilly | |
| 1953 | Botany Bay | Newgate Prisoner Drawing on Cell Wall | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Rogue's March | Fish | |
| 1954 | Casanova's Big Night | Little Man | Uncredited |
| 1954 | General Electric Theater | Man on Crutches | 1 episode |
| 1955 | Son of Sinbad | Sidewalk Spectator | Uncredited |
| 1955 | TV Reader's Digest | Gibson | 1 episode |
| 1955 | Moonfleet | Jacob | Final film |