- Born
- Died
- Birth nameEsmond Penington Knight
- A stage actor from 1925, Esmond made his first film appearance in 77 Park Lane (1931) for Michael Powell for whom he eventually made 11 films.
Esmond served in the Royal Navy during WWII and lost one eye and was almost totally blinded in the other during an engagement against The Bismarck. This didn't stop him later portraying a Royal Naval officer in Sink the Bismarck! (1960).
- IMDb mini biography by: Steve Crook <steve@brainstorm.co.uk>
- SpousesNora Swinburne(October 4, 1946 - February 23, 1987) (his death)Frances Clare(January 19, 1929 - 1946) (divorced, 1 child)
- Children
- RelativesPhillip Glasier(Cousin)Jean Knight(Cousin)C.W.R. Knight(Aunt or Uncle)Su Elliot(Grandchild)Gilbert Knight(Sibling)
- Played the captain of the HMS Prince of Wales in Sink the Bismarck! (1960). Ironically, it was while serving aboard the real Prince of Wales during her fight with the Bismarck that he was injured in an explosion, resulting in the loss of one eye and almost losing the other.
- Michael Powell said of his first seeing Esmond, "... a sulky, handsome young man with a mane of black hair and magnetic eyes, almost too romantically handsome to be true. Then one day I saw him giggling with one of the sound engineers and I realised that it was all a pose and he had a sense of humour."
- Suffered from a stuttering problem, which he continually had to overcome with speech exercises, and usually suffered from a huge case of stage fright just before going on.
- He died five months prior to the release of his final film Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).
- Father of Rosalind Knight.
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