Stargate and Twin Peaks Actor – Don S. Davis

One of the strangest and most original TV shows that I enjoyed watching was Twin Peaks. Beginning in April of 1990, Twin Peaks is a drama that follows the investigation of the brutal death of popular, respected teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer, headed by Agent Dale Cooper. Created by one of my favorite cult film directors, David Lynch, its eccentric characters were unorthodox for a supposed crime drama. Among the regulars on the show was a Major Garland Briggs. He was a U. S. Air Force officer who gave information to Agent Cooper and was also the father to one of the main characters named Bobby Briggs. Major Briggs work is so highly classified that he does not tell even his family about it. The role was played by Don. S. Davis and can be seen as a precursor to Davis’s character Lt. Gen. George Hammond on the TV series Stargate SG-1, who is also an Air Force officer involved in secret projects.

Don S. Davis has taken his Final Taxi.

Davis guest-starred in dozens of well-known TV series, often appearing as a head military staff or a sheriff. He had a recurring part on The X Files as Captain William Scully, father of Gillian Anderson’s Agent Dana Scully.

He co-starred on Stargate SG-1 for the series’ first seven years, but left in 2003 due to a medical condition that restricted his workload. However, he returned for several guest appearances on SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis in the following years. He continued to work on- and off-screen until his death.

He was born Don Sinclair Davis on August 4, 1942 in Aurora, Missouri, a town located in the southwestern part of the state. He was raised there amid the Missouri Ozarks.

In 1965, Davis received a Bachelor of Science Degree with a double major in theater and art from Southwest Missouri State College.

He then served three years on active duty in the United States Army, entering as a second lieutenant. He achieved the rank of captain by the time he completed his required tour of active duty.

Upon leaving the army, Davis studied at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. He received a master’s degree in theater in 1970. Davis then taught for several years before returning to SIU to complete the coursework for a PhD in theater, which he received in 1982.

Davis began working in the film industry in the early 1980s while he was an assistant professor of theater, teaching courses in technical theater at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

He left teaching to pursue acting full-time in 1987.

He appeared in numerous feature films, including Miracle, Alaska, A League of their Own, Needful Things, Look Who’s Talking, Con Air and Best of Show.

Davis had featured roles in several dozen made-for-TV movies, including In Cold Blood; The Ranger, The Cook and the Hole in the Sky; and Columbo: A Bird in Hand; as well as the mini-series Atomic Train.

He guest-starred in such TV series as The West Wing, NCIS, The Dead Zone, Northern Exposure, The Outer Limits, L.A. Law, Knots Landing, Wiseguy and Macgyver. He also played on several episodes of 21 Jump Street.

In 2004, he was nominated for a Leo Award, honoring British Columbia films and television, for best supporting performance by a male in a dramatic series for his role in the Stargate SG-1 episode “Heroes, Part 2.” He won the Director’s Award for best supporting actor at Fright-Fest in 2003 for his part as Keith Young in the low-budget thriller Savage Island.

His final Stargate appearance is in Stargate: Continuum, the SG-1 DVD movie that will be released July 29. He will also appear in the forthcoming films Vipers, Woodshop and Far Cry.

PODCAST: Phantom Character Actress – Jeanne Bates

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Jeanne Bates was best known as Nurse Wills on the 1950s medical series Ben Casey. She appeared on hundreds of TV shows over the years, including That 70’s Show, Wings, The Young and the Restless, Dallas, Three’s Company, Quincy, M.E., Charlie’s Angels, The Rockford Files, Cannon, The Saint, Wonder Woman, Hawaii Five-O, The Twilight Zone, and many, many others.
Bates also appeared in several movies such as Die Hard 2, Grand Canyon, Eraserhead, Silent Night Deadly Night 4, and the 1943 The Phantom serial.
She took her Final Taxi at age 89.