Don S. Davis

Davis was born and raised in Aurora, Missouri.[http://www.donsdavis.com/biography.php Biography] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701195332/http://www.donsdavis.com/biography.php |date=July 1, 2012 }} at DonSDavis.com{{cite news |first=Kristine Anderson |last=Fulton |newspaper=The Nevada Daily Mail |location=Nevada, MO |title=Hollywood comes home to traditional, down-home lifestyle |page=1 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OM0hAAAAIBAJ&pg=6170%2C3113986 |date=August 28, 1992 |access-date=March 2, 2016}} He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in theater and art from Southwest Missouri State College. He said that "during the Vietnam era" he "was with the 7th Infantry in Korea" and at another point was "a personnel and administration officer; I ran records branches."{{cite web| url = http://www.scifi.com/transcripts/2002/donsdavis.html | title = Don S. Davis | publisher= Sci Fi Channel |agency= chat transcript| date = October 10, 2002 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030811082317/http://www.scifi.com/transcripts/2002/donsdavis.html | archive-date=August 11, 2003}} He was a captain at Fort Leonard Wood by the time he left the U.S. Army, "and worked with General Officers, so I've been able to use that in Hammond and other characters."

In 1970 he received a master's degree in theatre from the Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU); his thesis was "Design and Construction of Stage Settings for Black Comedy and The Two Executioners".{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CpyyNwAACAAJ | title = Design and Construction of Stage Settings for Black Comedy and The Two Executioners | date = 1970 | first= Donald S. |last= Davis | publisher = Southern Illinois University, Department of Theatre | page = 146 }} He taught for several years before returning to SIUC to complete a Ph.D. degree in theatre; his dissertation was "The Evolution of Scenography in the Western Theater".{{cite web|title=Theatre and Oral Interpretation: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," January through June 1984, (Vol. 44 Nos. 7 through 12).|publisher=Education Resources Information Center|access-date=January 8, 2021|page=5|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED245295.pdf}}

He began working in the film industry in the 1980s, while teaching at the University of British Columbia. In 1987, he stopped teaching in order to pursue acting full-time.

Davis stated that he landed the role of the eloquently spoken Major Briggs when "I was living in Vancouver and doing local work. But because of my accent in the '80s I couldn't play a Canadian in commercials. So someone suggested that I get an agent in Seattle. I did and was able to get commercial work and acting jobs there. I had a good resume. So when they were casting the Twin Peaks pilot my agent sent me out to the audition. I met series creator David Lynch and didn't actually read for him—we just visited. ... David liked me and started writing for me. He liked the chemistry I had with other players. I did three days on the pilot and then went on to the series. That was the luckiest break I could have had. There are at least a dozen people from that show who are lifelong friends because of that show. It was a life-changing experience."

In the TV show MacGyver, Davis was the stunt/photography double for Dana Elcar. He was often mistaken for Elcar, and vice versa. Davis did appear in two episodes of MacGyver, as a different character each time. His first appearance was as a cement truck driver in the episode "Blow Out", and his second appearance was as the poacher Wyatt Porter in "The Endangered". He also played Dana Scully's father in the series The X-Files. Canadian audiences may also be familiar with Davis thanks to his appearance in one of the famous Heritage Minutes, in which he played an arrogant American gold prospector who pulls a gun on Mountie Sam Steele.{{cite web |url=https://www.historicacanada.ca/content/heritage-minutes/sam-steele?media_type=41& |title=Heritage Minute featuring Don S. Davis | work=Historica Canada}} He also played the role of the Racine Belles' manager in the movie A League of Their Own. He also had a guest-starring role in the pilot episode of the comedy-drama television series Psych, playing the character of Mr. McCallum.

He was a member of the main cast of Stargate SG-1 during the first seven seasons of that television series, portraying General Hammond, commander of Stargate Command (SGC). He appeared in a recurring role during Seasons 8 to 10, cutting back his commitment due to health problems. He also played the character in one episode of the Stargate spin-off series Stargate Atlantis.

Davis died of a heart attack on June 29, 2008, at the age of 65. He had been suffering from heart disease and diabetes. At the time of his death, Davis was living in Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean. {{Citation needed|date=June 2013}}

The writers of Stargate Atlantis paid him homage by mentioning the death of his character George Hammond and naming a spaceship after him in the final episode of the show airing January 9, 2009. He was again honored in October 2009, with the appearance of the spaceship Hammond in the pilot episode of Stargate Universe. Coincidentally, in episode 16 of season 4 of SG-1, "2010" (an episode set in the future which originally aired in January 2001), it is stated that General Hammond had died of a heart attack prior to the episode's events. His character on The X-Files, William Scully, had also died of a heart attack fourteen years earlier.

Davis did not live to see the release of one of his final performances, Stargate: Continuum, released on July 29, 2008, one month after his death.{{Cite news |last=DeeKayP |date=2009-01-29 |title=View the Final Works of Don S. Davis |work=Solutions Blog |url=http://stargate-sg1-solutions.com/blog/2009/01/view-the-final-works-of-don-s-davis/ |url-status=live |access-date=2023-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725224555/http://stargate-sg1-solutions.com/blog/2009/01/view-the-final-works-of-don-s-davis/ |archive-date=2012-07-25}}{{Cite news |date=2008-04-04 |title=Stargate: Continuum on DVD July 29 |work=GateWorld |url=https://www.gateworld.net/news/2008/04/stargate-continuum-on-dvd-july-29/ |url-status=live |access-date=2023-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130121902/https://www.gateworld.net/news/2008/04/stargate-continuum-on-dvd-july-29/ |archive-date=2023-01-30}}

Davis married Ruby Fleming in 2003, by which time he had a son, Matt Davis, from a previous marriage.

Davis was also a visual artist, spending most of his free time painting or carving. He grew up painting, sculpting, and drawing, and continued to pursue these crafts his entire life, supplementing his income with design commissions and art sales. On the DVD commentary track for Stargate SG-1 season 6 episode 17 ("Disclosure"), Davis said that he once had a job carving wooden cigar store Indians that were sold at Silver Dollar City.

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• The Journey of Natty Gann (1985) — Railroad Brakeman
• Malone (1987) — Buddy
• Stakeout (1987) — Prison Gate Guard
• Watchers (1988) — Veterinarian
• Beyond the Stars (1989) — Phil Clawson
• Look Who's Talking (1989) — Dr. Fleischer
• Cadence (1990) — Haig (uncredited)
• Look Who's Talking Too (1990) — Dr. Fleischer
• Omen IV: The Awakening (1991, TV movie) — Jake Madison
• Chaindance (1991) — Sergeant
• Mystery Date (1991) — Doheny
• The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1991, TV movie) — Rodeo announcer
• Hook (1991) — Dr. Fields
• Kuffs (1992) — Police gun instructor
• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) — Maj. Garland Briggs (scenes deleted)
• A League of Their Own (1992) — Charlie Collins (Racine coach)
• Cliffhanger (1993) — Stuart
• Needful Things (1993) — Reverend Willie Rose
• Max (1994) — Earl Pomerance
• Hideaway (1995) — Dr. Martin
• The Fan (1996) — Stook
• Alaska (1996) — Sergeant Grazer
• Prisoner of Zenda, Inc. (1996, TV movie) — Colonel Zapf
• Volcano: Fire on the Mountain (1997, TV movie) — Mayor Bob Hart
• Dad's Week Off (1997, TV movie) — Hank
• Con Air (1997) — Man driving Volvo
• Suspicious River (2000) — Golf shirt man
• Best in Show (2000) — Mayflower Best in Show Judge Everett Bainbridge
• The 6th Day (2000) — Cardinal de la Jolla
• Deadly Little Secrets (2002) — The Chief
• G.I. Joe: Spy Troops — The movie (2003, TV movie) — Wild Bill (voice)
• Miracle (2004) — Bob Fleming
• Stargate: SG3000 (2004, Short) — Computer Representation of George Hammond (voice)
• Savage Island (2004) — Keith Young
• Meltdown (2004, TV movie) — NRC Carl Mansfield
• G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom (2004) — Wild Bill (voice)
• The Still Life (2006) — Mr. Fernot
• Seed (2006) — Davis
• Beneath (2007) — Joseph
• Beyond Loch Ness (2008, TV movie) — Neil Chapman
• Stargate: Continuum (2008) — Lt. Gen. George Hammond
• Vipers (2008, TV movie) — Dr. Silverton
• Far Cry (2008) — General Roderick
• The Uninvited (2009) — Mr. Henson
• Wyvern (2008, TV movie) — Colonel Travis Sherman (dedicated to Davis)
• Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods - Final Cut (2009) — Maj. Gen. George Hammond (dedicated to Davis)
• Woodshop (2009) — Principal Jamison
• Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014) — Major Garland Briggs

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• MacGyver (1985–1991) — stunt double for Dana Elcar
• 21 Jump Street (1987) — Principal Harris, and (1988) — Frank
• Booker (1989) — Sheriff
• L.A. Law (1990) — Judge Richard Bartke
• Twin Peaks (1990–1991) — Major Garland Briggs
• Columbo: A Bird in the Hand (1992) — Bertie
• Highlander: The Series (1993) — Palance
• Heritage Minutes (1993) — Norris
• The X-Files (1994) — Captain William Scully (2 episodes)
• Northern Exposure (1994) — Lloyd Hillegas, season 5, episode 23
• Madison (1994—1996) — Mr. Winslow (7 episodes)
• Black Fox (1995 miniseries) — Sergeant
• The Outer Limits (1995) — General Callahan, Detective Wilson
• Poltergeist: The Legacy (1996) — Harold Taggart
• In Cold Blood (1996 miniseries)
• Viper (1996) — Lloyd
• Stargate SG-1 (1997–2007) — Major General/Lieutenant General George Hammond
• Atomic Train (1999 miniseries) — General Harlan Ford
• The Chris Isaak Show (2002) — Del
• Just Cause (2002) — Thornton
• The Twilight Zone (2003) — Dr. Tate
• Stargate Atlantis (2004) — Major General George Hammond
• Andromeda (2004) — Avineri
• NCIS (2004) — MTAC Control Officer
• The West Wing (2005) — Reverend Don Butler
• The Dead Zone (2005) — Senator Harlan Ellis (3 episodes)
• Psych (2006) — Mr. McCallum
• Supernatural (2007) — Trotter
• Flash Gordon (2007) — Mr. Mitchell
• Burn Up (2008 miniseries) — The Man
• Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) — Major Garland Briggs (archival footage)

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Category:1942 births

Category:2008 deaths

Category:Male actors from Missouri

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male television actors

Category:American male voice actors

Category:Missouri State University alumni

Category:People from Aurora, Missouri

Category:Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumni

Category:United States Army officers

Category:Academic staff of the University of British Columbia

Category:American expatriate academics in Canada

Category:20th-century American male actors