Terence Knapp in the 1977 television special “Damien.” (KHET photo)
World-renowned actor brought St. Damien to life on stage and on screen
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Terence Richard Knapp, the world-renowned English actor, director and retired University of Hawaii drama professor who brought Father Damien de Veuster to life through his title role in Aldyth Morris’ play “Damien,” died Aug. 12 at St. Francis Hospice in Nuuanu. He was 87.
“May he rest in peace,” wrote Bishop Larry Silva, who anointed Knapp the evening before he died, in an email to diocesan staff. “And may Father Damien, whom he dramatically brought back from the grave, receive him as he will now await the resurrection from his grave.”
Knapp was a familiar presence at events and activities honoring Hawaii’s hero saint who served the patients of the Hansen’s disease settlement at Kalaupapa for 16 years until his death by leprosy in 1889. Dressed in a worn black cassock, wire-rimmed spectacles and a broad-brimmed clerical hat, Knapp would enact passages from the play that had become a signature piece for him.
The actor first performed “Damien” in 1976 as a one-man stage play at the University of Hawaii Theatre. The 1977 television version, produced locally by Hawaii Public Television and aired nationally by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) received universal accolades. Newspapers from Hawaii to New York praised Knapp’s performance as “superb,” “engrossing,” “splendid,” “powerful,” “compelling” and more.
The TV play won the George Peabody Award, a Christopher Award and numerous other honors.
In a 1976 Hawaii Catholic Herald article about the play, Knapp recalled his personal experience with Hansen’s disease when he visited a leprosy settlement in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“The visit has never left my mind,” he said. “I think I can begin to understand Damien’s vocational call to be their priest and helper.”
The actor considered playing Damien to be an “exhilarating challenge” because of the priest’s forceful personality and because the role, unlike Shakespearian and other characters he had played, had no precedent.
“I firmly believe one must find the courage and foolhardiness within oneself to explore and allow one’s own personality to be the basis of the character,” he said.
“On the stage, I would hope to be possessed by Damien, but … I’m always partially aware that I’m myself.”
Knapp was born in London in 1932. His dramatic skills were recognized and encouraged at an early age.
After World War II, his theatrical career took off in England and around the world,
In 1970, a colleague invited him to the University of Hawaii at Manoa to teach, act and direct the works of Shakespeare and other classic European and American playwrights.
Knapp has performed dozens of roles for stage, screen and television and has earned numerous honors and commendations over his long and prolific career.
The Hawaii State House of Representatives in 1979 recognized him as “Hawaii’s Adopted World Class Actor.”
