Reginald Lawrence Knowles 11 November 1911 23 December 1995 was an English film actor who renamed himself Patric Knowles a name which reflects his Irish descent He appeared in films of the 1930s through the 1970s He made his film debut in 1933 and played either first or second film leads throughout his career In his first American film Give Me Your Heart 1936 released in Great Britain as Sweet Aloes Knowles was cast as a titled Englishman of means While making The Charge of the Light Brigade 1936 at Lone Pine California he befriended Errol Flynn whose acquaintance he had made when both were under contract to Warner Bros in England Since that film in which Knowles played the part of Capt Perry Vickers the brother of Flynns Maj Geoffrey Vickers he was cast more frequently as straitlaced characters alongside Flynns flamboyant ones notably as Will Scarlet in The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 Both actors starred as well in Fours A Crowd also in 1938 More than two decades after Flynns death biographer Charles Higham sullied Flynns memory by accusing him of having been a fascist sympathizer and Nazi spy Knowles who had served in World War II as a flying instructor in the RCAF came to Flynns defense writing Rebuttal for a Friend as an epilogue to Tony Thomas Errol Flynn The Spy Who Never Was Citadel Press 1990 ISBN 080651180X Knowles was a freelance film actor from 1939 until his last film appearance in 1973 In the 1940s he was known for playing protagonists in a number of horror films including The Wolf Man 1941 and Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman 1943 Knowles was also cast as comic foils in a number of comedies such as Abbott and Costellos Who Done It 1942 and Hit The Ice 1943 He also appeared opposite Jack Kelly in a 1957 episode of the television series Maverick called The Wrecker which was based on a Robert Louis Stevenson adventure and costarred James Garner Knowles was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame and wrote a novel called Even Steven Vantage Press 1960 ASIN B0006RMC2G He was cremated His ashes were either given to a friend or family Description above from the Wikipedia article Patric Knowles licensed under CCBYSAfull list of contributors on Wikipedia
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