Don S. Davis

Don Sinclair Davis, PhD (August 4, 1942 – June 29, 2008) was an American character actor  best known for playing General George Hammond in the television series Stargate SG-1 (1997–2007), and earlier for playing Major Garland Briggs on the television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991). He was also a theater professor, painter and United States Army captain.

Early life
Davis was born and raised in Aurora, Missouri. He earned a B.Sc. degree in theater and art from Southwest Missouri State College. He said that "during the Viet Nam era" he "was with the 7th Infantry in Korea" and at another point was "a personnel and administration officer; I ran records branches." 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 with a thesis entitled Design and Construction of Stage Settings for Black Comedy and The Two Executioners. He taught for several years before returning to SIU to complete a Ph.D. in Theatre, with a dissertation entitled The Evolution of Scenography in the Western Theater. 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.

Career
He got the role of Major Briggs, he said, 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 of 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. 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.

Later life and death
Davis, who was living in Gibsons, Canada, died on June 29, 2008, of a heart attack. The writers of Stargate Atlantis paid him homage by mentioning the death of his character in the same manner, and naming a starship after him, in the final episode of Stargate: Atlantis, which aired on January 9, 2009. He was again honored in October 2009, with the appearance of the starship Hammond in the pilot episode of Stargate Universe. Coincidentally, in episode 16 of season 4 of SG-1, (an episode set in the future which originally aired in January 2001), it is stated that Gen. Hammond had died of a heart attack. His ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.

Personal life
Davis married Ruby Fleming in 2003, by which time he had a son from a previous marriage. He was also a visual artist, spending most of his free time painting or carving. Davis grew up painting, sculpting and drawing. He 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, Davis said he once worked carving wooden cigar store Indians that were sold at Silver Dollar City. He also said his PhD is in "dramatic theory and criticism."

Actor

 * Major General/Lieutenant General George Hammond (Stargate SG-1)
 * See the list of appearances
 * Alternate realities:
 * Colonel George Hammond (SG1: )
 * George Hammond (SG1: )
 * Major General George Hammond (SG1: )
 * Alternate timelines:
 * Brigadier General George Hammond (SG1:, )
 * Lieutenant General George Hammond
 * Hallucination:
 * Major General George Hammond, an hallucination from energy beings from M5S-224 (SGA: )