Don S. Davis passed away yesterday, June 29, 2008, of a heart attack.
Davis was beloved by many Stargate fans for his many years playing George Hammond on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Davis first appeared as Major General Hammond in the SG-1 pilot “Children of the Gods”. He continued playing the no-nonsense-with-a-heart-of-gold general regularly through Season Seven, although he made guest appearances up through Season Nine’s “The Fourth Horsemen Part 1 & 2”. He also provided the voice for the Hammond puppet in Season Ten’s special “200”th episode, and will appear in the forthcoming Stargate: Continuum movie.
Davis was born August 4, 1942. As Davis himself put it, he was: “born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks in Aurora, Missouri….a beautiful area with picturesque towns and farms set among rolling hills, which are crisscrossed by many rivers and contain a large number of magnificent lakes.” After graduating from Southwest Missouri State College with a Bachelor of Science in theater and art, Davis proudly served in the United States Army, eventually reaching the rank of captain. After his military service, he received a masters degree, and later a doctorate in theater, teaching for many years before acting full time on film beginning in 1987.
Davis was also an accomplished artist. Some of his work in sculpture, paintings, drawings, and set design can be seen at donsdavisart.com. According to the official statement, a family memorial will take place in a few weeks scattering Davis’s ashes into the ocean. Any donations may be made to the American Heart Association.
Solutions’s deepest condolences go to Don Davis’s wife Ruby, his family, friends and colleagues, especially his fellow cast and crew mates in the “Stargate family.”
—Article written by Solutions editor “Aurora Novarum”
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I am so very sorry for his family. I am grateful I got to meet him and talk with him. He was and is a beautiful soul who touched many people. I loved the way he talked about his life and his wife, Ruby. He was a very beautiful man.
I had the pleasure of seeing and meeting Don at several Cons. He was so unassuming and down-to-Earth. He told his stories slowly and colorfully, and he did so much in his life, from soldiering to whittling to teaching. He was also a sentimental guy. He would cry talking about Ruby and how much he loved her. He also got teary eyed about his castmates and was very protective toward Michael Shanks. It was so sweet. Poor guy, he knew he was on borrowed time for his heart disease, but this is just too soon.
My condolences to Mrs. Ruby Davis… The news of Don’s passing has saddened me greatly. I will miss him a lot. While I am grateful for his body of work, I can’t image a world without Don Davis. My deepest sympathies go out to his family.
God Bless his Family!!!
Patricia Lee
Great loss. And far too soon. Hammond of Texas, you will be missed.
Wow, did reading that headline hit me like a fist in the stomach. Oh no, how very sad. I’ve been a DSD fan for a very long time and this is sad news indeed. My most sincere condolences to his family. As Gibbs said above, “Hammond of Texas, you will be missed.”
WOW!!! Opened Solutions and got hit in the face….Like everyone else is saying “Hammond of Texas you will be missed”….Indeed
‘Old Soldiers Never Die….they just Fade away”
man who loved and enjoyed his life.
And that quote from Sg-1 that Gibbs used is so fitting ` Hammond of texas.. You will be missed