Walter Woolf King (2 November 1899 – 24 October 1984) was an American film, television and stage actor and singer.
Walter Woolf King | |
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File:Walter Woolf King as Rodolfo Lassparri in A Night at the Opera.jpg Walter Woolf King as Rodolfo Lassparri in A Night at the Opera. | |
Born | Walter Woolf King November 2, 1899 |
Died | October 24, 1984 | (aged 84)
Years active | 1930-1977 |
Spouse | Ernestyne Bachrach (193?-1980) (her death) |
Children | Barbara Jean Meier Walter Woolf King Jr.[1] |
Born in San Francisco, California in 1899, King started singing for a living at a young age and performed mostly in churches. He made his Broadway debut in 1919, and became a well-known baritone in operettas and musical comedies. King billed himself as Walter Woolf and Walter King early in his career, eventually settling on a combination of all three names, Walter Woolf King, in the mid-1930s.
In 1936, King was host of the Flying Red Horse Tavern on CBS radio.[2]
King began his film career in musicals but quickly moved into supporting roles. He is probably best remembered today for his villainous roles in two films starring the Marx Brothers: A Night at the Opera (1935) and Go West (1940). He also appeared on radio and later became an actors agent. He made numerous appearances in bit parts and supporting roles in television and films throughout the 1950s and 1960s. His final appearance was in the 1977 TV movie One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story.
King died in Beverly Hills, California in 1984.
Selected filmography
- Call It a Day (1937)
- The House of Fear (1939)
References
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/29/obituaries/walter-woolf-king-is-dead-leading-actor-and-singer.html
- ^ Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. P. 234.