Walter Scott Kolk (May 16, 1905 – December 1, 1993) was an American actor in the 1920s and 1930s. He is most notable for his roles in All Quiet on the Western Front and Secret Agent X-9. During his years as an entertainer at clubs, he was sometimes billed as Walter Kolk.
Early years Kolk was born on May 16, 1905, in Baltimore, Maryland, but he considered Maine his home state. He attended Summer Street Grammar School in South Portland, Maine, Maine, before going bck to Maryland for four years at a military school. His mother was Mrs. Anna E. Kolk, and he had two sisters and a brother.
Career Kolk was a professional musician before he became an actor. He played drums for orchestras on the Keith Circuit and for Meyer Davis's orchestra and introduced the Black Bottom dance to Washington, D. C., when that orchestra played at Club Chanticleer there. He also was a "favorite singer and entertainer" at the Le Paradis supper club in Washington, and he headed the first revue at the Silver Slipper supper club when it opened in that city.
Actress Marion Davies saw Kolk perform musically in Venice, Italy, while she was on a tour of Europe. She suggested that he try performing in films, which led him to take screen tests at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. As a result of those tests, he was cast in Davies's first sound film.
In the early 1930s, Kolk left the film business. He had grown disenchanted with the lifestyle associated with film people and with himself, saying "I got so I couldn't live with myself." He bought a farm in Maine with his savings and lived alone with minimal contact with neighbors. He spent time with the land, including plowing, harvesting, and hunting. About years later, he returned to Hollywood.
Kolk's Broadway roles include Lieutenant Dale in Take the Air (1928) and George Armstrong in Baby Pompadour (1934). His work in films included having the starring role in the 12-part serial Secret Agent X-9 (1937).
Death Kolk died on December 1, 1993, in Canton, Maine.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1929 Marianne Lieutenant Frane (silent and musical versions)1929 Hold Your Man Jack 1929 Dynamite Radio Announcer Uncredited1930 All Quiet on the Western Front Leer 1930 For the Defense Jack Defoe 1931 My Sin Larry Gordon 1937 Secret Agent X-9 Agent Dexter (X-9) Serial1937 The Wildcatter 'Lucky' Conlon 1937 It's All Yours 2nd Photographer Uncredited1937 The Awful Truth Mr. Barnsley Uncredited1937 Murder in Greenwich Village Larry Foster 1937 All American Sweetheart Lance Corbett 1938 Little Miss Roughneck Al Patridge 1938 Women in Prison Bob Wayne 1938 Extortion Larry Campbell 1938 I Am the Law Law Student Uncredited, (final film role)
References
External links