Walter Woolf King (born Walter Woolf; November 2, 1899 – October 24, 1984) was an American film, television and stage actor and singer.

Career

Born in San Francisco, California on November 2, 1899, King was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he sang in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. When he performed in a production in Ogden, Utah, in 1916, a local newspaper described him as "a clean cut young actor with a baritone voice that should take him to the top rank in musical comedy". It added that his voice was "far superior in range and quality" to Joseph Santley.

King and a friend, Charles Lemaire, left their homes in Salt Lake City and began a vaudeville act with Lemaire playing piano and Woolf singing. They progressed from being a fill-in act to fairly good positions on bills at smaller vaudeville theaters. Eventually the act broke up with Lemaire leaving show business while Woolf went on tour with a singing act.

King made his Broadway debut in 1920, 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 in the mid-1930s. He used his birth name, Walter Woolf, until he went to Hollywood. There he became Walter King to appease his employers. He used that name until he returned to Broadway to appear in May Wine. Producer Lawrence Schwab had known him as Walter Woolf and did not like the name Walter King; they compromised on use of Walter Woolf King for the play.

King's film debut came in Golden Dawn (1930).

King acted in the Community Playhouse in Pasadena, California, in 1934.

In 1936, King was host of the Flying Red Horse Tavern on CBS radio.Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 234.

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 with Laurel & Hardy in Swiss Miss (1938). King made several appearances on radio and later became an actors' agent. During the 1950s and 1960s, he was seen in several often uncredited bit parts and smaller roles in television and films.

One credited TV role was as “Major Clinton” in the 1958 S1E38 offering, “The Monty Britton Story” on Wagon Train.

In the first episode of The Munsters he is credited for his role as George Washington. His final appearance was in the 1977 TV movie One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story.

Personal life and death King was married to Ernestyne Bachrach. They had a daughter, Barbara Jean Meier, and a son, Walter Woolf King Jr. He died of a heart attack in Beverly Hills, California, on October 24, 1984, aged 88.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1930 Golden Dawn Tom Allen 1933 Girl Without a Room Arthur Copeland 1934 Embarrassing Moments Paul 1935 Lottery Lover Prince Midanoff One More Spring Morris Rosenberg Ginger Daniel Parker Spring Tonic José A Night at the Opera Rudolfo Lassparri 1937 Call It a Day Paul Francis 1938 Walking Down Broadway Jeff Hoffman Swiss Miss Victor Albert 1939 Society Smugglers Roy Allen Massey Big Town Czar Paul Burgess The House of Fear Carleton Balalaika Captain Michael Sibirsky 1940 Go West John Beecher 1941 Melody for Three Antoine Pirelle 1942 Today I Hang Jim O'Brien A Yank in Libya Mike Malone Smart Alecks Dr. Ormsby Between Us Girls King - an actor 1943 Yanks Ahoy Captain Gillis 1952 Stars and Stripes Forever President's Aide Uncredited 1953 Taxi Business Man Tonight We Sing Gritti Call Me Madam Secretary of State Uncredited City That Never Sleeps Hotel Manager Uncredited Affair with a Stranger Harry Casino Uncredited 1955 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Doctor Pritchard Season 1 Episode 8: "Our Cook's a Treasure" Francis in the Navy Jensen Uncredited 1956 The Bottom of the Bottle Grant The Ten Commandments Herald Uncredited Three Brave Men Admiral Mason Uncredited 1957 An Affair to Remember Doctor in Hospital Uncredited The Joker Is Wild Mr. Page Uncredited The Helen Morgan Story Florenz Ziegfeld 1958 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Mob Boss Season 3 Episode 14: "The Percentage" Kathy O' Donald C. Faber Hong Kong Confidential CIA Chief Uncredited1961 The Outsider Civilian Uncredited 1963 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Senator Hayes Season 1 Episode 29: "The Dark Pool" The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Mr. Roberts the Executive Season 2 Episode 2: "A Nice Touch" The Householder Professor The Raiders Colonel DeKoenig Uncredited 1964 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Judge Season 2 Episode 31: "Isabel" Where Love Has Gone Bank Board Member Uncredited Della Sam Jordon 1967 Rosie! Judge 1970 Airport Cindy's Father Uncredited

References

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