Dennis King

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Dennis King (1927)

Dennis King (born November 2, 1897 in Coventry , England as Dennis Pratt , † May 21, 1971 in New York City ) was a British - American theater and film actor and singer.

life and career

After some success on British theater stages, Dennis King moved to the USA in 1921. There the handsome actor made his Broadway debut in the same year . Between the 1920s and 1940s he was one of the big stars there and won a mainly female following. Most of his appearances included vocal parts because of his good voice. On the one hand, he appeared in musicals , but on the other hand he also appeared in Shakespeare plays. His greatest success was the role of François Villon in Rudolf Friml's play The Vagabond King from 1925. By 1969 Dennis King appeared in at least 40 Broadway plays, in which he played mostly in leading roles.

In the film adaptation of the play The King of the Vagabonds Dennis King made his film debut in 1930, this film musical also received an Oscar nomination in the category Best Equipment . In total, he had around 30 film and television appearances by 1969, but his film career remained rather secondary compared to his successes on Broadway. He had one of his most famous film roles as the elegant robber captain Fra Diavolo at the side of Laurel and Hardy in the comedy Hands up - or not . From 1950 he also starred in television programs and television films.

Dennis King died at the age of 73. He was the father of the stage actor John Michael King (1926-2008).

Filmography (selection)

Theater appearances (selection)

  • 1919: Monsieur Beaucaire (London)
  • 1925: Rose-Marie (Broadway)
  • 1925: The Vagabond King (Broadway)
  • 1928: The Three Musketeers (Broadway; 1930 in London)
  • 1932: Show Boat
  • 1933: Command Performance (London)
  • 1937: Frederika as Goethe (Broadway)
  • 1938: I Married an Angel (Broadway)
  • 1951: Music in the Air (Broadway)
  • 1956: Shangri-La (Broadway)

Web links

Commons : Dennis King  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Broadway League: Dennis King - Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB. Retrieved September 13, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Dennis King. Retrieved September 13, 2018 .
  3. ^ The Broadway League: John Michael King - Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB. Retrieved September 13, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME King, Dennis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pratt, Dennis (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British-American theater and film actor and singer
DATE OF BIRTH November 2, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH Coventry , England
DATE OF DEATH May 21, 1971
Place of death New York City