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Charles Joseph King (October 31, 1886 – January 11, 1944) was a
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
and
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...
who also starred in several movies. He starred as the leading actor in the hit MGM movie, ''
The Broadway Melody ''The Broadway Melody'', also known as ''The Broadway Melody of 1929'', is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor sequen ...
'' (1929), the first all-talking film to win the
Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category ...
.


Early life and stage experience

King was born in New York City on October 31, 1886 to Thomas and Ellen King, both of whom were born in Ireland and had immigrated to the U.S. in 1883. Eleven children would be born to them, but only three were living by 1900: Charles, Nellie and Mary. Under the name of
Mollie King Mollie Elizabeth King (born 4 June 1987) is an English pop singer, radio presenter and a member of girl group The Saturdays. As part of the Saturdays, King has had 13 Top 10 and eight Top 5 singles, including the UK number-one hit "What About U ...
, Mary would eventually pursue a film career between 1916 and 1924. By 1908, King had begun acting on the Broadway stage; his first known role came in the revue ''The Mimic World''. In the 1910s his most frequent partner was Elizabeth Brice with whom he appeared in ''The Slim Princess'', ''
A Winsome Widow ''A Winsome Widow'' is a 1912 musical produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., which was a revised version of Charles Hale Hoyt's 1891 hit, '' A Trip to Chinatown'', with a score by Raymond Hubbell. History The show debuted at the Moulin Rouge on Apri ...
'', ''Watch Your Step'' and ''
Miss 1917 ''Miss 1917'' is a musical revue with a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, music by Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern and others, and lyrics by Harry B. Smith, Otto Harbach, Henry Blossom and others. Made up of a string of vignettes, the show fea ...
''. King continued to appear in many major Broadway successes during the 1920s, including ''
George White's Scandals ''George White's Scandals'' were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modeled after the ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W. C. F ...
'' (1921 edition), ''
Little Nellie Kelly ''Little Nellie Kelly'' is a 1940 American musical-comedy film based on the stage musical of the same title by George M. Cohan which was a hit on Broadway in 1922 and 1923. The film was written by Jack McGowan and directed by Norman Taurog. It ...
'', ''Keep Kool, Hit the Deck'' and ''Present Arms'', before turning his attention to Hollywood and the nascent genre of film musicals.


Film career

In late 1928, like many of his musical theatre colleagues, Charles King journeyed to Hollywood to begin appearing in films. His feature-film debut, ''
The Broadway Melody ''The Broadway Melody'', also known as ''The Broadway Melody of 1929'', is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor sequen ...
'', was an immense hit for MGM in 1929 and featured him singing the title song and "You Were Meant for Me", two significant song hits the same year. King introduced such other hits as "Orange Blossom Time" in ''
The Hollywood Revue of 1929 ''The Hollywood Revue of 1929'', or simply ''The Hollywood Revue'', is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was the studio's second feature-length musical, and one of their earliest sound films. Produce ...
'' (1929) and "
Happy Days Are Here Again "Happy Days Are Here Again" is a 1929 song with music by Milton Ager and lyrics by Jack Yellen. The song is a standard that has been interpreted by various artists. It appeared in the 1930 film '' Chasing Rainbows'' and was the campaign song fo ...
" in '' Chasing Rainbows'' (1930), but could not sustain the initial momentum of his film popularity as musicals saturated the market, many failed at the box office and studios ended their contracts with musical performers. By the end of 1930, he had returned to the Broadway stage where he spent the remainder of his career.


Audio recordings

Between January 1911 and April 1930, Charles King made a series of commercial recordings for Victor, Columbia, and Brunswick including several of his stage and film hits. A total of 26 recordings were issued, 12 of them duets with Elizabeth Brice.Rust, Brian and Allen G. Debus, ''The Complete Entertainment Discography'', New York: Da Capo, 1989, pp.450-52.


Death

In 1944, at age 57, King died of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
while on a
USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
tour.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Charles 1886 births 1944 deaths Male actors from New York City American male musical theatre actors Vaudeville performers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers