John Forrest "Fuzzy" Knight (May 9, 1901 – February 23, 1976) was an American film and television actor. He was also a singer, especially in his early career. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1928 and 1967, usually as a cowboy hero's comic sidekick.

Biography

Knight was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, the third child and son of James A. and Olive Knight. In Fairmont, he worked as a clerk at a hotel and played in a theater orchestra. He attended nearby

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

Corneau, Ernest. ''Hall of Fame of Western Film Stars''. Christopher Publishing, 1969, p. 235 where he was a member of

Sigma Nu Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate Fraternities and sororities in North America, college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute on January 1, 1869. The fraternity was founded by James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlva ...

fraternity, a cheerleader and law student. He wrote a pep song, "Fight Mountaineers," which is still frequently used by the Mountaineer Marching Band 90 years later. He also wrote the melody for a WVU song titled "To Thee Our Alma Mater," with words by fellow graduate David A. Christopher. He formed his own band in college and played drums, eventually leaving school to perform in vaudeville and in big bands such as

Irving Aaronson Irving A. Aaronson (February 7, 1895 – March 10, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and big band leader. Aaronson's most popular song, "The Loveliest Night of the Year", was not recorded with his band but was adapted by Aaronson in 1950 for ...

's and

George Olsen George Edward Olsen Sr. (March 18, 1893 - March 18, 1971) was an American bandleader. Born in Portland, Oregon, Olsen played the drums and attended the University of Michigan, where he was drum major. There he formed his band, George Olsen an ...

's.Fuzzy Knight obituary, Variety, March 3, 1976 Eventually his musical and comedy skills took him to New York, where he appeared in ''

Earl Carroll Earl Carroll (September 16, 1893 – June 17, 1948) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, songwriter and composer. Early life Carroll was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1893. He lived as an infant in the Nunnery Hill ( Fine ...

's Vanities'' of 1927 and on

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 ...

in ''Here's Howe'' and ''Ned Wayburn's Gambols''.Internet Broadway Database http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=67987 He was billed under his nickname, Fuzzy (given him because of his peculiarly soft voice). While touring with bands, Knight came to Hollywood and appeared in several musical short films for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

and

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

between 1928 and 1932.

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

gave him his first notable film role in ''

She Done Him Wrong ''She Done Him Wrong'' is a 1933 pre-Code American crime/comedy film starring Mae West and Cary Grant. The plot includes melodramatic and musical elements, with a supporting cast featuring Owen Moore, Gilbert Roland, Noah Beery Sr., Rochelle Hu ...

'', and he went on to play in many dozens of films over the next 30 years. By the 1940s, he was primarily playing in

Western movies The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

and was voted one of the Top Ten Money-Making Stars in Westerns in 1940. Knight became famous to a new generation when he co-starred as

Buster Crabbe Clarence Linden Crabbe II (; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983), known professionally as Buster Crabbe, was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimmi ...

's sidekick (using his own name as Private Fuzzy Knight) on the 1955 television series ''

Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion ''Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion'' is an American half-hour black-and-white television series about the French Foreign Legion starring Buster Crabbe in the title role. Crabbe's real-life son Cullen Crabbe played the Legion mascot, with cowb ...

''. In semi-retirement thereafter, Knight continued to make occasional appearances in films and TV shows through 1967. He died in his sleep at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

, and was survived by his wife, actress Patricia Ryan (née Thelma de Long). He was buried in

Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 10621 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood and Burbank, California. The cemetery has an entrance called the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation that is the final resting place for aviation ...

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

Filmography

References

External links

* *
''Fuzzy Knight and His Little Piano'' film short from YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Fuzzy 1901 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American musicians Male actors from West Virginia American male film actors Songwriters from West Virginia American male television actors Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery West Virginia University alumni Male Western (genre) film actors People from Fairmont, West Virginia