Walter Woolf King (2 November 1899 – 24 October 1984) was an American film, television and stage actor and singer.
Born in San Francisco, California, King started singing for a living at a young age and performed mostly in churches. He made his Broadway debut in 1919, 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, Walter Woolf King, in the mid 1930s.
King began his film career in musicals but quickly moved into supporting roles. He is probably best known today for his villainous roles in two films starring the Marx Brothers, A Night At The Opera and Go West. He also appeared on radio and later became an actors agent. He made numerous appearances in bit parts and supporting roles in television and films throughout the 1950s and '60s. His final appearance was in the 1977 TV movie One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story.
King died in Beverly Hills, California in 1984.
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“Thy gowns, thy shoes,thy beds of roses,
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies,
Soon break, soon wither—soon forgotten,
In folly ripe,in reason rotten.”
—Sir Walter Raleigh (1552?–1618)
“I am to be broken. I am to be derided all my life. I am to be cast up and down among these men and women, with their twitching faces, with their lying tongues, like a cork on a rough sea. Like a ribbon of weed I am flung far every time the door opens.”
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
“No king on earth is as safe in his job as a Trade Union official. There is only one thing that can get him sacked; and that is drink. Not even that, as long as he doesn’t actually fall down.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)