Robert Armstrong (actor)

Robert Armstrong
Armstrong in The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936)
Born	(1890-11-20)November 20, 1890 Saginaw, Michigan, U.S.
Died	April 20, 1973(1973-04-20) (aged 82) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting place	Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1919–1966
Spouse(s)	Peggy Allenby (m.1920-1925; divorced) Ethel Virah Smith (m.1926-1931; divorced) Gladys Dubois (m.1936-1939; divorced) Claire Louise Frisbie Armstrong (m.1940-1973; his death)

Robert Armstrong (November 20, 1890 – April 20, 1973) was an American film actor remembered for his role as Carl Denham in the 1933 version of King Kong by RKO Pictures. He uttered the famous exit quote, "'Twas beauty killed the beast," at the film's end.

Born Robert William Armstrong in Saginaw, Michigan, lived in Bay City, Michigan until about 1902 and moved to Seattle, Washington. Armstrong studied to be a lawyer but gave it up to manage his uncle's touring companies. He attended the University of Washington where he became a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity. In his spare time he wrote plays, which eventually led to him appearing in one of them when it was produced. Armstrong served in the United States Army in World War I, and upon his return home after the war, Armstrong discovered his uncle had died while he was away. In 1926 he went to London and appeared for a season on the British stage. Armstrong's silver screen career began in 1927 when he appeared in Pathé's silent drama The Main Event.

Armstrong appeared in 127 films between 1927 and 1964; very prolific in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he made nine movies in 1928 alone. He is best known for his role as director Carl Denham in King Kong. Months later in 1933, he starred as Carl Denham again in the sequel, Son of Kong, released the same year. He resembled King Kong producer and adventurer Merian C. Cooper, and Cooper used him in several films as more or less a version of himself (they coincidentally died sixteen hours apart). The Most Dangerous Game was filmed at night on the same jungle sets as King Kong, which was being shot during the day, with Armstrong and Fay Wray simultaneously starring in both pictures.