Felix Knight
| Felix Knight | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
William Felix Knight November 1, 1908 Macon, Georgia |
| Died | June 18, 1998 (age 89) New York City, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor, tenor, vocal teacher |
| Years active | 1929–1998 |
| Known for | Tom-Tom in Babes in Toyland |
| Height | 5'8" |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Moore (1935–1939, divorced) Ethel Blume (1940–1998, his death) |
| Children | 1 |
William Felix Knight (stage name: Felix Knight, November 1, 1908 – June 18, 1998), was an American tenor, actor, and vocal teacher, best known for his role as Tom-Tom in the 1934 Laurel and Hardy musical film Babes in Toyland.
William Felix Knight was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of a cotton farmer who died in a hunting accident when Knight was five. Seven years later, he moved with his family to Pensacola, Florida, where he began to play the guitar. By his mid-teens, Knight was singing at dances and nightspots. By 1925, he was featured on a local radio station, and a movie company manager on location at the time to make a feature film urged Knight to travel to and try his luck in California.
Knight found a vocal teacher in California, but was unable to earn a movie contract. To compensate, Knight did local singing jobs and church work, eventually gaining financial support from the Harkness Scholarship Foundation to aid in paying for his vocal lessons. By 1929, Knight was singing in a Santa Barbara, California Columbia network (later CBS) station, and additionally, had a national show, WCC Presents Felix Knight. Knight entered the Arwater Kent Foundation Scholarship Auditions of the Air, and made it to Manhattan prior to placing second in the judging.
Upon returning to California, Knight sang at the Hollywood Bowl in the Giuseppe Verdi opera La traviata alongside Lily Pons, and then traveled to San Francisco, California, where he did Hector Berlioz's La damnation de Faust with the city's opera company. Once he returned to Hollywood, he continued voice studying and radio work, including the CBS program Shell Mountain House with Raymond Paige and his Orchestra. Knight finally made his screen debut in 1934 in RKO Pictures Down to Their Last Yacht as a South Seas native who sings "Malakamokolu." Following this was the role of a gypsy in the Charles Boyer—Loretta Young picture Caravan, starring Boyer.
...
Wikipedia