Introduction
Claude Ewart King (15 January 1875 – 18 September 1941) was an English-born character actor and unionist, who appeared in American silent film. With his distinctive wavy hair King appeared on both stage and screen. He served his country, Great Britain, in WW1 in Field Artillery reaching the rank of Major and surviving the war. He began his stage career in his native country, before emigrating to the US. In 1919, he appeared on Broadway in support of Ethel Barrymore in the play Declassee.
Film
King after gravitating to silent films he had a key role in Tod Browning's lost silent masterpiece London After Midnight (1927) starring Lon Chaney. Claude King was an original member of the first Board of Directors of the Screen Actors' Guild (SAG) in 1933.He is the Great Uncle of singer/songwriter Claude King and Great, Great Uncle of singer/songwriter Chris Aable, both also SAG members.
Selected filmography
- Idols of Clay (1920)
- Why Girls Leave Home (1921)
- Bella Donna (1923)
- The Knockout (1925)
- Irish Luck (1925)
- The Making of O'Malley (1925)
- The Unguarded Hour (1925)
- Paradise (1926)
- The Silent Lover (1926)
- Mr. Wu (1927)
- Singed (1927)
- Becky (1927)
- London After Midnight (1927)
- Love and Learn (1928)
- Red Hair (1928)
- A Night of Mystery (1928)
- Outcast (1928)
- Warming Up (1928)
- Desert Nights (1929)
- The Black Watch (1929)
- Behind That Curtain (1929)
- The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929)
- Madame X (1929)
- Son of the Gods (1930)
- The Second Floor Mystery (1930)
- In Gay Madrid (1930)
- Prince of Diamonds (1930)
- Follow Thru (1930)
- Born to Love (1931)
- The Reckless Hour (1931)
- Once a Lady (1931)
- Heartbreak (1931)
- Six Hours to Live (1932)
- Sherlock Holmes (1932)
- White Woman (1933)
- The Masquerader (1933)
- Long Lost Father (1934)
- Charlie Chan in London (1934)
- The Great Impersonation (1935)
- The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)
- If I Were King (1938)
- The Philadelphia Story (1940, uncredited)
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941, uncredited)