Robert William Armstrong[note 1] (November 20, 1890 – April 20, 1973) was an American film and television actor remembered for his role as Carl Denham in the 1933 version of King Kong by RKO Pictures. He uttered the famous exit quote, “‘it wasn’t the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.” at the film’s end.
Early years
Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Armstrong lived in Bay City, Michigan until about 1902 and moved to Seattle, Washington. He attended the University of Washington, where he studied law, and became a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity. Armstrong gave up his studies to manage his uncle’s touring companies.[citation needed]
Career
In his spare time, Armstrong 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.[citation needed]
Armstrong’s silver screen career began in 1927 when he appeared in Pathé’s silent drama The Main Event. He 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, 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. The Most Dangerous Game was filmed at night on the same jungle sets as King Kong, which was shot during the day, with Armstrong and Fay Wray simultaneously starring in both pictures. In 1937, Armstrong starred in With Words and Music (also referred to as The Girl Said No), released by Grand National Films Inc. He also worked throughout the 1930s and 1940s for many film studios. Prior to World War II, in 1940, Universal Pictures released Enemy Agent, about countering a Nazi spy ring. In the film, Armstrong co-starred with Helen Vinson, Richard Cromwell and Jack La Rue. In 1942, he was reteamed with Cromwell in Baby Face Morgan, a notable B movie for PRC (Producers Releasing Corporation). Later in that decade, Armstrong played another Carl Denham-like leading character role as “Max O’Hara” in 1949’s Mighty Joe Young. This film was another stop-motion animation giant gorilla fantasy, made by the same King Kong team of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack.
In the 1950s, he appeared as Sheriff Andy Anderson on Rod Cameron’s syndicated western-themed television series, State Trooper. Armstrong made four guest appearances on Perry Mason during its nine-year run on CBS: in 1961 he played the title character and murder victim Captain Bancroft in “The Case of the Malicious Mariner”; in 1962 he played defendant Jimmy West in “The Case of the Playboy Pugilist”; and in 1964 he played murderer Phil Jenks in “The Case of the Accosted Accountant,” thus becoming one of only eleven actors to hit the Perry Mason trifecta, playing victim, defendant and murderer.
Marriages
Peggy Allenby (August 1920 – April 17, 1925; divorced) (died 1966)
Ethel Virah Smith (June 12, 1926 – July 27, 1931; divorced) (died 1950)
Gladys Dubois (January 10, 1936 – December 31, 1939; divorced) (died 1971)
Claire Louise Frisbie (January 1, 1940 – April 20, 1973; his death) (died 1990)
Death
Armstrong died of cancer in Santa Monica, California. He and King Kong’s co-producer, Merian C. Cooper, died within sixteen hours of each other.
Filmography
The Main Event (1927) as Red Lucas
The Leopard Lady (1928) as Chris
A Girl in Every Port (1928) as Bill / Salami
Square Crooks (1928) as Eddie Ellison
The Cop (1928) as Scarface Marcas
The Baby Cyclone (1928) as Gene
Celebrity (1928) as Kid Reagan
Show Folks (1928) as Owens – Promoter
Ned McCobb’s Daughter (1928) as Babe Callahan
The Shady Lady (1928) as Blake
The Leatherneck (1929) as Joseph Hanlon
The Woman from Hell (1929) as Alf
Big News (1929) as Steve Banks
Oh, Yeah? (1929) as Dude Cowan
The Racketeer (1929) as Mahlon Keane
Be Yourself! (1930) as Jerry Moore
Dumbbells in Ermine (1930) as Jerry Malone
Danger Lights (1930) as Larry Doyle
Big Money (1930) as Ace
Paid (1930) as Joe Garson
Iron Man (1931) as George Regan
Ex-Bad Boy (1931) as Chester Binney
The Tip-Off (1931) as Kayo McClure
Suicide Fleet (1931) as Dutch
Panama Flo (1932) as Babe Dillon
The Lost Squadron (1932) as Woody
Radio Patrol (1932) as Bill Kennedy
Is My Face Red? (1932) as Ed Maloney
The Most Dangerous Game (1932) as Martin Trowbridge
Hold ‘Em Jail (1932) as The Radio Announcer
The Penguin Pool Murder (1932) as Barry Costello
The Billion Dollar Scandal (1932) as Fingers Partos
King Kong (1933) as Carl Denham
Fast Workers (1933) as Bucker Reilly
I Love That Man (1933) as Driller
Blind Adventure (1933) as Richard Bruce
Above the Clouds (1933) as Scoop Adams
Son of Kong (1933) as Carl Denham
Palooka (1934) as Pete Palooka
Search for Beauty (1934) as Larry Williams
She Made Her Bed (1934) as ‘Duke’ Gordon
Manhattan Love Song (1934) as Tom Williams
The Hell Cat (1934) as Dan Collins
Kansas City Princess (1934) as Dynamite ‘Dynie’ Carson
Flirting with Danger (1934) as Bob Owens
The Mystery Man (1935) as Larry Doyle
Gigolette (1935) as Chuck Ahearn
Sweet Music (1935) as ‘Dopey’ Malone
G Men (1935) as Jeffrey “Jeff” McCord
Little Big Shot (1935) as Steve Craig
Remember Last Night? (1935) as Flannagan, the Milburns’ mechanic
Dangerous Waters (1936) as ‘Dusty’ Johnson
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936) as Nick Martel (bookie)
Public Enemy’s Wife (1936) as Gene Ferguson
All American Chump (1936) as Bill Hogan
Without Orders (1936) as Wad. Madison
Nobody’s Baby (1937) as Scoops Hanford
Three Legionnaires (1937) as Sgt. Chuck Connors
It Can’t Last Forever (1937) as Al Tinker
The Girl Said No (1937) as Jimmie Allen
She Loved a Fireman (1937) as Capt. Smokey Shannon
The Night Hawk (1938) as Charlie McCormick
There Goes My Heart (1938) as Detective O’Brien
The Flying Irishman (1939) as Joe Alden
Man of Conquest (1939) as Jim Bowie
Unmarried (1939) as Pins Streaver
Winter Carnival (1939) as Tiger Reynolds
Flight at Midnight (1939) as Jim Brennan
The Roaring Twenties (1939) as Hatted Passerby before Nightclub (uncredited)
Call a Messenger (1939) as Kirk Graham
Framed (1940) as Skippy
Forgotten Girls (1940) as Grover Mullins
Enemy Agent (1940) as Gordon
Service with the Colors (1940) as Sgt. Clicker
The Bride Wore Crutches (1940) as Pete
Behind the News (1940) as Vic Archer
The San Francisco Docks (1940) as Father Cameron
Mr. Dynamite (1941) as Paul
Sky Raiders (1941) as Lieutenant Ed Carey
Citadel of Crime (1941) as Cal Fullerton
Dive Bomber (1941) as Art Lyons
Gang Busters (1942) as Det. Tim Nolan
My Favorite Spy (1942) as Harry Robinson
It Happened in Flatbush (1942) as Danny Mitchell
Let’s Get Tough! (1942) as Pop Stevens
Baby Face Morgan (1942) as ‘Doc’ Rogers
Wings Over the Pacific (1943) as Pieter Van Bronk
Adventures of the Flying Cadets (1943) as Arthur Galt, alias The Black Hangman
The Kansan (1943) as Malachy
The Mad Ghoul (1943) as Ken McClure
Around the World (1943) as General (uncredited)
Action in Arabia (1944) as Matthew Reed
The Navy Way (1944) as CPO Harper
Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1944) as Joe Tinker
Belle of the Yukon (1944) as George
Blood on the Sun (1945) as Col. Hideki Tojo
Gangs of the Waterfront (1945) as Peter Winkly and Dutch Malone
The Falcon in San Francisco (1945) as De Forrest Marshall
Arson Squad (1945) as Fire Capt. Joe Dugan
The Royal Mounted Rides Again (1945) as Jonathan Price
Gay Blades (1946) as McManus
Blonde Alibi (1946) as Williams
G.I. War Brides (1946) as Dawson
Decoy (1946) as Frankie Olins
Criminal Court (1946) as Vic Wright – Club Circle owner
The Sea of Grass (1947) as Floyd McCurtin (Brewton’s attorney)
Fall Guy (1947) as Mac McLaine
Exposed (1947) as Inspector Prentice
The Fugitive (1947) as A Sergeant of Police
Return of the Bad Men (1948) as ‘Wild Bill Doolin’ / Wild Bill Doolin
The Paleface (1948) as Terri
The Lucky Stiff (1949) as Insp. Von Flanagan
The Crime Doctor’s Diary (1949) as George ‘Goldie’ Harrigan
Streets of San Francisco (1949) as Willard Logan
Mighty Joe Young (1949) as Max O’Hara
Sons of New Mexico (1949) as Pat Feeney
Captain China (1950) as Keegan
Destination Big House (1950) as Ed Somers
The Pace That Thrills (1952) as J.C. Barton
Las Vegas Shakedown (1955) as Doc
Double Jeopardy (1955) as Sam Baggott
The Peacemaker (1956) as Sheriff Ben Seale
The Crooked Circle (1957) as Al Taylor
Girl with an Itch (1958) as Ben Cooper
Johnny Cool (1963) as Gang Member
For Those Who Think Young (1964) as Norman Armstrong – Cronin’s Business Associate (final film role)
External Links
Actor Robert Armstrong – Wikipedia
