Raymond Knight (radio)
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Raymond Knight (February 12, 1899 – February 12, 1953) was an American actor, comedian and comedy writer, best known as a pioneer in satirical humor for network
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.


Life and career

Born in
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, Knight studied law at
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
and passed the Massachusetts bar, but he returned to school to study theater and writing at Harvard's 47 Workshop, followed by more studies at Yale. In 1927, he performed in the Broadway
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revue ''The Manhatters''. Knight was writing continuity and commercials for NBC in 1929, when NBC programmer Bertha Brainard asked him to devise "something cuckoo" for the Blue Network. He responded with the zany '' The Cuckoo Hour'', aka ''The KUKU Hour'', as a showcase for his comedy. One of his characters on the series was Professor Ambrose J. Weems, who ran a radio station where he would give his views on current events and chat with his sidekick, Mrs. Pennyfeather. Radio historian Billy Jack Long described the unique aspects of Knight's satirical series: :This show was the forerunner to most of what America thought was funny afterwards. Ray, unlike most of the other radio personalities at the time, didn't have a background in vaudeville. He did all of his work within a short distance from home. Consequently, Ray had a good grasp on what people did when they were at home. Nothing was safe from Ray Knight's sarcasm. It wasn't meant to be rude or upsetting. But ''The KUKU Hour'' was so different from anything that was going on at the time. He would bounce back and forth between networks. The show started on NBC and was there for a few years before moving to Mutual. ''The KUKU Hour'' did not always have the same characters but it would have the same elements in each show. One of these was a segment called "The Firing Squad". In this, Ray would make comments about a person, a group or an idea, and then have everyone in the studio shoot at it with toy guns. Paper cap guns were provided for members of the studio audience, and even the technical people got involved in this! Knight replaced actress Aline Berry and her husband, writer Peter Dixon (''Raising Junior''), when he took over the children's series, '' Wheatenaville Sketches'', sponsored by Wheatena. On this program, Knight portrayed editor Billy Batchelor, running a small town newspaper founded by his uncle. '' Wheatenaville Sketches'' and ''The Cuckoo Hour'' were both important influences on comedian Bob Elliott, who attended Knight's show with his parents and later became friends with Knight.


Broadway

In 1935 Knight contributed sketches to '' At Home Abroad'', a revue with music by
Arthur Schwartz Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 – September 3, 1984) was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz. Biography Early life Schwartz was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New ...
and lyrics by Howard Dietz about a bored couple who flee America and go on a musical world tour. The original Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 19, 1935, and ran for 198 performances. The cast included Beatrice Lillie, Ethel Waters, Eleanor Powell, Reginald Gardiner and Eddie Foy Jr. This was the first Broadway musical directed by
Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (; born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American Theatre director, stage director and film director. From a career spanning over half a century, he is best known for his sophisticated innovat ...
i. Knight's play ''Run Sheep Run'' opened on Broadway in 1938 with a cast that included William Bendix and Dick Van Patten. The comedy closed after 12 days.


Daytime drama

In 1941, he created and scripted the radio serial, ''A House in the Country'', about city couple Joan and Bruce attempting to adapt to country life. It aired on the Blue Network weekday mornings from October 6, 1941, to October 28, 1942. Knight took the role of a shopkeeper on the program. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Knight was the national production manager for ABC. He was a contributor to ''
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'' and other magazines. In the early 1950s, he wrote for Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding's ''
Bob and Ray Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) *Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II *Bob the ...
'' show. In 1953, he died on his birthday, February 12. In 1954, Bob Elliott married Knight's widow, Lee (they had three children together, including Chris Elliott), creating a comedic lineage that spans across three centuries and four generations, from Raymond Knight and Bob Elliott to Chris Elliott and his daughter, Abby Elliott. Raymond Knight's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6130 Hollywood Boulevard.


See also

* List of old-time radio people


References


External links

*
Zuckerman, Ed. "A Professionally Funny Family", ''The New York Times'' November 24, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Raymond 1899 births 1953 deaths American radio personalities American satirists Boston University School of Law alumni Harvard University alumni Yale University alumni 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights