Raymond Knight (radio)
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Raymond Knight (February 12, 1899, Salem, Massachusetts - February 12, 1953) was a pioneer in satirical humor on the radio.
Knight studied law at Boston University 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 musical 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, performing as Professsor Ambrose J. Weems, who ran a radio station where he would give his views on current events and chat with his sidekick, Mrs. Pennyfeather.[1]
Knight replaced Aline and Peter Dixon 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.
In 1938 Knight's play Run Sheep Run opened on Broadway with a cast that included William Bendix and Dick Van Patten. The comedy closed after 12 days.
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 Knight was the national production manager for ABC. He was a contributor to Woman's Day and other magazines. In the early 1950s, he wrote for Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding's Bob and Ray show. In 1953, he died on his birthday, February 12. Bob Elliott later married Knight's widow.
Raymond Knight's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6130 Hollywood Boulevard.
[edit] References
- ^ Dixon, Peter. Radio Writing. New York, The Century Company, 1931.
