Charles Knox Manning is an American actor and radio announcer. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts on January 17, 1904. Died August 26, 1980 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. Together with his wife, Annette is buried at the Ivy Lawn Cemetery in Ventura, California.
Radio career
Since the early 1930s, Manning has worked as an announcer for a KNX radio station in California as a producer, announcer, and performer.
Together with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Manning hosted the Sherlock Holmes Adventures radio show. Subsequently, Manning was promoted to radio as host of his own radio show, The Cinderella Story.
In his author's radio show "Behind the Scenes", theatrical reenactments of news events with the participation of famous historical figures were presented.
A similar program, This Is a Story, featured people, places, and things familiar to American audiences.
Until the 1960s, Knox Maning worked as a news anchor for CBS Radio and as a journalist for California Radio KNX.
Film career
A new page in the presenter's biography opened in 1939: as a radio announcer, Knox Manning was invited to the film industry as a voice-over narrator. His catchy voice and signature phrases were quickly noticed by many film studios, and Manning soon became the most popular film voice artist. Moreover, in most cases it was made a trademark in many film and television projects.
From 1940 to 1954, Knox was the permanent storyteller of the popular adventure series for Columbia Pictures, reading playful scripts with love and enthusiasm.
The fresh narrative style of the 1960s Batman series owes much to Knox Manning, who played the voice-over.
In parallel with his work at Columbia Pictures, Knox worked as a commentator on short stories on history, music and news for Warner Brothers. Participated in projects of independent producers.
In 1943 he signed with RKO Radio Pictures and worked on the Flicker Flashbacks, becoming the most prolific storyteller of the 34-episode comedy series. Critics have often praised this comedy series with satirical soundtracks and singled out Knox Manning's work as an important asset.
In 1954, Manning left Columbia Pictures permanently and began working more with Warner Brothers, providing his voice to voice commercials for the company's current feature films.
Only in a few films Manning has appeared in the frame. For example, in the 1942 sports drama Harmon of Michigan and the 1946 comedy Mr. Hex.
Creativity in film and television
As a commentator, Manning participated in the creation of the American short documentary on horse racing, Turf Kings (1941), directed by Del Frazier. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film.
In 1941, Knox Manning voiced a character named Anton Radchak in the drama film Welcome to Miss Bishop. The film is directed by Tay Garnett and stars Martha Scott.
As the narrator, Manning starred in the 1942 short propaganda documentary Beyond Duty. In the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack, Hollywood began making massive propaganda films that educated the public, raised public morale, and supported and encouraged the Red Cross and other organizations that helped soldiers in the war. There were also educational or entertainment films intended only for military personnel.
Beyond Duty has become one of the best morale-boosting films that encourages men and women to join the military. In 1943, the film won the Oscar for Best Short Film.
As the narrator, Manning was featured in Frank Capra's propaganda film Divide and Conquer, the third in his Why We Fight series. The film is dedicated to the Nazi conquest of Western Europe in 1940 and was filmed by order of the US government. He justified the participation of American soldiers in World War II, urged the American public to support the participation of the United States in hostilities.
Frank Capra shot his series of films in response to Leni Riefenstahl's propaganda film "The Triumph of Will" and tried to convince the American nation of the need to participate in the war and in alliance with the USSR. Following Capra's example, other directors began filming propaganda footage to advance the Allied cause.
Jemmin Blues (1944) is an American short film with Maning as the narrator. The film is dedicated to prominent black jazz musicians who came together for a rare jam safe. The film stars famous 1940s jazzmen Lester Young, Red Callender, Harry Edison, Marlow Morris, Sid Catlett, Barney Kessel, Joe Jones, Illinois Jacquet, Marie Bryant and Archie Savage. Kessel was the only white musician in the film and was specially shaded so that his skin color did not contrast with the rest of the jazzmen. Subsequently, the film won an Oscar for Best Short Film.
I Shall Not Act (1944) is a short film directed by Crane Wilbur that won the 1945 Academy Award for Best Short Film. Knox Manning participated as a narrator without being credited.
Hitler's Life (1945) is a short documentary film directed by Don Siegel, filmed shortly before the end of World War II. Despite the film's modest budget, in 1946 she won an Oscar for Best Documentary.
The film warns that defeated Germans still contain Nazi supporters and that the world must be vigilant about the possible emergence of a new Nazi leader. The painting combines theatrical content and archival material, but does not mention Jews as victims of persecution. The film ends with a warning against the emergence of fascism in America. The film was narrated by Knox Manning.
Encounter Your Danger (1946) is a short film by amateur director Edwin Olsen, filmed in 1942 on 16mm amateur film camera. With no financial ability to edit the film, Olsen sold it to Warner Brothers in 1946. This company edited the film and brought it to theatrical release.
Facing Your Danger won 19 Academy Awards in 1947, including Best Short Film. It was an unprecedented event: for the first time in history, an Oscar was awarded to a film shot by an amateur filmmaker on 16mm film! Knox Manning acted as a voice narrator in it.
Prince of Peace (1949), with Knox Manning as a voiceover, is a religious-themed film directed by Cinecolor, based on the annual Passion Week. The children's actress Ginger Prince made her debut in the film.
"She should have said no!" (1949) - a film about drug addiction in the spirit of moralizing stories about the arrest of tennis player Leela Leeds and Robert Mitchum on charges of using and distributing marijuana. The filmed picture tried for a long time to find its distributor, until it was sold to Kroger Bubb. He released the film, remaking its title and posters, and fabricated the story that the film was commissioned by the US Treasury. Knox Manning is featured in the film as the narrator.
Directing to the Moon (1950) is an American sci-fi film by Technicolor that has gained wide popularity in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was the first major US science fiction film to explore the practical scientific and engineering challenges of space travel and what a manned mission to the moon would be like. The screenplay for the film was written by renowned science fiction writer Robert Heinlein. Knox Manning participated as a narrator without being credited.
Breaking the Water Barrier (1956) is an American short documentary directed by Konstantin Kalser. The film won an Oscar in 1957 for Best Short Film. Knox Manning participated in the filming as a voiceover.
