Claude King

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 World War I 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.

After gravitating to silent films, King had a key role in Tod Browning's lost silent masterpiece London After Midnight (1927), starring alongside Lon Chaney. Claude King was later 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.