Wayne King, born Harold Wayne King, (February 16, 1901 – July 16, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and orchestral leader. He was sometimes referred to as "the Waltz King" because much of his most popular music involved waltzes; "The Waltz You Saved For Me" was his standard set closing song in live performance and on numerous radio broadcasts at the height of his career.
Born in Savanna, Illinois, King was an impressive athlete in high school, and briefly played professional football with the Canton Bulldogs. He also attended Valparaiso University in Indiana for two years, but left to begin a career in music.
After playing saxophone for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, he created "Wayne King and Orchestra" in 1927. It was disbanded during World War II, and King joined the army, advancing to the rank of major. The orchestra was reestablished in 1946.
King's orchestra had a television show in Chicago from 1949 to 1952. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Radio category. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, the retired silent film actress Dorothy Janis.
In later years he operated a black angus cattle farm and a car rental business. In early 1958 he appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show "To Tell The Truth".
He released a Christmas album on Decca Records, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, in 1963.
Wayne King and his Orchestra also played at Disneyland (Carnation Gardens) in the summer of 1970.
King's orchestra played its last engagement in March 1983 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota, Florida.
Wayne became quite the star and was even honored in his hometown of Savanna with a sign acknowloging that he was a resident of the town.
Recordings
- ""Goodnight, Sweetheart", 1931
- "Dream a Little Dream of Me", 1931, a #1 hit
- "Maria Elena", 1941, a #2 hit
- "All Alone", recorded 1946
- Dancing with tears in my eyes (orchestral 1952)
Trivia
- On an episode of Ricky Gervais' XFM radio show a running joke was started due to King's name sounding like "Wanking"
References
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
