  kirby grant (november 24, 1911 - october 30, 1985), born kirby grant hoon, jr., was a long-time b movie and television actor, mostly remembered for having played the title role in the western-themed adventure television series sky king. between 1949 and 1954, grant played the title role in the series of ten corporal rod webb films. ==early life and career== grant was born in butte in silver bow county in southwestern montana. he was a child prodigy violinist. he continued to study music and became a professional singer and bandleader.http://members.cox.net/skykingtv/skykingt.html ==movie career== in 1939 the "gateway to hollywood" talent-search contest awarded him a movie contract. these "gateway" contracts were already prepared with fictitious screen names (thus josephine cottle became "gale storm" and ralph bowman became "john archer"; grant won with dorothy howe, who became "virginia vale"). grant's contract was made out to "robert stanton," and grant used the pseudonym in his earliest films before adopting his first and middle names professionally. "robert stanton" and "virginia vale" were introduced in the rko radio pictures feature three sons, with edward ellis and william gargan. for the next few years grant freelanced among various studios; his most familiar picture from this period (as kirby grant) is probably blondie goes latin, a 1941 film with penny singleton and arthur lake. in 1943, grant signed with universal pictures, where he played romantic leads in b musicals, and in abbott and costello and olsen and johnson comedies. his smooth baritone voice got him teamed with universal's singing star gloria jean for two features in 1944, and then universal selected him to replace rod cameron (who had just been promoted to more important roles) as the studio's b-western series star in 1945. grant also
1911_births 1985_deaths 20th-century_American_male_actors American_male_film_actors American_male_television_actors American_ranchers Aviators_from_Montana Male_actors_from_Montana People_from_Butte,_Montana Road_accident_deaths_in_Florida Singing_cowboys