Alexander Knox

Biography

A Presbyterian minister's son, softly-spoken, intellectual-looking Alexander Knox received his education from the University of Western Ontario, where he studied English literature. An excellent elocutionist, member of the university's Hesperian Club, he had his first fling with dramatic acting playing the lead in "Hamlet". His professional theatrical debut began on the Boston stage in 1929, while simultaneously earning an income as a journalist for the Boston Post. After only a year, he went looking for better acting opportunities in England, specializing in 'serious', classical parts which required just the right measure of 'gravitas'. During another journalistic stint with the London Advertiser, he made the acquaintance of noted stage director and producer Tyrone Guthrie, who helped him to make a name for himself on the London stage at the Old Vic. As the decade progressed, Knox appeared opposite such theatrical icons as Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier (in "The King of Nowhere"), and in plays by James Bridie and George Bernard Shaw. Movie work followed in 1938, with appearances in The Phantom Strikes (1938) and a bit part in The Four Feathers (1939), but the outbreak of World War II prompted his return to America. In 1940, Knox got his big break on Broadway, playing the part of Friar Laurence in "Romeo and Juliet", written and staged by Olivier and starring Vivien Leigh as Juliet. A later leading role in "The Three Sisters" (1942-43), a turn-of-the-century drama set in Russia, saw him as Baron Tuzenbach opposite Katharine Cornell and Judith Anderson. With good critical notices, it became only a matter of time before the screen beckoned again. In 1941, Knox made his Hollywood film bow and was perfectly cast as the quiet intellectual Humphrey Van Weyden…