K
Ken Darby
Actor
Born May 13, 1909 in Hebron, Nebraska, USA
Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for the Munchkinland mayor in The Wizard of Oz (1939), who was portrayed in the film by Charlie Becker. Darby is also notable as the author of The Brownstone House of Nero Wolfe (1983), a biography of the home of Rex Stout's fictional detective. Ken Darby's choral group, The Ken Darby Singers, sang backup for Bing Crosby on the original 1942 Decca Records studio recording of "White Christmas." In 1940 they also sang on the first album ever made of the songs from The Wizard of Oz, a film on which Darby had worked. However, the album was a studio cast recording, not a true soundtrack album (although it did feature Judy Garland), and it did not use the film's original arrangements.
Filmography
The Night Before Christmas
How the West Was Won
Flower Drum Song
Elmer Gantry
Porgy and Bess
South Pacific
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Bus Stop
Carousel
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
River of No Return
Walt Disney's Halloween Hilarities
Jack-o'lantern (voice)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
The Girl Next Door
Call Me Madam
Stars and Stripes Forever
Trick or Treat
Jack-O'lantern (uncredited)
Rancho Notorious
The Brave Engineer
Himself
Fun and Fancy Free
The Bull (voice) (uncredited)
Donald's Dilemma
Donald Duck's Singing (voice) (uncredited)
Song of the South
Margie
Off-Screen Singer (voice) (uncredited)
The Martins and the Coys
The King's Men
Make Mine Music
The King's Men / Choral Director (Ken Darby Chorus) (singing voice) (uncredited)
The Kansan
Member - The King's Men
We've Never Been Licked
For Me and My Gal
The King's Men Member (uncredited)
Two-Faced Woman
Member - The King's Men (uncredited)
Stagecoach War
Outlaw
The Showdown
Rider
Law of the Pampas
The King's Men Member
The Wizard of Oz
Renegade Trail
Rider
Broadway Serenade
Singers - 'High Flyin' Number (uncredited)
Honolulu
Groucho 1 (uncredited)
Going Hollywood
Member - The King's Men
The Organ Grinder
Singing Organ Grinder (voice) (uncredited)
The Queen was in the Parlor
King (voice) (uncredited)
Red-Headed Baby
Spider
Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land
Uncle Tom (uncredited)
Big Man from the North
Villain Pig (voice) (uncredited)
Box Car Blues
Pig Hobo (voice) (uncredited)
Let's Go Native
Quartet Singer (as The King's Men) (uncredited)