Charles Knox Manning (January 17, 1904 â€" August 26, 1980) was an
American film actor. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and died
in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. He and Annette North
Manning are interred at Ivy Lawn Cemetery in Ventura, California.A
former radio newscaster at KNX and announcer, Manning entered the
motion picture field in 1939 as an offscreen narrator. His distinctive
voice and phrasing were noticed by other studios, and he quickly
became one of the movies' busiest voice artists. Very often he was the
trademark voice of several concurrent series. From 1940 to 1954 he was
the narrator of Columbia Pictures' popular adventure serials, reading
the sometimes tongue-in-cheek scripts with enthusiasm. (The
voice-overs in the Batman TV series of the 1960s owe much of their
style to Knox Manning's breezy but urgent narrations of the 1940s,
including his work in the two Batman movie serials.) Away from
Columbia, he was the commentator for Warner Brothers' historical,
musical, and novelty short subjects. He made his services available to
independent producers as well, bringing equal vigor to a religious
drama and an anti-vice crusade.In 1943 he joined RKO Radio Pictures'
Flicker Flashbacks crew and became that series' most prolific
narrator, working in more than half of the series' 34 comedies. Trade
reviewers constantly praised this series of antique silent films
re-edited with satirical soundtracks, and often singled out Knox
Manning's comic timing as an important asset.
American film actor. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and died
in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. He and Annette North
Manning are interred at Ivy Lawn Cemetery in Ventura, California.A
former radio newscaster at KNX and announcer, Manning entered the
motion picture field in 1939 as an offscreen narrator. His distinctive
voice and phrasing were noticed by other studios, and he quickly
became one of the movies' busiest voice artists. Very often he was the
trademark voice of several concurrent series. From 1940 to 1954 he was
the narrator of Columbia Pictures' popular adventure serials, reading
the sometimes tongue-in-cheek scripts with enthusiasm. (The
voice-overs in the Batman TV series of the 1960s owe much of their
style to Knox Manning's breezy but urgent narrations of the 1940s,
including his work in the two Batman movie serials.) Away from
Columbia, he was the commentator for Warner Brothers' historical,
musical, and novelty short subjects. He made his services available to
independent producers as well, bringing equal vigor to a religious
drama and an anti-vice crusade.In 1943 he joined RKO Radio Pictures'
Flicker Flashbacks crew and became that series' most prolific
narrator, working in more than half of the series' 34 comedies. Trade
reviewers constantly praised this series of antique silent films
re-edited with satirical soundtracks, and often singled out Knox
Manning's comic timing as an important asset.
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