Kirby Grant, (born Kirby Grant Hoon Jr. in Butte, Montana, November 24, 1911 - October 30, 1985), was a
long-time B-movie and television actor. He is mostly remembered for playing the title role in the
television series Sky King.

Grant, a child-prodigy violinist, continued to pursue music and became a professional singer and
bandleader. 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 signed a
contract to become "Gale Storm," and Ralph Bowman signed to become "John Archer"). 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. His first film as "Robert Stanton" was Three Sons, with Edward
Ellis and
William Gargan. For the next few years he freelanced among various studios; his most familiar picture from
this period (as Kirby Grant) is probably 1941's Blondie Goes Latin, with Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake.

Kirby Grant surprised his fans at several film conventions by proving to have a fine singing voice. He
hardly ever sang in his films, certainly not his best-known ones at Universal and Monogram or in his TV
series (SKY KING, 1951-1954). His Universal sidekick, Fuzzy Knight, probably logged more on-screen singing
than Grant.

Grant left Hollywood for the Army, serving until 1944 when he rejoined Johnny Mack Brown and Raymond
Hatton at Monogram for a supporting role in LAW MEN. But the next year he was the leading man in what
would prove to be Universal's last western series, stepping into the boots of Johnny Mack Brown (who had
moved to Monogram) and Rod Cameron (who had moved up to better roles) at that studio. He drew Fuzzy Knight
as his comic sidekick.

Grant was killed at the age of seventy-three in a car accident near Titusville, Florida. He was on his way
to watch the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger at Cape Canaveral, where he was also to be honored by
the astronauts for encouraging aviation and space flight. Grant was not wearing his seatbelt. He is
interred in Missoula, Montana.