John Payne (actor)

John Payne was an American movie actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox film musicals. Payne was born May 23, 1912 in Roanoke, Virginia. Payne's mother had been a successful opera singer and she encouraged her son to sing. Payne enrolled at Columbia University in the fall of 1930. He studied drama at Columbia and voice at Juilliard. To support himself, he took on a variety of odd jobs, including wrestling and singing in vaudeville. In 1934, he was spotted by a talent scout for the Schubert Theater and was given a a job as a stock player.

References

• ^1. TV Tome What's My Line? - EPISODE #591 summary
• ^2. John Payne at Brian's Drive-In Theater (website)