From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Henry King (January 24, 1886 – June 29, 1982) was an American film director. Before coming to film, King worked as an actor in various repertoire theatres, and first started to take small film roles in 1912. He directed for the first time in 1915, and grew to become one of the most commercially successful Hollywood directors of the 1920s and 1930s. He was twice unsuccessfully nominated for the Best Director Oscar. In 1944, he was awarded the first Golden ...