From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Robert Armstrong (November 20, 1890 – April 20, 1973) was an American film actor best remembered for his role as Carl Denham in the 1933 version of King Kong by RKO Pictures. He uttered the famous exit quote, "'Twas beauty killed the beast," at the film's end. Months later, he starred as Carl Denham again in the sequel, Son of Kong, released the same year. In the late 1950s, Armstrong appeared as Sheriff Andy Anderson on Rod Cameron's syndicated western-t...