Prentiss (Lonesome Luke) Davis Born:  August 15, 1915 Died:  December 14, 1994 WFBC Greenville, SC WGNC Gastonia, NC

About The Artist Prentiss Davis was his name, but viewers of WFBC-TV in the 1950s knew him as Lonesome Luke. It was written that his background and experience to that time included radio, television and Broadway. He had a Saturday afternoon show that ran from 12:15pm to 2:45pm known as "Looking with Luke" that was quite popular with children of all ages (and probably a few adults as well). As testament to that popularity, over 4,000 photos were sent to viewers based on their written requests to the station. One of the popular features of his show, based in Piedmont, South Carolina, was giving the spotlight to a local animal shelter each week, letting listeners show which animals were available for adoption. Listeners from as far away as Georgia would make the trip to get one of these pets. In an October 1948 newspaper article from an unknown newspaper, Prentiss was to provide music to provide 'atmospheric continuity' between scenes of a play called "On Borrowed Time" that was being put on at the Greenville (SC) Little Theatre on Lowndes Hill Road. That same article mentioned he worked as a folk musician for NBC for two years in New York appearing on the Red and Blue networks. He appeared on Broadway for eight months in a musical called "Red Hot and Blue" that starred Jimmy Durante. Also in the play that was at the Alvin Theater in 1937 were other entertainment legends such as Bob Hope and Ethel Merman. While in New York, he shared the bill with the legendary Roy Rogers when he made his New York debut at the Criterion Theatre in 1938. In 1948, he was enrolled at Furman where he was majoring in speech and doing special study in folk music. That study was not just the discovery of old forgotten ballads, but included the background of the tunes and the locality where they originated and when they were first found or composed. He is quoted in the article as stating, "My ambition is to educate the educated people to an appreciation of the beauty of real mountain music." The cast in that local play in Greenville included Rufus Dunn, Mrs. Andrea Patterson, Fletcher Barker, Elizabeth Reed, Walter Adams, Patrick C. Fant, Jayne Baker, T. J. Mims, Franklin Mims, T. Cotesworth Pinckney and Mac Wells. The lone article we found noted that he would be remembered for keeping "...the traditional music of the people alive." Credits & Sources Hillbilly-Music.com wishes to express its appreciation to Randall Wells, nephew of Prentiss Davis for contacting us and providing articles and photos related to the career of Prentiss. Country Song Roundup; No. 41; November 1955; American Folk Publications, Inc.; Derby, CT Newspaper article; October 14, 1948; Publication Unknown; Copy provided by Randy Wells, nephew of Prentiss Davis

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