Kenneth Raisbeck (January 5, 1899 – September 30, 1931) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He co-authored the screenplays for Knockout Reilly and The Gay Defender, both released by Paramount Pictures in 1927. Two of his three plays were briefly performed on Broadway: Torches and Rock Me, Julie. He is best remembered today for his close association with the novelist Thomas Wolfe whom he befriended while they were both students at Harvard University. Wolfe based the character of Francis Starwick in his semi-autobiographical novel Of Time and the River (1935) on Raisbeck.
The circumstances surrounding Raisbeck's death at the age of 32 have been the source of controversy. While the police deemed his death a murder by strangulation, a medical examiner initially determined that his death was the result of a brain infection that led to acute meningitis. This dispute among officials was widely reported in the press at the time of Raisbeck's death. Ultimately, the medical examiner retracted his original opinion and supported the death by strangulation finding, and Raisbeck's death was officially ruled a murder at an inquest. A formal investigation into his death was made following that ruling, but his killer was never found. Some 21st-century scholars have speculated that Raisbeck, who was openly gay, may have been the victim of a hate crime.