- Fay Wray
Infobox actor
bgcolour = silver
name = Fay Wray
imagesize = 200px
caption = Publicity photo for "King Kong", ca. 1933
birthdate = birth date|1907|9|15|mf=y
location =Cardston ,Alberta ,Canada
deathdate = death date and age|2004|8|8|1907|9|15|mf=y
deathplace = New York,New York , U.S.
birthname = Vina Fay Wray
notable roles =Ann Darrow in "King Kong"Vina Fay Wray (
September 15 ,1907 –August 8 ,2004 ) was a Canadian–American actress and the first everscream queen .Early life
Wray was born on a ranch near Cardston,
Alberta ,Canada to Elvina Marguerite Jones, who was fromSalt Lake City, Utah , andJoseph Heber Wray , who was fromKingston upon Hull ,England . [ [http://www.wargs.com/other/wrayf.html Ancestry of Fay Wray] ] Wray gained media attention when she was selected as one of theWAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926 (withJoan Crawford ,Dolores del Rio andMary Astor ), which resulted in a contract atParamount Pictures .In 1928, director
Erich von Stroheim cast Wray as the main female lead in his troubled production of "The Wedding March ", which sentHollywood in a buzz for its high budget and production values. It was a financial failure, but it gave Wray her first lead role.She is best remembered for her role as
Ann Darrow , the blonde seductress of the gigantic gorilla in the classic horror/adventure film "King Kong" (1933). She wore a blonde wig over her naturally dark hair for the role.She continued in films but by the early 1940s her appearances grew sporadic. She appeared frequently on television making her final appearance in 1980.
Her autobiography, "On the Other Hand", was published in 1988.
In the later years of her life, Wray continued to make public appearances, and was a guest at the
70th Academy Awards , where the show's host,Billy Crystal introduced her and paid tribute to her film legacy.Wray was approached to appear in a small cameo for the 2005 remake of "King Kong", and also met with
Naomi Watts who was to play the Ann Darrow role. Before filming commenced, however, Wray died in her sleep on August 8, 2004, in herManhattan apartment of natural causes (writers of the remake did honor her, however, with a comical mention in that film). She was 96 years old, only 38 days short of her 97th birthday. Wray was interred at theHollywood Forever Cemetery inHollywood, California . After her death was announced the lights on theEmpire State Building were extinguished for 15 minutes in her memory.For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Fay Wray has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6349 Hollywood Blvd. She received a posthumous star onCanada's Walk of Fame inToronto onJune 5 ,2005 . A small park near Lee's Creek on Main Street inCardston, Alberta , is named "Fay Wray Park" in her honor. The small sign at the edge of the park on Main Street has a silhouette of King Kong on it. In May 2006, Wray became one of the first four entertainers to ever be honored byCanada Post by being featured on apostage stamp .Personal life
Wray was married three times - to John Monk Saunders,
Robert Riskin and Dr. Sanford Rothenberg.She had three children: Susan Saunders, Victoria Riskin, and Robert Riskin Jr.
She became a
naturalized citizen of the United States in 1935.Filmography
*"
Gasoline Love " (1923) (short subject)
*"Thundering Landlords " (1925) (short subject)
*"No Father to Guide Him " (1925) (short subject)
*"The Coast Patrol " (1925)
*"Sure-Mike " (1925) (short subject)
*"What Price Goofy " (1925) (short subject)
*"Isn't Life Terrible? " (1925) (short subject)
*"Chasing the Chaser " (1925) (short subject)
*"Madame Sans Jane " (1925) (short subject)
*"Unfriendly Enemies " (1925) (short subject)
*"Your Own Back Yard " (1925) (short subject)
*"Moonlight and Noses " (1925) (short subject)
*"Should Sailors Marry? " (1925) (short subject)
*"WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1926 " (1926) (short subject)
*"One Wild Time " (1926) (short subject)
*"Don Key (A Son of a Burro) " (1926) (short subject)
*"The Man in the Saddle " (1926)
*"Don't Shoot " (1926) (short subject)
*"The Wild Horse Stampede " (1926)
*"The Saddle Tramp " (1926) (short subject)
*"The Show Cowpuncher " (1926) (short subject)
*"Lazy Lightning " (1926)
*"Loco Luck " (1927)
*"A One Man Game " (1927)
*"Spurs and Saddles " (1927)
*"A Trip Through the Paramount Studio " (1927) (short subject)
*"The Honeymoon " (1928) (unreleased)
*"The Legion of the Condemned " (1928)
*"Street of Sin " (1928)
*"The First Kiss " (1928)*"
The Wedding March " (1928)
*"Thunderbolt" (1929)
*"The Four Feathers" (1929)
*"Pointed Heels " (1929)
*"Behind the Make-Up " (1930)
*"Paramount on Parade " (1930)
*"The Texan" (1930)
*"The Border Legion " (1930)
*"The Sea God " (1930)
*"Captain Thunder" (1930)
*"The Conquering Horde " (1931)
*"Three Rogues " (1931)
*"The Slippery Pearls " (1931) (short subject)
*"Dirigible" (1931)
*"The Finger Points " (1931)
*"The Lawyer's Secret " (1931)
*"The Unholy Garden " (1931)
*"Hollywood on Parade " (1932) (short subject)
*"Stowaway " (1932)
*"Doctor X" (1932)
*"The Most Dangerous Game" (1932)
*"The Vampire Bat " (1933)
*"Mystery of the Wax Museum " (1933)
*"King Kong" (1933)
*"Below the Sea " (1933)
*"Ann Carver's Profession " (1933)
*"The Woman I Stole " (1933)
*"Shanghai Madness " (1933)
*"The Big Brain " (1933)
*"One Sunday Afternoon " (1933)
*"The Bowery" (1933)
*"Master of Men " (1933)
*"The Clairvoyant " (1934)
*"Madame Spy " (1934)
*"The Countess of Monte Cristo " (1934)
*"Once to Every Woman " (1934)
*"Viva Villa! " (1934)
*"The Affairs of Cellini " (1934)
*"Black Moon" (1934)
*"The Richest Girl in the World" (1934)
*"Cheating Cheaters " (1934)
*"Woman in the Dark " (1934)
*"Come Out of the Pantry " (1935)
*"Mills of the Gods " (1935)
*"Bulldog Jack " (1935)
*"White Lies " (1935)
*"When Knights Were Bold " (1936)
*"Roaming Lady " (1936)
*"They Met in a Taxi " (1936)
*"It Happened in Hollywood " (1937)
*"Murder in Greenwich Village " (1937)
*"The Jury's Secret " (1938)
*"Smashing the Spy Ring " (1939)
*"Navy Secrets " (1939)
*"Wildcat Bus " (1940)
*"Melody for Three " (1941)
*"Adam Had Four Sons " (1941)
*"Not a Ladies' Man " (1942)
*"Treasure of the Golden Condor " (1953)
*"Small Town Girl" (1953)
*"Hell on Frisco Bay " (1955)
*"The Cobweb" (1955)
*"Queen Bee" (1955)
*"Rock, Pretty Baby " (1956)
*"Crime of Passion" (1957)
*"Tammy and the Bachelor " (1957)
*"Summer Love " (1958)
*"Dragstrip Riot " (1958)
*"Murder by Death " (1976) (Arcival Sound)
*"Gideons Trumpet "(1980)
*"" (1997) (documentary)
*"" (2003) (documentary)Cultural References
Fay Wray was an icon ambition held by The Rocky Horror Picture Shows Frank n Furter which he hoped to achieve by emulating her satin draped frame.
Television Appearances
Wray appeared in the first season of the Perry Mason TV Series in "The Case Of The Prodigal Parent" [As of March 2008 "The Case Of The Prodigal Parent" is viewable in the US on the internet at [http://www.veoh.com/videos/v6258133aHcdXqMS#t=t&s=2&p=1 VEOH.com] ] (Episode 1-36) aired June 7, 1958.
ee also
*Other Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
Footnotes
External links
*imdb name|id=0942039|name=Fay Wray
*Fay Wray at [http://www.northernstars.ca/actorsvz/wray_fay.html Northern Stars]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2004/08/09/Arts/faywray080409.html CBC.ca News: Fay Wray dies at 96]
* [http://www.things-and-other-stuff.com/movies/profiles/fay-wray-1.htm A more complete biography]Persondata
NAME= Wray, Fay
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Wray, Vina Fay
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
DATE OF BIRTH= 1907-9-15
PLACE OF BIRTH=Cardston ,Alberta ,Canada
DATE OF DEATH= 2004-8-8
PLACE OF DEATH= New York,New York , U.S.
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