Andrew Ray (31 May 193920 August 2003) was an English actor who was best known as a child star.

Biography

He was born Andrew Olden (Ray was his father's stage name) in Southgate, Middlesex, the son of the radio comic Ted Ray and his wife, showgirl Dorothy Sybil (née Stevens). Ray's life was transformed at the age of 10 when he was cast in the title part of ''

The Mudlark ''The Mudlark'' is a 1950 film made in United Kingdom, Britain by 20th Century Fox. It is a fictional account of how Queen Victoria was eventually brought out of her mourning for her dead husband, Albert, Prince Consort, Prince Albert. It was di ...

'', a

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

film starring

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...

and

Irene Dunne Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during Classical Hollywood cinema, the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she perf ...

. He played a street urchin who ends up meeting

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. The film was chosen as the

Royal Command Performance A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commis ...

in 1950. He was featured in numerous films during the next few years, including '' The Yellow Balloon'' (1953), '' Escapade'' (1955), '' Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), '' The Young and the Guilty'' (1958), '' Serious Charge'' (1959) with

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

, '' Twice Round the Daffodils'' (1962), and '' The System'' (1964). He also portrayed

Herbert Pocket ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip. It is Dickens' ...

in the ITC

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's ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...

'' (1974) opposite

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. His later films included ''

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'' (1980), '' The Bunker'' (1981), ''

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'' (1984) and '' Paris by Night'' (1988). Theatre roles included ''

Flowering Cherry ''The Flowering Cherry'' is a 1958 play written by Robert Bolt. The play was performed on Broadway in 1959. Plot In an English household, the father dreams of giving up his job selling insurance to run an apple orchard, the mother dreams of him ...

'' (with Sir

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and

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), and '' A Taste of Honey'' on Broadway (with

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and

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). At the age of 19, he married the Rhodesian actress Susan Burnet and they later had two children. Ray appeared in numerous film, theatre and television roles over the years, including as nuclear scientist

Klaus Fuchs Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs (29 December 1911 – 28 January 1988) was a German theoretical physicist and atomic spy who supplied information from the American, British, and Canadian Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union during and shortly a ...

for Anglia Television and as

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

in ''Crown Matrimonial'' on stage and television. So successful was his depiction on stage of the stammering George VI that he was cast in the same role (though then Prince Albert, Duke of York) in the television series '' Edward & Mrs. Simpson'' (1978). He starred in six episodes of television series '' Tales of the Unexpected'', "The Wrong 'Un", "Royal Jelly", "Poison", "The Way To Do It", "The Best Chess Player in the World" and "Accidental Death". He also appeared in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'', and ''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton ...

''. In later years, Ray was a committed member of Equity and served as a Councillor of the actors' union. Ray died at the age of 64 in 2003 from a heart attack. His brother Robin Ray was a well-known television and radio personality who died in 1998, also at the age of 64.

Filmography

*''

'' (1950) - Wheeler - the Mudlark *'' The Yellow Balloon'' (1953) - Frankie *'' Escape by Night'' (1953) - Joey Weston *'' A Prize of Gold'' (1955) - Conrad *'' Escapade'' (1955) - Max Hampden *'' Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957) - Brian Preston *'' Gideon's Day'' (1958) - P.C. Farnaby Green *'' The Young and the Guilty'' (1958) - Eddie Marshall *'' Serious Charge'' (1959) - Larry Thompson *'' Twice Round the Daffodils'' (1962) - Chris Walker *'' Der Schwur des Soldaten Pooley'' (1963) - Ginger *'' The System'' (1964) - Willy * ''Upstairs Downstairs'' (1974) - Lt. Jack Dyson RFC *''

'' (1980) - Pilbrow *'' Death of an Expert Witness'' (1983) - Clifford Bradley *'' Paris by Night'' (1988) - Michael Swanton *''

'' (1992) - Alfred Rydale

References

External links

Andrew Ray
official memorial site. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Andrew 1939 births 2003 deaths English male child actors English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors English republicans Actors from the London Borough of Enfield People from Southgate, London