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 SouthGate is a shopping centre in Bath, Somerset, England, It is home to over fifty shops, ten restaurants, 99 homes and an 860-space underground car park. It replaced a shopping centre which was demolished in 2007. The new centre developed b ...

, 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 Escapade or Escapades may refer to: Transportation *Beneteau Escapade, a French sailboat design * HMS ''Escapade'', a 1934 Royal Navy destroyer that served in World War II *'' Just Escapade'', an American two-seat kit-built light aircraft Films ...

'' (1955), '' Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), ''

The Young and the Guilty ''The Young and the Guilty'' is a 1958 British drama film directed by Peter Cotes and starring Phyllis Calvert, Andrew Ray and Edward Chapman. It was written by Ted Willis. Premise Parents misconstrue the innocent nature of a teenage romance. ...

'' (1958), ''

Serious Charge ''Serious Charge'' (U.S.: ''A Touch of Hell'', also known as ''Immoral Charge'') is a 1959 British film, directed by Terence Young and starring Anthony Quayle, Sarah Churchill, Andrew Ray and Irene Browne. It was produced and co-written by ...

'' (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

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

'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

Michael York Michael York (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television, and stage actor. After performing on stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Romeo ...

. His later films included ''

Rough Cut In filmmaking, the rough cut (also known as the first cut or editor's cut) is the second of three stages of offline editing. The term originates from the early days of filmmaking when film stock was physically cut and reassembled, but is still ...

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

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

'' (1984) and ''

Paris by Night ''Paris by Night'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PBN'') is a direct-to-video series featuring Vietnamese-language musical variety shows produced by Thúy Nga Productions. Hosted mainly by Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên, the ...

'' (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

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...

and

Celia Johnson Dame Celia Elizabeth Johnson (18 December 1908 – 26 April 1982) was an English actress, whose career included stage, television and film. She is especially known for her roles in the films ''In Which We Serve'' (1942), ''This Happy Breed ...

), and ''

A Taste of Honey ''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was adapted into an award-winning film of the same title in 1961. Set in Salford in North West England, it tells the story of Jo, ...

'' on Broadway (with

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and

Joan Plowright Joan Ann Olivier, Baroness Olivier (; 28 October 1929 – 16 January 2025), commonly known as Dame Joan Plowright, was an English actress whose career spanned over six decades. She received several accolades including two Golden Globe Awards, an ...

). At the age of 19, he married the Rhodesian actress

Susan Burnet Susan Burnet (25 November 1938 – 17 January 2010) was a British actress born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (which later became Harare, Zimbabwe). The granddaughter of one of Rhodesia's first pioneers, she later became an opponent of Ia ...

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 Robin Ray (17 September 1934 – 29 November 1998) was an English broadcaster on radio and television, actor of stage and screen, and musician. The eldest son of the comedian Ted Ray, he was educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and was ...

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 *''

'' (1955) - Max Hampden *'' Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957) - Brian Preston *'' Gideon's Day'' (1958) - P.C. Farnaby Green *''

'' (1958) - Eddie Marshall *''

'' (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 ''Death of an Expert Witness'' is a detective novel by English writer P. D. James, the sixth of her Adam Dalgliesh series. It was published in 1977 in the UK by Faber and Faber, and in the US by Charles Scribner's Sons. Set in the Fens, it foll ...

'' (1983) - Clifford Bradley *''

'' (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