Fay Wray

Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international recognition as an actress in horror films. She has been dubbed the first "scream queen".

She had minor film roles, and gained media attention as one of the "WAMPAS Baby Stars" in 1926. This led to her contract with Paramount Pictures as a teenager, where she made more than a dozen feature films. After leaving Paramount, she signed deals with various film companies, got her first roles in horror films and many other types, including in '' The Bowery'' (1933) and '' Viva Villa!'' (1934), both of which star Wallace Beery. For RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., Wray starred in her most identifiable film, ''King Kong'' (1933). After its success, she had numerous roles in film and television, retiring in 1980.

Life and career

Early life

Wray was born on a ranch near Cardston, Alberta, to parents who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Elvina Marguerite Jones from Salt Lake City, Utah, and Joseph Heber Wray from Kingston upon Hull, England. They had six children and she was a granddaughter of LDS pioneer Daniel Webster Jones. Her ancestors came from England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

Her family returned to the United States a few years after she was born; they moved to Salt Lake City in 1912 and moved to Lark, Utah, in 1914. In 1919, the Wray family returned to Salt Lake City, and then relocated to Hollywood, where she attended Hollywood High School.

Early acting career

In 1923, Wray appeared in her first film at the age of 16, when she landed a role in a short historical film sponsored by a local newspaper. In the 1920s, Wray appeared in the silent film ''The Coast Patrol'' (1925), and uncredited bit parts at the Hal Roach Studios.

In 1926, the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers selected Wray as one of the "WAMPAS Baby Stars", a group of women whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. She was at the time under contract to Universal Studios, mostly co-starring in low-budget Westerns opposite Buck Jones.

The following year, Wray was signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures. In 1926, director Erich von Stroheim cast her as the main female lead in his film '' The Wedding March'', released by Paramount two years later. The film was noted for its high budget and production values, but was a financial failure. It also gave Wray her first lead role. Wray stayed with Paramount to make more than a dozen films and made the transition from silent films to "talkies".

Horror films and ''King Kong''

After leaving Paramount, Wray signed with other film studios. Under these deals, Wray was cast in several horror films, including '' Doctor X'' (1932) and '' Mystery of the Wax Museum'' (1933). Her best known films were produced under her deal with RKO Radio Pictures. Her first film with RKO was '' The Most Dangerous Game'' (1932), co-starring Joel McCrea. The production was filmed at night on the same jungle sets used for ''King Kong'' during the day, and with Wray and Robert Armstrong starring in both movies.

''The Most Dangerous Game'' was followed by the release of Wray's best-remembered film, ''King Kong''. According to Wray, Jean Harlow had been RKO's original choice, but because MGM put Harlow under exclusive contract during the pre-production phase of the film, she became unavailable. Wray was approached by director Merian C. Cooper to play King Kong's blonde captive, Ann Darrow, for which she was paid . The film was a commercial success and Wray was reportedly proud that it saved RKO from bankruptcy.

Later career

Wray continued starring in films, including '' The Richest Girl in the World'', but by the early 1940s, her appearances became less frequent. She retired in 1942 after her second marriage but due to financial exigencies she soon resumed her acting career, and over the next three decades, she appeared in several films and appeared frequently on television. She portrayed Catherine Morrison in the 1953–54 sitcom '' The Pride of the Family'' with Natalie Wood as her daughter. Wray appeared in ''Queen Bee'' and '' The Cobweb'', both released in 1955.

Wray appeared in three episodes of '' Perry Mason'': "The Case of the Prodigal Parent" (1958); "The Case of the Watery Witness" (1959), as murder victim Lorna Thomas; and "The Case of the Fatal Fetish" (1965), as voodoo practitioner Mignon Germaine. Wray also co-starred with ''Perry Mason'' star Raymond Burr in the 1957 noir film release ''Crime of Passion''.

In 1959, Wray was cast as Tula Marsh in the episode "The Second Happiest Day" of ''Playhouse 90.'' Other roles around this time were in the episodes "Dip in the Pool" (1958) and "The Morning After" of CBS's ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''. In 1960, she appeared as Clara in an episode of '' 77 Sunset Strip'', "Who Killed Cock Robin?" Another 1960 role was that of Mrs. Staunton, with Gigi Perreau as her daughter, in the episode "Flight from Terror" of '' The Islanders.''

Wray appeared in a 1961 episode of '' The Real McCoys'' titled "Theatre in the Barn". In 1963, she played Mrs. Brubaker in '' The Eleventh Hour'' episode "You're So Smart, Why Can't You Be Good?" She ended her acting career with the 1980 made-for-television film '' Gideon's Trumpet''.

In 1988, her autobiography was released, ''On the Other Hand''. In her later years, Wray continued to make public appearances. In 1991, she was crowned Queen of the Beaux Arts Ball, presiding with King Herbert Huncke.

She was approached by James Cameron to play Rose Dawson Calvert for his blockbuster ''Titanic'' (1997) with Kate Winslet to play her younger self, but she turned down the role, which was subsequently portrayed by Gloria Stuart in an Oscar-nominated performance. She was a special guest at the 70th Academy Awards, where the show's host Billy Crystal introduced her as the "Beauty who charmed the Beast". She was the only 1920s Hollywood actress in attendance that evening. On October 3, 1998, she appeared at the Pine Bluff Film Festival, which showed ''The Wedding March'' with live orchestral accompaniment.

In January 2003, at age 95, she appeared at the Palm Beach International Film Festival to celebrate the Rick McKay documentary film '' Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There'', where she was honored with a "Legend in Film" award. In her later years, she visited the Empire State Building frequently; in 1991, she was a guest of honor at the building's 60th anniversary, and in May 2004, she made one of her last public appearances at the ESB. Her final public appearance was at the premiere of the documentary film ''Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There'' in June 2004.

Personal life

Wray married three times – to writers John Monk Saunders and Robert Riskin and the neurosurgeon Sanford Rothenberg (January 28, 1919 – January 4, 1991). She had three children: Susan Saunders, Victoria Riskin, and Robert Riskin Jr.

After returning to the US after finishing '' The Clairvoyant'' she became a naturalized citizen of the United States in May 1935.

Death

Wray died in her sleep of natural causes on the night of August 8, 2004, in her apartment on Fifth Avenue Manhattan. She is interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

Two days after her death, the lights of the Empire State Building were lowered for 15 minutes in her memory.

Honors

In 1989, Wray was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award. Wray was honored with a Legend in Film award at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Wray was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6349 Hollywood Blvd. She received a star posthumously on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto on June 5, 2005. A small park near Lee's Creek on Main Street in Cardston, Alberta, her birthplace, was 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. A large oil portrait of Wray by Alberta artist Neil Boyle is on display in the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod, Alberta. In May 2006, Wray became one of the first four entertainers to be honored by Canada Post by being featured on a postage stamp.

Filmography

Features

Short subjects

Partial Television Credits

See also

* Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood

References

External links

*

Fay Wray at Northern Stars website

Fay Wray speaking at UCLA 11/18/1970

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wray, Fay
1907 births
2004 deaths
20th-century American actresses
20th-century American memoirists
20th-century Canadian actresses
Actresses from Alberta
Actresses from Los Angeles
Actresses from New York City
American film actresses
American people of Canadian descent
American people of English descent
American people of Irish descent
American people of Scottish descent
American people of Welsh descent
American silent film actresses
American television actresses
American women memoirists
Articles containing video clips
Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Canadian child actresses
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian film actresses
Canadian people of American descent
Canadian people of English descent
Canadian people of Irish descent
Canadian people of Scottish descent
Canadian people of Welsh descent
Hollywood High School alumni
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Paramount Pictures contract players
People from Cardston
RKO Pictures contract players
Western (genre) film actresses
21st-century American women