Gene Anthony Ray (May 24, 1962 – November 14, 2003) was an American actor,
dance
Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
r, and
choreographer
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...
. A native of New York City, Ray was best known for his portrayal of dancer Leroy Johnson in both the
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
film ''
Fame'' and the
''Fame'' television series based upon the film which originally aired from 1982 until 1987.
Biography
Early life
Born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, in the
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
neighborhood of
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
on May 24, 1962,
Ray grew up in the area of West 153rd Street and later became involved in street dancing
at block parties.
He performed in a dance class at the
Julia Richman High School. He skipped school one day to audition for ''Fame'' choreographer
Louis Falco.
Ray attended the
High School of Performing Arts
The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984.
In 1961, the school was ...
, the inspiration for the film ''Fame'', but was kicked out after just one year. "It was too disciplined for this wild child of mine," Ray's mother, Jean E. Ray, would later say.
Career
Ray won the part of Leroy Johnson in the film ''
Fame'', which was released in 1980.
Much like his ''Fame'' character, Ray had little professional training, but he possessed a raw talent that won him his role for the film.
Reports ''USA Today'': "Alan (Parker, the director) had to approach him very carefully. His mom was dealing drugs during the filming. It was not pretty."
In 1981, Ray starred as
Friday
Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO 8601-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...
, alongside
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 ...
as
Robinson Crusoe
''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...
, in the 1981 TV adventure-comedy ' (alternative title: ''Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday'').
Ray also starred in the
television series based on the film, ''Fame''. The series was produced by
MGM Television
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, formerly known as MGM/UA Television, is the television studio arm of the American film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), specializing in broadcast syndication and the production and distribution of television sh ...
from 1982 to 1987, and syndicated from 1983 to 1987. Additionally, he began touring the U.K. with the other members of the ''Fame'' cast as
The Kids from "Fame"; they performed at 10 venues, including a sell out performance at
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
. In 1984, ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' reports: "Ray was axed from the show after his mother was jailed for running a drug ring, and he failed to turn up for work 100 times."
He struggled with addictions to alcohol and drugs, and worked only intermittently once the TV series ended.
In 1985, Ray danced in
The Weather Girls' music video for "Well-A-Wiggy".
In 1987, he won the role of Billy Nolan in the ill-fated
musical adaptation of ''Carrie'' by
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
. Ray played the role in the original opening in
Stratford-Upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...
, which closed after less than a month. He then transferred to
Broadway and continued to play the role until the musical closed after only 21 public performances. Ray also appeared in the 1995 film ''
Out-of-Sync
''Out-of-Sync'' is a 1995 American Crime film, crime Drama film, drama film featuring LL Cool J in his first starring role. The film was directed by Debbie Allen and co-starred Victoria Dillard, Tim Reid and Howard Hesseman.
Plot
Jason St. Juli ...
'', which was directed by his ''Fame'' co-star
Debbie Allen
Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award ...
, in the 1996
Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...
comedy ''
Eddie'' (for which he was also credited as associate choreographer
), as well as in commercials for
Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. Dr Pepper was created in the 1880s by the American pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper in t ...
and
Diet Coke
Diet Coke (also branded as Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola Diet or Coca-Cola Light Taste) is a sugar-free and low-calorie soft drink produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. It contains artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Unveiled on ...
. His last video appearance was a one-hour BBC ''Fame'' reunion documentary, ''Fame Remember My Name,'' taped in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in April 2003.
Personal life and death
As described in his ''Telegraph'' obituary,
Ray "remained a 'frantic partygoer' with a self-confessed weakness for drink and drugs. As his life fell apart, he slept on park benches and during a failed attempt to launch a ''Fame''-style dance school in
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, shared a flat there with a porn actress. In 1996, he was diagnosed
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...
positive. Flamboyantly
camp, he brushed aside questions about his sexuality. He never married."
Ray died on November 14, 2003, aged 41, from complications of a stroke he had suffered in June that year and complications from AIDS.
Filmography
Theater
See also
*
The Kids from "Fame"
References
External links
*
Gene Anthony Ray Tribute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Gene Anthony
1962 births
2003 deaths
Male actors from Manhattan
African-American male dancers
African-American dancers
American male dancers
American male film actors
American choreographers
People with HIV/AIDS
People from Harlem
American male television actors
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni
Dancers from New York (state)
20th-century American dancers
20th-century African-American male actors
20th-century American male actors
Julia Richman Education Complex alumni
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people