Everything about Fay Wray totally explained
Vina Fay Wray (
September 15,
1907 –
August 8,
2004) was a
Canadian–
American actress.
Early life
Wray was born on a ranch near
Cardston,
Alberta,
Canada to Elvina Marguerite Jones, who was from
Salt Lake City, Utah, and
Joseph Heber Wray, who was from
Kingston upon Hull,
England. Her family moved to the
United States when she was three. Although Wray's autobiography discusses her
Mormon parentage and makes it clear that she was
culturally Mormon, she was apparently never
baptized as a member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Wray's family lived in predominantly Mormon communities in
Alberta,
Arizona and
Salt Lake City, Utah before settling in
Los Angeles, California, where she got her first film work in
Hal Roach comedy shorts and in low-budget westerns in the early 1920s.
Career
Wray gained media attention when she was selected as one of the
WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926, which resulted in a contract at
Paramount Pictures.
In 1928, director
Erich von Stroheim cast Wray as the main female lead in his troubled production of
The Wedding March, which sent
Hollywood 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 her
Manhattan 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 the
Hollywood Forever Cemetery in
Hollywood, California. After her death was announced the lights on the
Empire 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 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, 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 by
Canada Post by being featured on a
postage 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
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)
Gideons Trumpet(1980)
(1997) (documentary)
(2003) (documentary)
Television Appearances
Wray appeared in the first season of the Perry Mason TV Series
in "The Case Of The Prodigal Parent" (Episode 1-36) aired June 7, 1958.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Fay Wray'.
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