Charles Ray
From Wikipedia Charles Edgar Ray (March 15, 1891 – November 23, 1943) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. Ray rose to fame during the mid-1910s portraying young wholesome hicks in silent comedy films. Ray was born in Jacksonville, Illinois and moved to Springfield as a child where he attended elementary school. He then moved to Arizona for a time before finally relocating to Los Angeles where he finished his education. He initially began his career on the stage before working for director Thomas H. Ince as a film extra in December 1912. He appeared in several bit parts before moving on to supporting roles. Ray's break came in 1915 when he appeared opposite Frank Keenan in the historical war drama The Coward. Ray's popularity increased after appearing in a series of films which cast him in juvenile roles, primarily young hicks or "country bumpkins" that foiled the plans of thieves or con men. In March 1917, he signed with Paramount Pictures and resumed working with director Thomas H. Ince. By 1920, he was earning a reported $11,000 a week. Around this time, he left Paramount after studio head Adolph Zukor refused to give him a pay raise. Zukor later wrote in his autobiography The Public Is Never Wrong, that Ray's ego had gotten out of hand and that Ray "...was headed for trouble and did not care to be with him when he found it." After leaving Paramount, Ray formed his own production company, Charles Ray Productions, and also used his fortune to purchase a studio in Los Angeles where he began producing and shooting his own films. On November 23, 1943, Ray died of a mouth and throat infection at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles for which he had been hospitalized six weeks prior. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Charles Ray has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6355 Hollywood Boulevard.
Known For
Credits
- 1961 · The Legend of Rudolph Valentino as Self (archive footage)
- 1943 · Slightly Dangerous as Opera patron (uncredited)
- 1942 · Mrs. Miniver as Man getting on Bus (uncredited)
- 1942 · The Mad Martindales as Barbershop Customer (uncredited)
- 1942 · Rio Rita as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
- 1941 · Appointment for Love as Butler (uncredited)
- 1941 · The Lady from Cheyenne as Bit Role
- 1941 · The Man Who Lost Himself as (uncredited)
- 1936 · Hollywood Boulevard as Charlie Smith - Assistant Director
- 1935 · Just My Luck as Homer Crow
- 1935 · Welcome Home as Andrew Carr
- 1934 · Ticket to a Crime as Courtney Mallory
- 1934 · By Your Leave as Leonard Purcell
- 1934 · The Camera Speaks as Self (archive footage)
- 1934 · Ladies Should Listen as Henri, the porter
- 1934 · School for Girls as Duke
- 1931 · Stars of Yesterday as Self
- 1931 · The House That Shadows Built as (archive footage)
- 1928 · The Garden of Eden as Richard Dupont
- 1927 · Vanity as Lt. Lloyd Van Courtland
- 1927 · Getting Gertie's Garter as Ken Walrick
- 1927 · The American as Bill Smith
- 1926 · The Fire Brigade as Terry O'Neil
- 1926 · The Auction Block as Bob Wharton
- 1926 · Paris as Jerry
- 1926 · Sweet Adeline as Ben Wilson
- 1925 · Bright Lights as Tom Corbin
- 1925 · Percy as Percival Rogeen
- 1924 · Dynamite Smith as Gladstone Smith
- 1923 · The Courtship of Miles Standish as John Alden
- 1923 · The Girl I Loved as John Middleton
- 1922 · A Tailor-Made Man as John Paul Bart
- 1922 · The Deuce of Spades as Amos
- 1922 · Gas, Oil and Water as George Oliver Watson
- 1921 · The Old Swimmin' Hole as Ezra Hull
- 1920 · An Old Fashioned Boy as David Warrington
- 1920 · A Village Sleuth as William Wells
- 1920 · 45 Minutes from Broadway as Kid Burns
- 1920 · Homer Comes Home as Homer Cavender
- 1920 · Paris Green as Luther Green
- 1920 · Alarm Clock Andy as Andrew Gray
- 1919 · The Egg Crate Wallop as Jim Kelly
- 1919 · Bill Henry as Bill Henry Jenkins
- 1919 · Hay Foot, Straw Foot as Ulysses S. Grant Briggs
- 1919 · The Busher as Ben Harding
- 1919 · Greased Lightning as Andy Fletcher
- 1919 · The Sheriff's Son as Royal Beaudry
- 1918 · String Beans as Toby Watkins
- 1918 · The Claws of the Hun as John Stanton
- 1918 · His Own Home Town as Jimmy Duncan
- 1918 · Playing the Game as Larry Prentiss
- 1918 · The Family Skeleton as Billy Bates
- 1918 · The Hired Man as Ezry Hollins
- 1918 · Staking His Life as Frank Hamilton
- 1917 · His Mother's Boy as Matthew Denton
- 1917 · The Son of His Father as Gordon Carbhoy
- 1917 · Sudden Jim as James Ashe, Jr.
- 1917 · The Clodhopper as Everett Nelson
- 1917 · The Millionaire Vagrant as Steven Du Peyster
- 1917 · The Pinch Hitter as Joel Parker
- 1917 · Back of the Man as Larry Thomas
- 1917 · The Weaker Sex as Jack Harding
- 1916 · Plain Jane as Mr. 'John Sophomore Adams'
- 1916 · The Wolf Woman as Rex Walden
- 1916 · Home as Bob Wheaton
- 1916 · Honor Thy Name as
- 1916 · The Deserter as Lieutenant Parker
- 1916 · The Dividend as Frank Steele
- 1916 · Peggy as Colin Cameron
- 1915 · The Forbidden Adventure as Cecil Weatherby
- 1915 · The Coward as Frank Winslow
- 1915 · The Lure of Woman as Captain Lane
- 1915 · The Conversion of Frosty Blake as Reverend Horace Brightray
- 1915 · The Renegade as Captain Marley
- 1915 · The Cup of Life as John Ward
- 1915 · The Grudge as Dick Wayne
- 1915 · In the Tennessee Hills as Jim Carson
- 1914 · The Gangsters and the Girl as Detective John Stone
- 1913 · For Mother's Sake as
- 1913 · The Quakeress as John Hart - the Schoolmaster
- 1913 · Old Mammy's Secret Code as David
- 1913 · The Transgressor as Jim
- 1913 · The Boomerang as Lt. Calhoun
- 1913 · The Grey Sentinel as Hal Peters