Fay Wray

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Fay Wray

Publicity photo for King Kong, ca. 1933
Born Vina Fay Wray
September 15, 1907(1907-09-15)
Cardston, Alberta, Canada
Died August 8, 2004 (aged 96)
New York, New York, U.S.

Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian–American actress and the first ever scream queen.

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[edit] 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.[1] Wray gained media attention when she was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926 (with Joan Crawford, Dolores del Rio and Mary Astor), 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Cultural References

Fay Wray was an icon ambition held by The Rocky Horror Picture Shows Frank n Furter which he hoped to achieve by emulating her satin draped frame.

[edit] Television Appearances

Wray appeared in the first season of the Perry Mason TV Series in "The Case Of The Prodigal Parent"[2] (Episode 1-36) aired June 7, 1958.

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Ancestry of Fay Wray
  2. ^ As of March 2008 "The Case Of The Prodigal Parent" is viewable in the US on the internet at VEOH.com

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Wray, Fay
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wray, Vina Fay
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actor
DATE OF BIRTH 1907-9-15
PLACE OF BIRTH Cardston, Alberta, Canada
DATE OF DEATH 2004-8-8
PLACE OF DEATH New York, New York, U.S.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Wray"
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