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Charles Ray

Actor
Born March 15, 1891Died November 23, 1943 (52 years)
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
  • The Garden of Eden
  • The Count of Ten
  • Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles
  • Peggy

Filmography

1944
An American Romance · as Graduation Ceremony Attendee
1943
Slightly Dangerous · as Opera Patron (uncredited)
1942
Tennessee Johnson · as Senator
1942
1942
Mrs. Miniver · as Man Getting On Bus (uncredited)
1942
Sunday Punch · as Reporter
1942
Rio Rita · as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
1942
The Vanishing Virginian · as Courtroom Spectator
1941
Married Bachelor · as Man In Lounge Room Getting Bagpipes
1941
Harvard, Here I Come! · as Reporter
1941
Appointment for Love · as Butler (uncredited)
1941
A Yank in the R.A.F. · as American Business Executive
1941
We Go Fast · as Courtroom Spectator
1941
Hurry, Charlie, Hurry · as Newspaper Photographer
1941
The Lady from Cheyenne · as Bit Role
1941
The Man Who Lost Himself · as (uncredited)
1936
Hollywood Boulevard · as Charlie Smith - Assistant Director
1934
Ticket to a Crime · as Courtney Mallory
1934
By Your Leave · as Leonard Purcell
1934
Ladies Should Listen · as Henri, The Porter
1933
1932
1931
The House That Shadows Built · as (archive Footage)
1928
The Count of Ten · as Johnny Mckinney
1928
The Garden of Eden · as Richard Dupont
1927
Getting Gertie's Garter · as Ken Walrick
1926
The Fire Brigade · as Terry O'neil
1926
Paris · as Jerry
1922
Robin Hood · as Extra
1920
Paris Green · as Luther Green
1919
The Busher · as Ben Harding
1917
The Clodhopper · as Everett Nelson
1916
Peggy · as Colin Cameron
1915
The Coward · as Frank Winslow
1914
Desert Gold · as Jim Hardy
1914
For the Wearing of the Green · as Michael Finn
1914
For Her Brother's Sake · as John Frye - The Brother
1914
The Cure · as James Murphy
1913
Eileen of Erin · as Dennis Morrissey
1913
The Black Sheep · as Jim Foster
1913
Exoneration · as Cast
1913
The Bondsman · as The Bondsman
1913
1913
The Red Mask · as Red Mask
1913
1913
The Barrier · as Wade - The Young Lieutenant
1913
The Favorite Son · as Jim King

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