Fay Wray

Fay Wray
Wray in a 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 City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1923–1980
Spouse(s)	John Monk Saunders (1928–1939, div.) Robert Riskin (1942–1955, his death) Sanford Rothenberg (1971–1991, his death)

Fay Wray (born Vina Fay Wray; September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian-American actress. Through her acting career that spanned 57 years, Wray attained international stardom as an actress in horror film roles, leading to many considering her as the first "scream queen".

After appearing in minor film roles, Wray gained media attention being selected as one of the "WAMPAS Baby Stars". The attention of this led to Wray being signed to Paramount Pictures as a teenager. There she made more than a dozen films. After leaving Paramount Pictures, she signed deals with various film companies, in these deals being cast in her first horror film roles. In one of her most well-known film company deals, under RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., she would star in the film which she would be most identified, King Kong (1933). After the success of King Kong, Wray would be cast in more minor film roles and appears in television roles in a period of roughly four decades, leading up to her final acting role in 1980.

Wray died of natural causes in her sleep at the age of 96.

Life and career

Early life

Wray was born on a ranch near Cardston, Alberta, Canada to Elvina Marguerite Jones, who was from Salt Lake City, and Joseph Heber Wray, who was from Kingston upon Hull, England.^[1] She was one of six children.^[2] Her family returned to the United States a few years after she was born; they moved to Salt Lake City in 1912^[3] and moved to Lark, Utah in 1914. In 1919, they moved to Salt Lake City again, before moving to Hollywood, California, where Fay attended Hollywood High School.

Early acting career and signing at Paramount Pictures

In 1919, Wray appeared in her first film at the age of 16, landing a role in a short historical film sponsored by a local newspaper.^[4] In the 1920s, Wray landed a major role in the silent films such as The Coast Patrol (1925)^[5], as well as various roles as short subjects in silent films.

In 1926, American film association the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers selected Wray as one of the "WAMPAS Baby Stars", a group of women who they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. Wray then started to star major roles in various films for Universal Pictures.

The following year in 1927, Wray was signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures In 1928, director Erich von Stroheim cast Wray as the main female lead in his film The Wedding March, released under Paramount. The film's high budget and production values 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. Wray stayed with Paramount to make more than a dozen more films, staying there to make the transition from silent films to "talkie" films.^[6]

Casting in horror films and King Kong

The film poster for King Kong (1933), probably Wray's greatest-known film.

After leaving Paramount, Wray signed to various film companies. It was under these deals that Wray was cast in various horror films, including Doctor X. However, her greatest known films were produced under her deal with RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., where she made some of her most memorable films. Her first film under RKO was The Most Dangerous Game (1932), a horror film in which she co-starred with Joel McCrea.

The Most Dangerous Game was followed by Wray's most memorable film, King Kong. Wray was approached by director Merian C. Cooper to play the role of Ann Darrow, the blonde captive of King Kong in the film. Wray was paid $10,000 dollars to play the role.^[7] Wray wore a blonde wig over her naturally dark hair for the role. The film was a commercial success, saving RKO from bankruptcy. Wray was reportedly proud that the film saved RKO from bankruptcy.^[8] Wray's role would become the role she would be most associated with. For her appearances in various horror films, many have considered Wray as the first "scream queen".

Later career

She continued to star in various films but by the early 1940s her appearances grew sporadic. She retired from acting in 1942, after her second marraige.^[9] However, due to financial problems she had to continue acting.^[7] Over the next three decades, Wray appeared in minor film roles and also appeared frequently on television, before ending her acting career with her final role in the made-for TV movie Gideon's Trumpet (1980).

Later years and death

In 1988, her autobiography, On the Other Hand, was published. In her later years of her life, Wray continued to make public appearances. Wray was a special guest at the 70th Academy Awards, where the show's host, Billy Crystal, introduced her as the "Beauty who charmed the Beast". She was the only 1920s Hollywood actress in attendance that evening. In January 2003, a 95-year old Wray appeared at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival to celebrate the film Rick McKay documentary film Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There, where she was also honored with a "Legend in Film" award.^[10] In her later years, she also visited the Empire State Building frequently, once visiting in 1991 as a guest of honor at the building's 60th anniversary,^[10] and also visiting in May 2004,^[11] which was among her final public appearances. Her final public appearance was at an after-party at the Sardi's restaurant in New York City, following the premiere of the documentary film Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There.^[12]

Wray's gravestone at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

In 2004, Wray was approached by director Peter Jackson to appear in a small cameo for the 2005 remake of King Kong. She met with Naomi Watts, who was to play the role of Ann Darrow, whom Wray originally played. Before filming of the remake commenced, however, Wray died in her sleep of natural causes on August 8, 2004, in her Manhattan apartment. Her friend Rick McKay, said that "she just kind of drifted off quietly as if she was going to sleep... she just kind of gave out."^[13] She was 96 years old, only 38 days shy of her 97th birthday. Wray was interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

Two days after her death, the lights of the Empire State Building were extinguished for 15 minutes in her memory.^[14]

Honors

Wray was honored with a "Legend in Film" award at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival.^[10] For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Wray was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6349 Hollywood Blvd. She received a star posthumously 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, her birthplace, was 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, remembering her role in the film King Kong. A large oil portrait of Wray by Alberta artist Neil Boyle is on display in the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod, Alberta. 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 the writers John Monk Saunders and Robert Riskin and to the neurosurgeon Dr. Sanford Rothenberg (January 28, 1919 - January 4, 1991).^[15]

She had three children: Susan Saunders, Victoria Riskin, and Robert Riskin Jr. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1935.

Filmography

Television appearances

Wray appeared in the first season of the CBS series Perry Mason in "The Case Of The Prodigal Parent"^[16] (Episode 1-36) aired June 7, 1958.

In 1959, she played Tula Marsh in the episode "The Second Happiest Day" of the CBS anthology Playhouse 90. In 1960, she appeared as Clara in the episode "Who Killed Cock Robin?" of the ABC detective series 77 Sunset Strip. And in 1963, she played as Mrs. Brubaker in the episode "You're So Smart, Why Can't You Be Good?" episode of the NBC medical drama about psychiatry, The Eleventh Hour.

Cultural references

• In The Rocky Horror Picture Show, extraterrestrial transvestite mad scientist Frank N. Furter sings "Whatever happened to Fay Wray? / That delicate satin-draped frame / As it clung to her thigh / How I started to cry / 'Cause I wanted to be dressed just the same".
• Mentioned in the chorus of the Jimmy Ray song "Who Wants To Know?"
• Type O Negative, on their album Bloody Kisses, has a track titled "Fay Wray Come Out to Play"
• Mentioned repeatedly in Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow

See also

• Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
• Daniel Webster Jones, Wray's grandfather

Footnotes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fay Wray

• Fay Wray at the Internet Movie Database
• Fay Wray at Allmovie
• Fay Wray at the TCM Movie Database

• Fay Wray at the Internet Movie Database
• Fay Wray at Find a Grave
• Fay Wray at Northern Stars
• CBC.ca News: Fay Wray dies at 96
• A more complete biography
• Bellaonline.com article: Hollywood's First Scream Queen