Charles Ray
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- March 15, 1891
- Died
- November 23, 1943 (aged 52)
- Birthplace
- Jacksonville, Illinois, USA
Biography
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
Photos
Filmography
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Slightly Dangerous
Movie · as Opera patron (uncredited)
Mrs. Miniver
Movie · as Man getting on Bus (uncredited)
Rio Rita
Movie · as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
The Mad Martindales
Movie · as Barbershop Customer (uncredited)
The Lady from Cheyenne
Movie · as Bit Role
The Man Who Lost Himself
Movie · as (uncredited)
Appointment for Love
Movie · as Butler (uncredited)
Hollywood Boulevard
Movie · as Charlie Smith - Assistant Director
Welcome Home
Movie · as Andrew Carr
Just My Luck
Movie · as Homer Crow
The Camera Speaks
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
By Your Leave
Movie · as Leonard Purcell
Ticket to a Crime
Movie · as Courtney Mallory
Ladies Should Listen
Movie · as Henri
School for Girls
Movie · as Duke
Stars of Yesterday
Movie · as Self
The House That Shadows Built
Movie · as (archive footage)
The Garden of Eden
Movie · as Richard Dupont
The Count of Ten
Movie · as Johnny McKinney
Getting Gertie's Garter
Movie · as Ken Walrick
Vanity
Movie · as Lt. Lloyd Van Courtland
The American
Movie · as Bill Smith
Nobody's Widow
Movie · as Honorable John Clayton
Sweet Adeline
Movie · as Ben Wilson
The Fire Brigade
Movie · as Terry O'Neil
The Auction Block
Movie · as Bob Wharton
Paris
Movie · as Jerry
Percy
Movie · as Percival Rogeen
Bright Lights
Movie · as Tom Corbin
Some Pun'kins
Movie · as Lem Blossom
Dynamite Smith
Movie · as Gladstone Smith
The Courtship of Miles Standish
Movie · as John Alden
The Girl I Loved
Movie · as John Middleton
Gas, Oil and Water
Movie · as George Oliver Watson
The Deuce of Spades
Movie · as Amos
A Tailor-Made Man
Movie · as John Paul Bart
Alias Julius Caesar
Movie · as Billy Barnes
Smudge
Movie · as Stephen Stanton
The Old Swimmin' Hole
Movie · as Ezra Hull
Scrap Iron
Movie · as John Steel
Two Minutes to Go
Movie · as Chester Burnett
45 Minutes from Broadway
Movie · as Kid Burns
A Village Sleuth
Movie · as William Wells
Alarm Clock Andy
Movie · as Andrew Gray
An Old Fashioned Boy
Movie · as David Warrington
Homer Comes Home
Movie · as Homer Cavender
Paris Green
Movie · as Luther Green
Peaceful Valley
Movie · as Hosiah Howe
The Sheriff's Son
Movie · as Royal Beaudry
The Busher
Movie · as Ben Harding
Bill Henry
Movie · as Bill Henry Jenkins
Greased Lightning
Movie · as Andy Fletcher
Hay Foot, Straw Foot
Movie · as Ulysses S. Grant Briggs
The Egg Crate Wallop
Movie · as Jim Kelly
The Girl Dodger
Movie · as Cuthbert Trotman
Crooked Straight
Movie · as Ben Trimble
Red Hot Dollars
Movie · as Tod Burke
The Family Skeleton
Movie · as Billy Bates
Playing the Game
Movie · as Larry Prentiss
Staking His Life
Movie · as Frank Hamilton
The Claws of the Hun
Movie · as John Stanton
His Own Home Town
Movie · as Jimmy Duncan
String Beans
Movie · as Toby Watkins
The Hired Man
Movie · as Ezry Hollins
A Nine O'Clock Town
Movie · as David Clary
The Law of the North
Movie · as Alain de Montcalm
The Weaker Sex
Movie · as Jack Harding
The Son of His Father
Movie · as Gordon Carbhoy
Sudden Jim
Movie · as James Ashe, Jr.
The Millionaire Vagrant
Movie · as Steven Du Peyster
The Clodhopper
Movie · as Everett Nelson
Back of the Man
Movie · as Larry Thomas
The Pinch Hitter
Movie · as Joel Parker
His Mother's Boy
Movie · as Matthew Denton
Skinner's Dress Suit
Movie
The Wolf Woman
Movie · as Rex Walden
Home
Movie · as Bob Wheaton
Honor Thy Name
Movie
The Dividend
Movie · as Frank Steele
Plain Jane
Movie · as Mr. 'John Sophomore Adams'
Peggy
Movie · as Colin Cameron
The Deserter
Movie · as Lieutenant Parker
The Honorable Algy
Movie · as The Honorable Algy
A Corner in Colleens
Movie · as Richard Taylor
The Grudge
Movie · as Dick Wayne
The Conversion of Frosty Blake
Movie · as Reverend Horace Brightray
The Renegade
Movie · as Captain Marley
The Cup of Life
Movie · as John Ward
The Forbidden Adventure
Movie · as Cecil Weatherby
The Coward
Movie · as Frank Winslow
The Lure of Woman
Movie · as Captain Lane
In the Tennessee Hills
Movie · as Jim Carson
The Gangsters and the Girl
Movie · as Detective John Stone
The City of Darkness
Movie · as Donald Warner - the Governor's Brother
For Her Brother's Sake
Movie · as John Frye - the Brother
The Boomerang
Movie · as Lt. Calhoun
The Transgressor
Movie · as Jim
Old Mammy's Secret Code
Movie · as David
For Mother's Sake
Movie · as Jim
The Grey Sentinel
Movie · as Hal Peters
The Quakeress
Movie · as John Hart - the Schoolmaster
The Buried Past
Movie · as Tom Winters - the Lover