Charles Ray

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.

Early life Ray was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, and moved to Springfield as a child where he attended elementary school. He then moved to Needles, California, for a time before finally relocating to Los Angeles where he finished his education. He began his career on the stage before working for director Thomas H. Ince as a film extra in silent shorts in December 1912. He appeared in several bit parts before moving on to supporting roles. Ray's breakthrough role came in 1915 when he co-starred opposite Frank Keenan in one of his first full-length feature, the historical American Civil War drama The Coward. The film was a box office success and critics praised Ray's mannerisms and natural acting style.

Career Ray's popularity grew after appearing in a series of light silent comedy features which cast him in juvenile roles, primarily young, wholesome hicks or naive, unsophisticated "country bumpkins" that foiled the plans of thieves or con men and won the heart of his dream girl. In March 1917, he signed with Paramount Pictures and resumed working with director Thomas H. Ince. By 1920, Ray enjoyed critical and commercial success and was earning a reported $11,000 a week (approximately $ today). As Ray's public popularity continued, he had gained a reputation in Hollywood for being difficult and egomaniacal. In 1920, he abruptly left Paramount after studio head Adolph Zukor refused to give him a substantial pay raise. Zukor later wrote in his autobiography, The Public Is Never Wrong, that Ray's ego and behavior had become problematic and that Ray "... was headed for trouble and did not care to be with him when he found it." Ray soon formed his own production company, Charles Ray Productions, and used his fortune to purchase a studio on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles (now known as the KCET Studios) where he planned to produce and shoot his own films.

Ray's first independent production, 45 Minutes from Broadway, was released in August 1920 and was fairly successful but not as successful as his previous films. In February 1921, he produced and starred in The Old Swimmin' Hole, the first full-length, American silent film that did not have intertitles to further the plot. The film drew critical acclaim for going against convention and for featuring a simple plot that was easy to follow without intertitles. Critics also praised Ray's ability to act convincingly despite a lack of intertitles. Despite the critical acclaim, the film was only shown for a short time in theaters in larger cities (where more sophisticated, big city audiences were more likely to accept experimental films and concepts) because the film featured Ray in a country bumpkin role. In February 1922, he signed a long-term contract with United Artists.

By the time Ray signed with United Artists, he had grown tired of playing country bumpkin and juvenile characters in comedy films. In an effort to change his image to that of a romantic leading man, Ray chose to produce an epic historical drama film based on The Courtship of Miles Standish, an 1858 narrative poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem centers around a love triangle between early American settlers John Alden, Miles Standish, and Priscilla Mullens. In November 1922, Ray announced that he would portray the lead role of John Alden in the film. He stated, "There will be immense satisfaction to me in playing a real character, not the puppet of some author's invention."

In her book Off With Their Heads!: A Serio-Comic Tale Of Hollywood, screenwriter Frances Marion wrote that numerous people attempted to dissuade Ray from making the film because lengthy costume dramas were not box office draws at the time. Ray chose not to listen to the advice and, after failing to secure financial backing from a major studio, he put up $500,000 (approximately $ today) of his own money to finance the film. Ray began filming The Courtship of Miles Standish in January 1923 at his namesake studio on Sunset Boulevard. By the end of filming, Ray had invested all of his savings, nearly $2 million (approximately $ today), and borrowed additional funds at a 30% interest rate to finish the film.

Released to theaters on December 30, 1923, The Courtship of Miles Standish received some critical acclaim, mainly for its cinematography, but received generally lukewarm reviews and was a box office failure. Ray lost all of the money he invested in the film and, due to the film's box office failure, his popularity quickly declined. Thomas Ince, who had worked with Ray early in his career, attempted to help Ray by casting him in the drama Dynamite Smith (1924), directed by Ince's brother Ralph. The film did little to help boost Ray's popularity. While he continued working in films until the 1940s, Ray never regained the popularity he once attained. For the remainder of his career, he was relegated to small supporting and uncredited extra work.

Decline and later years In December 1925, Ray was forced to file for bankruptcy after being sued by more than a dozen creditors for monies owed and back taxes. His production company also declared bankruptcy. Actress Jane Novak later recalled that Ray's wife Clara Grant (whom he married in November 1915) contributed to Ray's egomania and spendthrift ways. The couple lived in a lavish Beverly Hills home equipped with gold doorknobs, several lacquered pianos, black marble bathtubs with gold fixtures and a full sized tree made of semi-precious stones that sat in their bathroom. They employed a full staff of servants and owned a fleet of luxury cars. Grant bought expensive dresses that she refused to wear more than once and traveled in a Rolls-Royce with an ermine floor rug. The day before Ray was to file for bankruptcy, the couple held a dinner party with a personal butler for each of their guests at their home that reportedly cost $30,000. Film executive Pat Powers attended the party and asked Ray, "... how can you do this if you're going bankrupt tomorrow? Who will pay the bills? And he [Ray] said, 'we thought it was the thing to do.'" He and wife Clara Grant, from whom he had been separated since 1930, divorced in May 1935.

In an attempt to earn money and revive his career, Ray began writing. In 1935, he released a collection of short stories entitled Hollywood Shorts. In September 1936, he began publishing a magazine called Charles Ray's Hollywood Digest. The magazine featured a mixture of humorous stories and jokes, film reviews and industry news and editorials and articles written by actors and directors including Melvyn Douglas, Groucho Marx and Cecil B. DeMille. In the magazine's first issue, Ray wrote a story which poked fun at then popular and influential gossip columnist Walter Winchell entitled “Is Winchell a Heel?” (“Heel” being slang for a contemptible person). Guerin died the following year. During his final years, Ray struggled with poor health but continued to work in bit roles. He ended his career in uncredited bit roles in Slightly Dangerous (1943) and An American Romance, which was released a year after his death.

Death On November 23, 1943, Ray died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles of a systemic infection caused by an impacted wisdom tooth, for which he had been hospitalized six weeks prior. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in an unmarked grave in Glendale, California. located at 6355 Hollywood Boulevard.

Filmography + Short subjectsYearTitleRole Notes 1911 The Fortunes of War Letty Roberts Lost film 1913 The Favorite Son Jim King Short 1913 The Sharpshooter Jack Krone - a Young Blacksmith Short 1913 The Barrier Wade - the Young Lieutenant Short 1913 The Witch of Salem John Hastings Short 1914 For Her Brother's Sake John Frye - the Brother Short 1914 Shorty's Sacrifice Tom Simms Short 1914 The Curse of Humanity Roger Short 1914 The Fortunes of War Carlos Romez Short 1915 In the Tennessee Hills Jim Carson Short 1915 The Wells of Paradise Tom Dolan Short 1915 The Conversion of Frosty Blake Reverend Horace Brightray Short 1915 The Ace of Hearts Jean Desmond Short, Credited as Charles E. Ray 1918 A Liberty Bond Plea A farm boy Short 1932 The Bride's Bereavement; or, The Snake in the Grass Short 1934 Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles Elmer Updike Short, Alternative title: Beer and Bicycles + FeaturesYearTitleRole Notes 1915 The Cup of Life John Ward 1915 The Coward Frank Winslow 1915 City of the Dead Cecil Weatherby Alternative title: The Forbidden Adventure 1915 The Painted Soul Barnard Alternative title: The Straight Road 1916 Peggy Colin Cameron 1916 The Deserter Lieutenant Parker 1916 The Honorable Algy The Honorable Algy Lost film 1917 The Millionaire Vagrant Steven Du Peyster 1917 The Pinch Hitter Joel Parker 1917 The Clodhopper Everett Nelson 1917 His Mother's Boy Matthew Denton 1918 The Claws of the Hun John Stanton 1918 The Law of the North Alain de Montcalm 1918 String Beans Toby Watkins 1919 The Busher Ben Harding 1919 Hay Foot, Straw Foot Ulysses S. Grant Briggs 1919 Bill Henry Bill Henry Jenkins 1919 Red Hot Dollars Tod Burke 1920 Alarm Clock Andy Andrew Gray 1920 The Village Sleuth William Wells 1920 45 Minutes from Broadway Kid Burns 1920 An Old Fashioned Boy David Warrington Director, producer 1921 The Old Swimmin' Hole Ezra Producer 1921 Scrap Iron John Steel Director, writer 1921 A Midnight Bell Martin Tripp Lost film 1921 Two Minutes to Go Chester Burnett Director, producerLost film 1921 R.S.V.P. Richard Morgan Director 1922 The Barnstormer Joel DirectorLost film 1922 Gas, Oil and Water George Oliver Watson Director, producer 1922 Alias Julius Caesar Billy Barnes Director, producer 1922 Robin Hood Extra Uncredited 1923 The Girl I Loved John Middleton Producer 1923 Ponjola 1923 The Courtship of Miles Standish John Alden ProducerLost film 1924 Dynamite Smith Dynamite Smith 1925 Percy Percival Rogeen 1925 Some Pun'kins Lem Blossom 1925 Bright Lights Tom Corbin 1926 The Auction Block Bob Wharton 1926 Paris Jerry 1926 The Fire Brigade Terry O'Neil 1927 The American Unreleased film 1927 Getting Gertie's Garter Ken Walrick 1927 Vanity Lt. Lloyd Van Courtland 1928 The Garden of Eden Richard Dupont 1928 The Count of Ten Johnny McKinney 1934 School for Girls Duke 1934 Ladies Should Listen Henri, the porter 1934 Ticket to a Crime Courtney Mallory 1935 Welcome Home Andrew Carr 1935 Just My Luck Homer Crow 1936 Hollywood Boulevard Charlie Smith, Assistant Director 1940 A Little Bit of Heaven Uncle Wes 1941 Wild Geese Calling Undetermined Minor Role Uncredited 1941 A Yank in the R.A.F. American business executive Uncredited 1941 Married Bachelor Man in Lounge Room Getting Bagpipes Uncredited 1941 Appointment for Love Butler Uncredited 1941 Harvard, Here I Come! Reporter Uncredited 1942 Rio Rita Hotel Guest Uncredited 1942 Mrs. Miniver Man getting on Bus Uncredited 1942 The Magnificent Dope Uncredited 1942 Tennessee Johnson Senator Uncredited 1943 Slightly Dangerous Opera Patron Uncredited 1944 An American Romance Extra UncreditedReleased posthumously