Fay Wray

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fay Wray (2001)

Fay Wray (born September 15, 1907 in Cardston , Alberta , Canada , as Vina Fay Wray , † August 8, 2004 in New York City ) was an American actress . She became best known as the Scream Queen thanks to numerous appearances in horror films of the early 1930s such as King Kong and the White Woman .

Life

Fay Wray was born on a farm in the Canadian village of Cardston as one of six children. Her parents were Mormons. A few years after she was born, the family moved to the United States. The family later moved to the immediate Hollywood area . She began her career in the early 1920s as a supporting actress in neglected westerns and melodramas . In 1926 she was voted one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of the Year and finally got a contract with Paramount .

She became known to a wide audience through her leading role in The Wedding March , directed by Erich von Stroheim . The studio's attempt to establish them as a screen couple with Gary Cooper failed with The First Kiss . The film was hardly successful. The producers did not succeed in creating a counterpart to Janet Gaynor / Charles Farrell , Ronald Colman / Vilma Bánky or Greta Garbo / John Gilbert . Nevertheless, in contrast to many other actresses, Fay Wray made the transition to talkies . In 1932 she appeared under contract with RKO , alongside Joel McCrea in Graf Zaroff - Genie des Evil . This was followed in 1933 by King Kong and the white woman , whose financial success saved RKO from financial ruin. Fay Wray was often seen in the following period in the horror genre, so in Mystery of the Wax Museum , an early Technicolorproduktion , and Doctor X . Because of her appearances as a woman threatened by monsters and mad scientists, who uttered loud screams in moments of greatest fear, the term Scream Queen was coined . In 1933 alone, Fay Wray took part in 11 Hollywood productions. Until the late 1930s she was a busy performer in a wide variety of genres. After appearances in The Scream of the Hurried and The Affairs of Cellini , both from 1934, she appeared in B-films in the following years .

From 1927 Fay Wray was married to the author John Monk Saunders . The marriage ended in divorce in 1939. In 1940 Fay Wray retired into private life for a few years. In 1942 she married the screenwriter Robert Riskin , with whom she had son Robert and daughter Vicki. Riskin died in 1955. It was not until 1953, after a break of over 10 years, that she resumed acting. Until well into the 1960s she was then regularly seen in feature films and television series.

Fay Wray's grave in Hollywood Forever Cemetery

In 1971 she married the physician Dr. Sanford Rothenberg. Fay Wray wrote several short stories and a play. In 1989 she published her autobiography On the Other Hand . In her biography, she expressed pride in her achievements in King Kong .

James Cameron was dying to get Fay Wray to play the role of Old Rose in Titanic . However, his attempt failed. Peter Jackson tried to win her for his remake of King Kong and wanted to give her the last lines of the film: "It was beauty that killed the beast." She said yes, but died before filming began at the age of 96 . One scene alludes to the actress when, when asked whether Fay is available for the film, it says: She's already shooting something with RKO. The film The Rocky Horror Picture Show begins with the song Science Fiction / Double Feature , in which the statement Then something went wrong for Fay Wray and King Kong (They got caught in a celluloid jam.) Is made. The later performed song Don't dream it, be it begins with the question: Whatever happened to Fay Wray?

Filmography (selection)

Fay Wray Memorial in her hometown of Cardston

Awards

Fay Wrays star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films 1975
    • Special Award
  • Palm Beach International Film Festival 2003
    • Legend in Film Award
  • Women in Film Crystal Award 1989
  • Walk of Fame
    • 1960 Own Star at 6349 Hollywood Blvd.

Autobiography

  • On the other hand. A life story. St. Martin's Press, New York NY 1988, ISBN 0-312-02265-4 .

literature

  • Rainer Dick: Fay Wray. First lady of horror. In: Rainer Dick: Stars of the horror film. Tilsner, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-910079-63-6 , pp. 146-155.

Web links

Commons : Fay Wray  - Collection of Images
personal data
SURNAME Wray, Fay
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wray, Vina Fay (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Cardston , Alberta, Canada
DATE OF DEATH August 8, 2004
Place of death New York City