Known For
Acting
Born
Mar 15, 1891
Died
Nov 23, 1943
Place of Birth
Jacksonville, Illinois, USA
Credits
102 titles
Charles Ray
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
Filmography
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
Self (archive footage)
Slightly Dangerous
Opera patron (uncredited)
Mrs. Miniver
Man getting on Bus (uncredited)
The Mad Martindales
Barbershop Customer (uncredited)
Rio Rita
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Appointment for Love
Butler (uncredited)
The Lady from Cheyenne
Bit Role
The Man Who Lost Himself
(uncredited)
Hollywood Boulevard
Charlie Smith - Assistant Director
Just My Luck
Homer Crow
Welcome Home
Andrew Carr
Ticket to a Crime
Courtney Mallory
By Your Leave
Leonard Purcell
The Camera Speaks
Self (archive footage)
Ladies Should Listen
Henri
School for Girls
Duke
Stars of Yesterday
Self
The House That Shadows Built
(archive footage)
The Count of Ten
Johnny McKinney
The Garden of Eden
Richard Dupont
Vanity
Lt. Lloyd Van Courtland
Getting Gertie's Garter
Ken Walrick
Nobody's Widow
Honorable John Clayton
The American
Bill Smith
The Fire Brigade
Terry O'Neil
The Auction Block
Bob Wharton
Paris
Jerry
Sweet Adeline
Ben Wilson
Bright Lights
Tom Corbin
Some Pun'kins
Lem Blossom
Percy
Percival Rogeen
Dynamite Smith
Gladstone Smith
The Courtship of Miles Standish
John Alden
The Girl I Loved
John Middleton
A Tailor-Made Man
John Paul Bart
Alias Julius Caesar
Billy Barnes
The Deuce of Spades
Amos
Gas, Oil and Water
George Oliver Watson
Two Minutes to Go
Chester Burnett
Scrap Iron
John Steel
The Old Swimmin' Hole
Ezra Hull
An Old Fashioned Boy
David Warrington
Peaceful Valley
Hosiah Howe
A Village Sleuth
William Wells
45 Minutes from Broadway
Kid Burns
Homer Comes Home
Homer Cavender
Paris Green
Luther Green
Alarm Clock Andy
Andrew Gray
Red Hot Dollars
Tod Burke
Crooked Straight
Ben Trimble