Fay Wray - Biography

Last Editor: mkashoff				Fay Wray Biography -   Name : Fay Wray Profession : Actress Birth name : Vina Fay Wray Height : 5' 3" (1.60 m) Nickname : The Queen of Scream Queen of the Bs Personal quotes : "At the premiere of King Kong I wasn't too impressed. I thought there was too much screaming...I didn't realise then that King Kong and I were goi Salary : King Kong (1933) $10,000.00 Spouse : Dr Sanford (Sandy) Rothenberg (1970 - 1991) (his death) Robert Riskin (23 August 1942 - 20 September 1955) (his death) 2 children John Monk Saunders

Fay Wray Trivia -

Referenced in the 1998 song "Are You Jimmy Ray?" by Jimmy Ray Made a special guest appearance at The 70th Annual Academy Awards (1998) (TV). Billy Crystal introduced a small film of her work in RKO's King Kong (1933) and then climbed off the stage, standing next to Miss Wray in the audience and then announced her presence. He described her as the "Beauty who charmed the Beast" and the "Legendary Fay Wray". A surprised Miss Wray rose from her seat to instantaneous rapturous applause and waved to the whole audience. Unusually, for a star of her stature, there was no standing ovation as Miss Wray did not appear on the main award stage. Billy Crystal innocently teased her about it being the "This Is Your Life" (1952) show and thanked her for being a part of the celebration of the 70 years of the Academy Awards. Miss Wray then assisted Billy Crystal announce the next presenters, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, to which there was further applause for Miss Wray, who smiled with gratitude. She had a daughter, 'Susan Riskin' , by her first marriage to the writer John Monk Saunders and two children, 'Robert Riskin Jr' and Victoria Riskin, by her second marriage to the writer Robert Riskin. She was "almost" a vegetarian and always stuck to her rule not to eat late at night. She woke up long before sunrise and spent a lot of time writing. Best remembered as the girl held in the hand of RKO's King Kong (1933). She drove a car into her nineties. In January 2003, a 95 year-old Fay Wray was awarded the "Legend in Film" Award at the Palm Beach International Film Festival when she appeared there in person to celebrate Rick McKay's film "Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There," which she also appeared in. In addition to her honor, McKay's film was honored with the Audience Award "Best Documentary" of the festival by unanimous vote. Adrien Brody and Robert Evans won awards in addition to Wray and McKay at the same festival. She is regarded as Hollywood's first "scream queen". This was due to the 1932-1933 season when she made the early Technicolor thrillers Doctor X (1932) and Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) (both at Warner Brothers with Lionel Atwill). She also costarred in The Vampire Bat (1933) at Majestic (again with Atwill) and at RKO she made The Most Dangerous Game (1932) and, of course, King Kong (1933). Despite leaving Canada at an early age, she often visited Cardston, Alberta, her hometown. Saved RKO from bankruptcy with the movie King Kong. On August 10, 2004, two days after her death, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City (scene of the climax from her most popular film "King Kong") were dimmed for 15 minutes in her memory. Was guest of honor in 1991, at the 60th birthday of the Empire State Building in New York City. Buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, California. This cemetery is near downtown Hollywood just blocks from Hollywood and Vine Streets. The cemetery is across from Paramount Studios and surrounded by many businesses and easy to miss for first time travelers. She is referenced twice in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". During the Floorshow, Frank says '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'; in the opening song, 'then something went wrong/for Fay Wray and King Kong/they got caught in a celluloid jam'. Her brother, J. Vivian Wray, suffered from a mental disorder and was confined to a sanitarium. He escaped and apparently committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a streetcar in Stockton, California, June 4, 1928. On the main street of Cardston, Alberta, Canada, her birthplace, there is the "Fay Wray Fountain." Cardston is also home to the first Mormon Temple in Canada. She spent time with and became friends with Peter Jackson, a major fan, while he was in process of developing his remake of 'King Kong'. Before she passed on, Wray also meet and became friendly with Naomi Watts, who she also approved for playing the part that Wray originated, "Ann Darrow". For the remake of King Kong (2005), director Peter Jackson wanted Fay to say the closing line of the film. Since she died before it was done, the line went to Jack Black.

Fay Wray Detailed Biography -

Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian-American actress, who was born Vina Fay Wray on a ranch near Cardston, Alberta, Canada. Her family moved to the United States when she was three. Although Wray's autobiography discusses her Mormon parentage and makes it clear that she was culturally Mormon, she was apparently never baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Wray's family lived in predominantly Mormon communities in Alberta, Arizona and Salt Lake City, Utah before settling in Los Angeles, California, where she got her first film work in Hal Roach comedy shorts and in low-budget westerns in the early 1920s. Wray gained media attention when she was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926, which landed her a contract at Paramount Pictures. In 1928, director Erich von Stroheim cast Wray as the main female lead in his troubled production of The Wedding March, which sent Hollywood in a buzz for its high budget and production values. It was a massive failure (due to the fact that it was silent in a world of new talking pictures), but it gave Wray her first lead role. He also was romantically interested in the lovely Wray, and arranged a rendezvous in Hollywood, but she changed her mind and never showed. She is best remembered for her role as Ann Darrow, the blonde seductress of a gigantic, prehistoric gorilla in the classic horror/adventure film King Kong (1933). She dyed her dark hair blonde for the role. There have been claims the screams emanated from actress Julie Haydon, and dubbed to Wray, but that has been disputed. Wray also appeared in over a hundred other films, mostly in the 1930s, including The Four Feathers (1929), Doctor X (1932), The Most Dangerous Game (1932 in film), The Vampire Bat (1933 in film), and Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933). She also appeared in Viva Villa (1934) with Wallace Beery, The Texan, The Conquering Horde, and One Sunday Afternoon. Later in her career, Wray appeared in Small Town Girl, Tammy and the Bachelor, and Summer Love.