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
Rex Walden
The Wolf Woman
Billy Bates
The Family Skeleton
Ben Wilson
Sweet Adeline
Andrew Carr
Welcome Home
Larry Prentiss
Playing the Game
Percival Rogeen
Percy
Reverend Horace Brightray
The Conversion of Frosty Blake
Dick Wayne
The Grudge
Frank Hamilton
Staking His Life
Royal Beaudry
The Sheriff's Son
Self
Stars of Yesterday
Self (archive footage)
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
David
Old Mammy's Secret Code
Lt. Calhoun
The Boomerang
Jim
The Transgressor
For Mother's Sake
Captain Marley
The Renegade
Detective John Stone
The Gangsters and the Girl
John Ward
The Cup of Life
Honor Thy Name
Bob Wheaton
Home
Cecil Weatherby
The Forbidden Adventure
Jack Harding
The Weaker Sex
John Alden
The Courtship of Miles Standish
Kid Burns
45 Minutes from Broadway
Self (archive footage)
The Camera Speaks
Man getting on Bus (uncredited)
Mrs. Miniver
Gordon Carbhoy
The Son of His Father
Terry O'Neil
The Fire Brigade
Frank Winslow
The Coward
Homer Crow
Just My Luck
Leonard Purcell
By Your Leave
Courtney Mallory
Ticket to a Crime
Ken Walrick
Getting Gertie's Garter
(archive footage)
The House That Shadows Built
John Stanton
The Claws of the Hun
George Oliver Watson
Gas, Oil and Water
Hal Peters
The Grey Sentinel
Frank Steele
The Dividend
Ben Harding
The Busher
Lt. Lloyd Van Courtland
Vanity
Richard Dupont
The Garden of Eden
Bob Wharton
The Auction Block
Jimmy Duncan
His Own Home Town
Toby Watkins
String Beans
James Ashe, Jr.
Sudden Jim
Ezry Hollins
The Hired Man
Steven Du Peyster
The Millionaire Vagrant
Charlie Smith - Assistant Director
Hollywood Boulevard
Bit Role
The Lady from Cheyenne
Everett Nelson
The Clodhopper
John Hart - the Schoolmaster
The Quakeress
Captain Lane
The Lure of Woman
Henri, the porter
Ladies Should Listen
(uncredited)
The Man Who Lost Himself
Opera patron (uncredited)
Slightly Dangerous
Amos
The Deuce of Spades
Bill Smith
The American
Tom Corbin
Bright Lights
Larry Thomas
Back of the Man
Mr. 'John Sophomore Adams'
Plain Jane
William Wells
A Village Sleuth
Jim Carson
In the Tennessee Hills
Homer Cavender
Homer Comes Home
David Warrington
An Old Fashioned Boy
Andrew Gray
Alarm Clock Andy
Joel Parker
The Pinch Hitter
Bill Henry Jenkins
Bill Henry
Matthew Denton
His Mother's Boy
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Rio Rita
Andy Fletcher
Greased Lightning
Luther Green
Paris Green
Colin Cameron
Peggy
Jerry
Paris
Duke
School for Girls
Butler (uncredited)
Appointment for Love
Lieutenant Parker
The Deserter
John Paul Bart
A Tailor-Made Man
Ulysses S. Grant Briggs
Hay Foot, Straw Foot
Ezra Hull
The Old Swimmin' Hole
Jim Kelly
The Egg Crate Wallop
Gladstone Smith
Dynamite Smith
John Middleton
The Girl I Loved
Barbershop Customer (uncredited)
The Mad Martindales
David Clary
A Nine O'Clock Town
Cuthbert Trotman
The Girl Dodger
Alain de Montcalm
The Law of the North
Honorable John Clayton
Nobody's Widow
John Steel
Scrap Iron
Donald Warner - the Governor's Brother
The City of Darkness
John Frye - the Brother
For Her Brother's Sake
The Honorable Algy
The Honorable Algy
Tom Winters - the Lover
The Buried Past
Chester Burnett
Two Minutes to Go
Lem Blossom
Some Pun'kins
Billy Barnes
Alias Julius Caesar
Hosiah Howe
Peaceful Valley
Richard Taylor
A Corner in Colleens
Skinner's Dress Suit
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
99
Gender
Male
Birthday
1891-03-15
Place of Birth
Jacksonville, Illinois, USA
Also Known As
Charles Edgar Alfred Ray