CINEFILER

Charles Ray

Born
March 15, 1891
Died
November 23, 1943
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
Mrs. Miniver
(1942)
Man getting on Bus (uncredited)
Full Filmography
Acting
The Quakeress
(1913)
John Hart - the Schoolmaster
The Boomerang
(1913)
Lt. Calhoun
The Transgressor
(1913)
Jim
Old Mammy's Secret Code
(1913)
David
For Mother's Sake
(1913)
The Grey Sentinel
(1913)
Hal Peters
The Gangsters and the Girl
(1914)
Detective John Stone
The Coward
(1915)
Frank Winslow
In the Tennessee Hills
(1915)
Jim Carson
The Grudge
(1915)
Dick Wayne
The Conversion of Frosty Blake
(1915)
Reverend Horace Brightray
The Renegade
(1915)
Captain Marley
The Cup of Life
(1915)
John Ward
The Forbidden Adventure
(1915)
Cecil Weatherby
Plain Jane
(1916)
Mr. 'John Sophomore Adams'
Peggy
(1916)
Colin Cameron
The Deserter
(1916)
Lieutenant Parker
The Wolf Woman
(1916)
Rex Walden
Home
(1916)
Bob Wheaton
Honor Thy Name
(1916)
The Dividend
(1916)
Frank Steele
The Clodhopper
(1917)
Everett Nelson
Back of the Man
(1917)
Larry Thomas
The Pinch Hitter
(1917)
Joel Parker
His Mother's Boy
(1917)
Matthew Denton
The Weaker Sex
(1917)
Jack Harding
The Son of His Father
(1917)
Gordon Carbhoy
Sudden Jim
(1917)
James Ashe, Jr.
The Millionaire Vagrant
(1917)
Steven Du Peyster
The Family Skeleton
(1918)
Billy Bates
Playing the Game
(1918)
Larry Prentiss
Staking His Life
(1918)
Frank Hamilton
The Claws of the Hun
(1918)
John Stanton
His Own Home Town
(1918)
Jimmy Duncan
String Beans
(1918)
Toby Watkins
The Hired Man
(1918)
Ezry Hollins
The Busher
(1919)
Ben Harding
Bill Henry
(1919)
Bill Henry Jenkins
Greased Lightning
(1919)
Andy Fletcher
Hay Foot, Straw Foot
(1919)
Ulysses S. Grant Briggs
The Egg Crate Wallop
(1919)
Jim Kelly
The Sheriff's Son
(1919)
Royal Beaudry
A Village Sleuth
(1920)
William Wells
Alarm Clock Andy
(1920)
Andrew Gray
Homer Comes Home
(1920)
Homer Cavender
An Old Fashioned Boy
(1920)
David Warrington
Paris Green
(1920)
Luther Green
45 Minutes from Broadway
(1920)
Kid Burns
The Old Swimmin' Hole
(1921)
Ezra Hull
The Deuce of Spades
(1922)
Amos
A Tailor-Made Man
(1922)
John Paul Bart
Gas, Oil and Water
(1922)
George Oliver Watson
The Girl I Loved
(1923)
John Middleton
The Courtship of Miles Standish
(1923)
John Alden
Dynamite Smith
(1924)
Gladstone Smith
Bright Lights
(1925)
Tom Corbin
Percy
(1925)
Percival Rogeen
The Fire Brigade
(1926)
Terry O'Neil
Paris
(1926)
Jerry
Sweet Adeline
(1926)
Ben Wilson
The Auction Block
(1926)
Bob Wharton
Getting Gertie's Garter
(1927)
Ken Walrick
Vanity
(1927)
Lt. Lloyd Van Courtland
The American
(1927)
Bill Smith
The Garden of Eden
(1928)
Richard Dupont
The House That Shadows Built
(1931)
(archive footage)
Stars of Yesterday
(1931)
Self
By Your Leave
(1934)
Leonard Purcell
Ticket to a Crime
(1934)
Courtney Mallory
The Camera Speaks
(1934)
Self (archive footage)
Ladies Should Listen
(1934)
Henri, the porter
School for Girls
(1934)
Duke
Just My Luck
(1935)
Homer Crow
Welcome Home
(1935)
Andrew Carr
Hollywood Boulevard
(1936)
Charlie Smith - Assistant Director
The Lady from Cheyenne
(1941)
Bit Role
The Man Who Lost Himself
(1941)
(uncredited)
Appointment for Love
(1941)
Butler (uncredited)
Rio Rita
(1942)
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
The Mad Martindales
(1942)
Barbershop Customer (uncredited)
Mrs. Miniver
(1942)
Man getting on Bus (uncredited)
Slightly Dangerous
(1943)
Opera patron (uncredited)
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
(1961)
Self (archive footage)
Writing
Directing
Data provided by TMDB