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.
Acted in 90
1940s
- 1943
Slightly Dangerous
Opera patron (uncredited)
- 1942
The Mad Martindales
Barbershop Customer (uncredited)
Rio Rita
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
- 1941
Appointment for Love
Butler (uncredited)
The Lady from Cheyenne
Bit Role
The Man Who Lost Himself
(uncredited)
1930s
- 1936
Hollywood Boulevard
Charlie Smith - Assistant Director
- 1935
Just My Luck
Homer Crow
Welcome Home
Andrew Carr
- 1934
Ticket to a Crime
Courtney Mallory
By Your Leave
Leonard Purcell
Ladies Should Listen
Henri
School for Girls
Duke
- 1931
The House That Shadows Built
(archive footage)
1920s
- 1928
The Count of Ten
Johnny McKinney
The Garden of Eden
Richard Dupont
- 1927
Vanity
Lt. Lloyd Van Courtland
Getting Gertie's Garter
Ken Walrick
Nobody's Widow
Honorable John Clayton
The American
Bill Smith
- 1926
The Fire Brigade
Terry O'Neil
The Auction Block
Bob Wharton
Paris
Jerry
Sweet Adeline
Ben Wilson
- 1925
Bright Lights
Tom Corbin
Some Pun'kins
Lem Blossom
Percy
Percival Rogeen
- 1924
Dynamite Smith
Gladstone Smith
- 1923
The Courtship of Miles Standish
John Alden
The Girl I Loved
John Middleton
- 1922
A Tailor-Made Man
John Paul Bart
Alias Julius Caesar
Billy Barnes
Smudge
Stephen Stanton
The Deuce of Spades
Amos
Gas, Oil and Water
George Oliver Watson
- 1921
Two Minutes to Go
Chester Burnett
Scrap Iron
John Steel
The Old Swimmin' Hole
Ezra Hull
- 1920
An Old Fashioned Boy
David Warrington
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
1910s
- 1919
Red Hot Dollars
Tod Burke
Crooked Straight
Ben Trimble
The Egg Crate Wallop
Jim Kelly
Bill Henry
Bill Henry Jenkins
Hay Foot, Straw Foot
Ulysses S. Grant Briggs
The Busher
Ben Harding
Greased Lightning
Andy Fletcher
The Sheriff's Son
Royal Beaudry
The Girl Dodger
Cuthbert Trotman
- 1918
String Beans
Toby Watkins
The Law of the North
Alain de Montcalm
A Nine O'Clock Town
David Clary
The Claws of the Hun
John Stanton
Playing the Game
Larry Prentiss
The Family Skeleton
Billy Bates
The Hired Man
Ezry Hollins
- 1917
His Mother's Boy
Matthew Denton
The Son of His Father
Gordon Carbhoy
Sudden Jim
James Ashe, Jr.
The Clodhopper
Everett Nelson
The Millionaire Vagrant
Steven Du Peyster
The Pinch Hitter
Joel Parker
Back of the Man
Larry Thomas
Skinner's Dress Suit
Movie
The Weaker Sex
Jack Harding
- 1916
The Honorable Algy
The Honorable Algy
A Corner in Colleens
Richard Taylor
Plain Jane
Mr. 'John Sophomore Adams'
The Wolf Woman
Rex Walden
Honor Thy Name
Movie
The Deserter
Lieutenant Parker
The Dividend
Frank Steele
Peggy
Colin Cameron
- 1915
The Coward
Frank Winslow
The Conversion of Frosty Blake
Reverend Horace Brightray
The Renegade
Captain Marley
The Grudge
Dick Wayne
In the Tennessee Hills
Jim Carson
- 1914
The Gangsters and the Girl
Detective John Stone
- 1913
The Buried Past
Tom Winters - the Lover
The Quakeress
John Hart - the Schoolmaster
Old Mammy's Secret Code
David
The Boomerang
Lt. Calhoun
Directed 6
1920s
- 1922
Alias Julius Caesar
Director
Smudge
Director
The Deuce of Spades
Director
Gas, Oil and Water
Director
- 1921
Two Minutes to Go
Director
Scrap Iron
Director
Produced 4
1920s
- 1923
The Courtship of Miles Standish
Producer
- 1922
A Tailor-Made Man
Producer
Alias Julius Caesar
Producer
- 1921
Two Minutes to Go
Producer
Wrote 2
1920s
- 1921
Scrap Iron
Scenario Writer
1910s
- 1914
The Gangsters and the Girl
Writer
Appearances3
1960s
- 1961
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
Self (archive footage)
1930s
- 1934
The Camera Speaks
Self (archive footage)
- 1931
Stars of Yesterday
Self