Acting · Jacksonville, Illinois, USA · Born March 15, 1891
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.
MovieThe Legend of Rudolph Valentino
1961
as Self (archive footage)
MovieSlightly Dangerous
1943
as Opera patron (uncredited)
MovieMrs. Miniver
1942
as Man getting on Bus (uncredited)
MovieThe Mad Martindales
1942
as Barbershop Customer (uncredited)
MovieRio Rita
1942
as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
MovieAppointment for Love
1941
as Butler (uncredited)
MovieThe Lady from Cheyenne
1941
as Bit Role
MovieThe Man Who Lost Himself
1941
as (uncredited)
MovieHollywood Boulevard
1936
as Charlie Smith - Assistant Director
MovieJust My Luck
1935
as Homer Crow
MovieWelcome Home
1935
as Andrew Carr
MovieTicket to a Crime
1934
as Courtney Mallory
MovieBy Your Leave
1934
as Leonard Purcell
MovieThe Camera Speaks
1934
as Self (archive footage)
MovieLadies Should Listen
1934
as Henri
MovieSchool for Girls
1934
as Duke
MovieStars of Yesterday
1931
as Self
MovieThe House That Shadows Built
1931
as (archive footage)
MovieThe Count of Ten
1928
as Johnny McKinney
MovieThe Garden of Eden
1928
as Richard Dupont
MovieVanity
1927
as Lt. Lloyd Van Courtland
MovieGetting Gertie's Garter
1927
as Ken Walrick
MovieNobody's Widow
1927
as Honorable John Clayton
MovieThe American
1927
as Bill Smith
MovieThe Fire Brigade
1926
as Terry O'Neil
MovieThe Auction Block
1926
as Bob Wharton
MovieParis
1926
as Jerry
MovieSweet Adeline
1926
as Ben Wilson
MovieBright Lights
1925
as Tom Corbin
MovieSome Pun'kins
1925
as Lem Blossom
MoviePercy
1925
as Percival Rogeen
MovieDynamite Smith
1924
as Gladstone Smith
MovieThe Courtship of Miles Standish
1923
as John Alden
MovieThe Girl I Loved
1923
as John Middleton
MovieA Tailor-Made Man
1922
as John Paul Bart
MovieAlias Julius Caesar
1922
as Billy Barnes
MovieThe Deuce of Spades
1922
as Amos
MovieGas, Oil and Water
1922
as George Oliver Watson
MovieTwo Minutes to Go
1921
as Chester Burnett
MovieScrap Iron
1921
as John Steel
MovieThe Old Swimmin' Hole
1921
as Ezra Hull
MovieAn Old Fashioned Boy
1920
as David Warrington
MoviePeaceful Valley
1920
as Hosiah Howe
MovieA Village Sleuth
1920
as William Wells
Movie45 Minutes from Broadway
1920
as Kid Burns
MovieHomer Comes Home
1920
as Homer Cavender
MovieParis Green
1920
as Luther Green
MovieAlarm Clock Andy
1920
as Andrew Gray
MovieRed Hot Dollars
1919
as Tod Burke
MovieCrooked Straight
1919
as Ben Trimble
MovieThe Egg Crate Wallop
1919
as Jim Kelly
MovieBill Henry
1919
as Bill Henry Jenkins
MovieHay Foot, Straw Foot
1919
as Ulysses S. Grant Briggs
MovieThe Busher
1919
as Ben Harding
MovieGreased Lightning
1919
as Andy Fletcher
MovieThe Sheriff's Son
1919
as Royal Beaudry
MovieThe Girl Dodger
1919
as Cuthbert Trotman
MovieString Beans
1918
as Toby Watkins
MovieThe Law of the North
1918
as Alain de Montcalm
MovieA Nine O'Clock Town
1918
as David Clary
MovieThe Claws of the Hun
1918
as John Stanton
His Own Home Town
1918
as Jimmy Duncan
MoviePlaying the Game
1918
as Larry Prentiss
MovieThe Family Skeleton
1918
as Billy Bates
MovieThe Hired Man
1918
as Ezry Hollins
Staking His Life
1918
as Frank Hamilton
MovieHis Mother's Boy
1917
as Matthew Denton
MovieThe Son of His Father
1917
as Gordon Carbhoy
MovieSudden Jim
1917
as James Ashe, Jr.
MovieThe Clodhopper
1917
as Everett Nelson
MovieThe Millionaire Vagrant
1917
as Steven Du Peyster
MovieThe Pinch Hitter
1917
as Joel Parker
MovieBack of the Man
1917
as Larry Thomas
MovieSkinner's Dress Suit
1917
MovieThe Weaker Sex
1917
as Jack Harding
MovieThe Honorable Algy
1916
as The Honorable Algy
MovieA Corner in Colleens
1916
as Richard Taylor
MoviePlain Jane
1916
as Mr. 'John Sophomore Adams'
MovieThe Wolf Woman
1916
as Rex Walden
MovieHome
1916
as Bob Wheaton
MovieHonor Thy Name
1916
MovieThe Deserter
1916
as Lieutenant Parker
MovieThe Dividend
1916
as Frank Steele
MoviePeggy
1916
as Colin Cameron
The Forbidden Adventure
1915
as Cecil Weatherby
MovieThe Coward
1915
as Frank Winslow
The Lure of Woman
1915
as Captain Lane
MovieThe Conversion of Frosty Blake
1915
as Reverend Horace Brightray
MovieThe Renegade
1915
as Captain Marley
The Cup of Life
1915
as John Ward
MovieThe Grudge
1915
as Dick Wayne
MovieIn the Tennessee Hills
1915
as Jim Carson
The City of Darkness
1914
as Donald Warner - the Governor's Brother
MovieThe Gangsters and the Girl
1914
as Detective John Stone
For Her Brother's Sake
1914
as John Frye - the Brother
MovieThe Buried Past
1913
as Tom Winters - the Lover
For Mother's Sake
1913
as Jim
MovieThe Quakeress
1913
as John Hart - the Schoolmaster
MovieOld Mammy's Secret Code
1913
as David
The Transgressor
1913
as Jim
MovieThe Boomerang
1913
as Lt. Calhoun
The Grey Sentinel
1913
as Hal Peters
