Gary Gray
Encyclopedia
Gary Dickson Gray was an American
child actor
in film
s, and as an adult in television
.
Born in Los Angeles, California
, Gray was the son of a film business manager, whose clients Bert Wheeler
and Jack Benny
suggested the child should be used in films. Gray made his film debut in the Joan Crawford
film A Woman's Face
in 1941, and played minor roles in such popular films as Heaven Can Wait
(1943), Gaslight
(1944) and Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944). He played more substantial roles, including Return of the Bad Men (1948), with Randolph Scott
, and Rachel and the Stranger
(also 1948) with Robert Mitchum
.
By the time he graduated from high school he had appeared in more than 70 films, however as an adult his acting roles were fairly few, and were mainly for television. By the early 1960s he had retired from acting and concentrated on raising his family and building a swimming pool business.
He died in Brush Prairie, Washington
from cancer
, aged 69.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, and as an adult in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Born in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Gray was the son of a film business manager, whose clients Bert Wheeler
Wheeler & Woolsey
Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey were a famous American film comedy team of the 1930s....
and Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
suggested the child should be used in films. Gray made his film debut in the Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
film A Woman's Face
A Woman's Face
A Woman's Face is a 1941 drama film directed by George Cukor, starring Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas and Conrad Veidt. It tells the story of Anna Holm, a facially disfigured blackmailer, who because of her appearance despises everyone she encounters...
in 1941, and played minor roles in such popular films as Heaven Can Wait
Heaven Can Wait (1943 film)
Heaven Can Wait is a 1943 American comedy film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was by Samson Raphaelson based on the play Birthday by Leslie Bush-Fekete. The music score was by Alfred Newman and the cinematography by Edward Cronjager.The film tells the story of a man who has...
(1943), Gaslight
Gaslight (1944 film)
Gaslight is a 1944 mystery-thriller film adapted from Patrick Hamilton's play, Gas Light, performed as Angel Street on Broadway in 1941. It was the second version to be filmed; the first, released in the United Kingdom, had been made a mere four years earlier...
(1944) and Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
(1944). He played more substantial roles, including Return of the Bad Men (1948), with Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
, and Rachel and the Stranger
Rachel and the Stranger
Rachel and the Stranger was a black-and-white 1948 western film starring Loretta Young, William Holden, and Robert Mitchum. The Norman Foster-helmed film was one of the few to address the role of women in the pioneer west, as well as portray early America's indentured servant trade...
(also 1948) with Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
.
By the time he graduated from high school he had appeared in more than 70 films, however as an adult his acting roles were fairly few, and were mainly for television. By the early 1960s he had retired from acting and concentrated on raising his family and building a swimming pool business.
He died in Brush Prairie, Washington
Brush Prairie, Washington
Brush Prairie is a census-designated place in Clark County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,384 at the 2000 census.Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Brush Prairie ranks 57th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be...
from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, aged 69.