Ray Collins (actor)
Encyclopedia
Ray Bidwell Collins was an American
actor in film
, stage
, radio
, and television
. One of Collins' best remembered roles was that of Lt. Arthur Tragg in the long-running series Perry Mason
.
to Lillie Bidwell and William C. Collins, a newspaper drama editor. He started acting on stage at the age of 14. In 1922, he was part of a stock company called Vancouver's Popular Players which enacted plays at the original Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver, B.C. In the mid 1930s, now an established stage and radio actor, Collins began working with Orson Welles
' Mercury Theatre
leading to some of his most memorable roles. Having already appeared on radio with Welles on The Shadow
(a regular as Commissioner Weston) and in Welles' serial adaptation of Les Miserables
from 1937, Collins became a regular on The Mercury Theatre on the Air; through the run of the series, he played many roles in literary adaptations, from Squire Livesey from Treasure Island
and Dr. Watson to Mr. Pickwick in an adaptation of Pickwick Papers. Collins' best known (albeit uncredited) work on this series, however, was in the infamous The War of the Worlds
broadcast, playing three roles, including Mr. Wilmuth (on whose farm the Martian craft lands) and the newscaster who describes the destruction of New York.
Along with other Mercury Theatre players, Collins made his first notable screen appearance in Citizen Kane
, as ruthless Boss Jim Gettys. He also played key roles in Welles's The Magnificent Ambersons
and Touch of Evil
. Collins appeared in more than 90 films in all, including Leave Her to Heaven
(1945), The Best Years of Our Lives
and Crack-Up (1946), A Double Life
(1947), two entries in the Ma and Pa Kettle
series (as in-law Jonathan Parker), and the 1953 version of The Desert Song
, in which he played the non-singing role of Kathryn Grayson
's father. He displayed comic ability in The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
(1947), and The Man from Colorado
(1948).
He may be best remembered for his work on television, playing Lieutenant Tragg on Perry Mason
in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also a regular as John Merriweather on the television version of The Halls of Ivy
starring Ronald Colman
.
On July 11, 1965, Collins died of emphysema
at the age of 75. His interment was at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
, stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. One of Collins' best remembered roles was that of Lt. Arthur Tragg in the long-running series Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
.
Biography
Collins was born in Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
to Lillie Bidwell and William C. Collins, a newspaper drama editor. He started acting on stage at the age of 14. In 1922, he was part of a stock company called Vancouver's Popular Players which enacted plays at the original Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver, B.C. In the mid 1930s, now an established stage and radio actor, Collins began working with Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' Mercury Theatre
Mercury Theatre
The Mercury Theatre was a theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and John Houseman. After a string of live theatrical productions, in 1938 the Mercury Theatre progressed into their best-known period as The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series that included one of the...
leading to some of his most memorable roles. Having already appeared on radio with Welles on The Shadow
The Shadow
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...
(a regular as Commissioner Weston) and in Welles' serial adaptation of Les Miserables
Les Misérables
Les Misérables , translated variously from the French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The Victims), is an 1862 French novel by author Victor Hugo and is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century...
from 1937, Collins became a regular on The Mercury Theatre on the Air; through the run of the series, he played many roles in literary adaptations, from Squire Livesey from Treasure Island
Treasure Island
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
and Dr. Watson to Mr. Pickwick in an adaptation of Pickwick Papers. Collins' best known (albeit uncredited) work on this series, however, was in the infamous The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds (radio)
The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker...
broadcast, playing three roles, including Mr. Wilmuth (on whose farm the Martian craft lands) and the newscaster who describes the destruction of New York.
Along with other Mercury Theatre players, Collins made his first notable screen appearance in Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
, as ruthless Boss Jim Gettys. He also played key roles in Welles's The Magnificent Ambersons
The Magnificent Ambersons (film)
The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1942 American drama film written and directed by Orson Welles. His second feature film, it is based on the 1918 novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington and stars Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins...
and Touch of Evil
Touch of Evil
Touch of Evil is a 1958 American crime thriller film, written, directed by, and co-starring Orson Welles. The screenplay was loosely based on the novel Badge of Evil by Whit Masterson...
. Collins appeared in more than 90 films in all, including Leave Her to Heaven
Leave Her to Heaven
Leave Her to Heaven is a 1945 American 20th Century Fox Technicolor film noir motion picture starring Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, with Vincent Price, Darryl Hickman, and Chill Wills...
(1945), The Best Years of Our Lives
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Best Years of Our Lives is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell, a United States paratrooper who lost both hands in a military training accident. The film is about three United States...
and Crack-Up (1946), A Double Life
A Double Life
A Double Life is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of an actor whose mind becomes affected by the character he portrays. The movie starred Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso...
(1947), two entries in the Ma and Pa Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle are comic film characters of the successful film series of the same name, produced by Universal Studios, in the late '40s and '50s. They are a hillbilly couple with fifteen children whose lives turn upside-down when they win a model-home-of-the-future in a slogan-writing contest...
series (as in-law Jonathan Parker), and the 1953 version of The Desert Song
The Desert Song
The Desert Song is an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel. It was inspired by the 1925 uprising of the Riffs, a group of Moroccan fighters, against French colonial rule. It was also inspired by stories of Lawrence of...
, in which he played the non-singing role of Kathryn Grayson
Kathryn Grayson
Kathryn Grayson was an American actress and operatic soprano singer.From the age of twelve, Grayson trained as an opera singer. She was under contract to MGM by the early 1940s, soon establishing a career principally through her work in musicals...
's father. He displayed comic ability in The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer is a 1947 American screwball comedy film directed by Irving Reis. The screenplay was written by Sidney Sheldon. The film stars Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple in a story about a teenager's crush on an older man. The film was a critical success...
(1947), and The Man from Colorado
The Man from Colorado
The Man from Colorado is a 1948 American western-psychological drama film directed by Henry Levin and produced by Jules Schermer for Columbia Pictures. It stars Glenn Ford as a Union officer who becomes addicted to killing during the American Civil War, William Holden as his best friend, and Ellen...
(1948).
He may be best remembered for his work on television, playing Lieutenant Tragg on Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also a regular as John Merriweather on the television version of The Halls of Ivy
The Halls of Ivy
The Halls of Ivy is an NBC radio sitcom that ran from 1950-1952. It was created by Fibber McGee & Molly co-creator/writer Don Quinn before being adapted into a CBS television comedy produced by ITC Entertainment and Television Programs of America...
starring Ronald Colman
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
.
On July 11, 1965, Collins died of emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
at the age of 75. His interment was at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery
Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery is part of the Forest Lawn chain of Southern California cemeteries. It is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, on the lower north slope at the far east end of the Santa Monica...
.
Partial filmography
- Citizen KaneCitizen KaneCitizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
(1941) - The Magnificent AmbersonsThe Magnificent Ambersons (film)The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1942 American drama film written and directed by Orson Welles. His second feature film, it is based on the 1918 novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington and stars Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins...
(1942) - Commandos Strike at DawnCommandos Strike at DawnCommandos Strike at Dawn is a 1942 war film directed by John Farrow and written by Irwin Shaw from a story by C.S. Forester, starring Paul Muni, Anna Lee, Lillian Gish, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and Robert Coote.-Plot:...
(1942) - The Big StreetThe Big StreetThe Big Street is a 1942 American drama film, starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, based on the short story "Little Pinks" by Damon Runyon, who also produced the movie. The film was directed by Irving Reis...
(1942) - The Human ComedyThe Human Comedy (film)The Human Comedy is a 1943 drama film directed by Clarence Brown and adapted by Howard Estabrook. It is often thought to be based on the William Saroyan novel of the same name, but actually Saroyan wrote the screenplay first, was fired from the movie project, and quickly wrote the novel and...
(1943) - Slightly DangerousSlightly DangerousSlightly Dangerous is a 1943 American romantic comedy film starring Lana Turner and Robert Young. A bored young woman in a dead-end job runs away to New York City and ends up impersonating the long-lost daughter of a millionaire. The film was directed by Wesley Ruggles and written by Charles...
(1943) - Crime DoctorCrime Doctor (film)Crime Doctor is a crime film starring Warner Baxter as a man with amnesia determined to remember his past. The film, released by Columbia Pictures, was based on the Crime Doctor radio program and was followed by nine sequels:...
(1943) - Salute to the MarinesSalute to the MarinesSalute to the Marines is a 1943 World War II war film starring Wallace Beery. The movie, set in the Philippines and shot in Technicolor , was directed by S...
(1943) - Whistling in BrooklynWhistling in BrooklynWhistling in Brooklyn is the third and last film starring comedian Red Skelton as radio personality and amateur detective Wally "The Fox" Benton. Wally prepares to marry his girlfriend, but gets sidetracked when he is mistaken for a serial murderer...
(1943) - See Here, Private Hargrove (1944)
- The Seventh CrossThe Seventh Cross (1944 film)The Seventh Cross is a 1944 film starring Spencer Tracy, Hume Cronyn, Ray Collins and Jessica Tandy. Cronyn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
(1944) - Barbary Coast GentBarbary Coast GentBarbary Coast Gent is a 1944 film set in 1880s San Francisco's Barbary Coast and Nevada starring Wallace Beery. The movie was directed by Roy Del Ruth and features Beery's brother Noah Beery, Sr., John Carradine, and Chill Wills.-Cast:...
(1944) - Leave Her to HeavenLeave Her to HeavenLeave Her to Heaven is a 1945 American 20th Century Fox Technicolor film noir motion picture starring Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, with Vincent Price, Darryl Hickman, and Chill Wills...
(1945) - Two Years Before the MastTwo Years Before the Mast (film)Two Years Before the Mast is a 1946 adventure film based on Richard Henry Dana, Jr.'s travel book of the same name. It starred Alan Ladd, Brian Donlevy, William Bendix, Howard Da Silva and Esther Fernández.-Plot summary:...
(1946) - Crack-UpCrack-Up (1946 film)Crack-Up is a film noir directed by Irving Reis, remembered for directing many "Falcon" movies of the early 1940s including The Falcon Takes Over. The drama is based on "Madman's Holiday", a story written by mystery writer Fredric Brown...
(1946) - Three Wise FoolsThree Wise Fools (1946 film)Three Wise Fools is a 1946 film adaptation of Austin Strong's Broadway play of the same name. A young Irish orphan girl softens the hearts of three hardened old bachelors who were once unsuccessful suitors of her grandmother many years before.-Cast:*Margaret O'Brien as Sheila...
(1946) - The Best Years of Our LivesThe Best Years of Our LivesThe Best Years of Our Lives is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell, a United States paratrooper who lost both hands in a military training accident. The film is about three United States...
(1946) - The Bachelor and the Bobby-SoxerThe Bachelor and the Bobby-SoxerThe Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer is a 1947 American screwball comedy film directed by Irving Reis. The screenplay was written by Sidney Sheldon. The film stars Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple in a story about a teenager's crush on an older man. The film was a critical success...
(1947) - A Double LifeA Double LifeA Double Life is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of an actor whose mind becomes affected by the character he portrays. The movie starred Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso...
(1947) - The Senator Was IndiscreetThe Senator Was IndiscreetThe Senator Was Indiscreet is a 1947 comedy film starring William Powell as a dim-witted U.S. senator who decides to run for president, with Ella Raines as a reporter interested in the detailed diary he has kept about all the political misdeeds of his colleagues...
(1947)
- The Man from ColoradoThe Man from ColoradoThe Man from Colorado is a 1948 American western-psychological drama film directed by Henry Levin and produced by Jules Schermer for Columbia Pictures. It stars Glenn Ford as a Union officer who becomes addicted to killing during the American Civil War, William Holden as his best friend, and Ellen...
(1948) - Good SamGood SamGood Sam is a 1948 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Gary Cooper as a Good Samaritan who is helpful to others at the expense of his own family. The film was directed by Leo McCarey and produced by McCarey's production company, Rainbow Productions.-Cast:*Gary Cooper as Samuel R....
(1948) - Command DecisionCommand Decision (film)Command Decision is a 1948 war film starring Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon, Van Johnson and Brian Donlevy and directed by Sam Wood, based on a stage play of the same name written by William Wister Haines, which he based on his best-selling novel. The screenplay for the film was written by George...
(1948) - HomecomingHomecoming (1948 film)Homecoming is a 1948 romantic drama starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner.-Plot:Ulysses Johnson is a surgeon coming back from World War II. As he is sitting on the transport boat taking him back to America, he is asked by a reporter about his experiences during the war. Johnson begins to tell him...
(1948) - It Happens Every SpringIt Happens Every SpringIt Happens Every Spring is a 1949 comedy film starring Ray Milland directed by Lloyd Bacon. The story of a baseball pitcher is completely fictitious, and the main character King Kelly is not based on or related to the actual player....
(1949) - The FountainheadThe Fountainhead (film)The Fountainhead is a 1949 American film directed by King Vidor, based on the best-selling book of the same name by Ayn Rand, who wrote the screenplay adaptation....
(1949) - The HeiressThe HeiressThe Heiress is a 1949 American drama film. It was written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 play of the same title that was based on the 1880 novel Washington Square by Henry James. The film was directed by William Wyler, with starring performances by Olivia de Havilland as...
(1949) - FrancisFrancis (1950 film)Francis is a 1950 black-and-white comedy film that launched the Francis the Talking Mule series. It starred Donald O'Connor as an American soldier who gets into trouble when he insists an Army mule named Francis can speak. The distinctive voice of Francis was provided by Chill Wills...
(1950) - Kill the UmpireKill the UmpireKill the Umpire is a 1950 comedy starring William Bendix and Una Merkel, directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Frank Tashlin.-Plot:Bendix plays a former baseball player who continues to be a baseball fanatic whose devotion to the game has cost him several jobs, but who remains steadfast in one...
(1950) - Summer StockSummer StockFor the article about the theatre genre, see Summer stock theatre.Summer Stock is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical made in 1950. The film was directed by Charles Walters and stars Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers...
(1950) - You're in the Navy NowYou're in the Navy NowYou're in the Navy Now is a Hollywood film released in 1951 by Twentieth Century Fox about the United States Navy in the first months of World War II. Its initial release was titled USS Teakettle...
(1951) - The RacketThe Racket (1951 film)The Racket is a 1951 remake of the the 1928 film The Racket. This film noir-style black-and-white film was directed by John Cromwell with uncredited directing help from Nicholas Ray and Mel Ferrer. The police crime drama is based on a popular Bartlett Cormack play. The Racket is a 1951 remake of...
(1951) - InvitationInvitation (film)Invitation is a 1952 melodrama starring Van Johnson and Dorothy McGuire as a happily married couple, until the wife learns a secret about her husband. The film was based on the short story "R.S.V.P." by Jerome Weidman.-Plot:...
(1952) - DreamboatDreamboat (film)Dreamboat is a 1952 comedy film starring Clifton Webb as a college professor with a mysterious past.-Plot:The respectable lives of Professor of English literature Thornton Sayre and his daughter Carol are severely disrupted when it is revealed that he was once a matinee idol known as "Dreamboat"...
(1952) - AthenaAthena (film)Athena is a romantic musical comedy, starring Jane Powell, Edmund Purdom, Debbie Reynolds, Vic Damone, Louis Calhern, and Norma Varden, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer....
(1954) - The Desperate HoursThe Desperate Hours (film)The Desperate Hours is a 1955 film from Paramount Pictures starring Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March. The movie was produced and directed by William Wyler and based on a novel and play of the same name written by Joseph Hayes which were loosely based on actual events.The original Broadway...
(1955) - Texas LadyTexas LadyTexas Lady is a 1955 film made by RKO Radio Pictures, directed by Tim Whelan, and starring Claudette Colbert, Barry Sullivan and Ray Collins It tells the story of a female publisher who finds that two ranch owner have been using the newspaper company to give back their debt.-Cast:*Claudette Colbert...
(1955) - The Solid Gold CadillacThe Solid Gold CadillacThe Solid Gold Cadillac is a 1956 film directed by Richard Quine and written by Abe Burrows, Howard Teichmann and George S. Kaufman. It was adapted from the hit Broadway play of the same name by Teichmann and Kaufman, in which they pillory big business and corrupt businessmen...
(1956) - Touch of EvilTouch of EvilTouch of Evil is a 1958 American crime thriller film, written, directed by, and co-starring Orson Welles. The screenplay was loosely based on the novel Badge of Evil by Whit Masterson...
(1958)
- Boy's Ranch (1946)