1. Vina Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film King Kong.
29 Facts About Fay Wray
1. 2.
Fay Wray had minor film roles, and gained media attention as one of the "WAMPAS Baby Stars" in 1926.
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Fay Wray was born on a ranch near Cardston, Alberta, to parents who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Elvina Marguerite Jones from Salt Lake City, Utah, and Joseph Heber Fay Wray from Kingston upon Hull, England.
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Fay Wray's ancestors came from England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
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Fay Wray's family returned to the United States a few years after she was born; they moved to Salt Lake City in 1912 and moved to Lark, Utah, in 1914.
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In 1919, the Fay Wray family returned to Salt Lake City, and then relocated to Hollywood, where she attended Hollywood High School.
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In 1923, Fay Wray appeared in her first film at the age of 16, when she landed a role in a short historical film sponsored by a local newspaper.
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Fay Wray was at the time under contract to Universal Studios, mostly co-starring in low-budget Westerns opposite Buck Jones.
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Fay Wray stayed with Paramount to make more than a dozen films and made the transition from silent films to "talkies".
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Under these deals, Fay Wray was cast in several horror films, including Doctor X and Mystery of the Wax Museum.
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Fay Wray's best known films were produced under her deal with RKO Radio Pictures.
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The Most Dangerous Game was followed by the release of Fay Wray's best-remembered film, King Kong.
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The film was a commercial success and Fay Wray was reportedly proud that it saved RKO from bankruptcy.
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Fay Wray continued starring in films, including The Richest Girl in the World, but by the early 1940s, her appearances became less frequent.
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Fay Wray retired in 1942 after her second marriage but due to financial exigencies she soon resumed her acting career, and over the next three decades, she appeared in several films and appeared frequently on television.
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Fay Wray appeared in Queen Bee and The Cobweb, both released in 1955.
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Fay Wray co-starred with Perry Mason star Raymond Burr in the 1957 noir film release Crime of Passion.
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In 1959, Fay Wray was cast as Tula Marsh in the episode "The Second Happiest Day" of Playhouse 90.
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Fay Wray appeared in a 1961 episode of The Real McCoys titled "Theatre in the Barn".
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Fay Wray was approached by James Cameron to play Rose Dawson Calvert for his blockbuster Titanic with Kate Winslet to play her younger self, but she turned down the role, which was portrayed by Gloria Stuart in an Oscar-nominated performance.
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Fay Wray was a special guest at the 70th Academy Awards, where the show's host Billy Crystal introduced her as the "Beauty who charmed the Beast".
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Fay Wray was the only 1920s Hollywood actress in attendance that evening.
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Fay Wray had three children: Susan Saunders, Victoria Riskin, and Robert Riskin Jr.
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Fay Wray died in her sleep of natural causes on the night of August 8,2004, in her apartment on Fifth Avenue Manhattan.
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Fay Wray is interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
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In 1989, Fay Wray was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award.
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Fay Wray was honored with a Legend in Film award at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival.
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Fay Wray received a star posthumously on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto on June 5,2005.
29.
In May 2006, Fay Wray became one of the first four entertainers to be honored by Canada Post by being featured on a postage stamp.