Ray Bourbon mainly performed in nightclubs, gaining a following in the 1930s and 1940s, and issued several LPs of comic material during the 1950s.
13 Facts About Ray Bourbon
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Ray Bourbon died while serving a prison sentence, having been convicted of being an accomplice to murder.
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Ray Bourbon was known as Hal Wadell, Hal Hughes, Richard Mann, Ramon Icarez among others.
4.
Ray Bourbon claimed, apparently falsely, to have attended school in London, and to have first performed on stage there in 1913.
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Ray Bourbon claimed to have been a stunt double for movie actresses and an uncredited actor in several silent films, notably Rudolph Valentino's Blood and Sand in 1922.
6.
Ray Bourbon performed in vaudeville as one half of a double act with Bert Sherry and toured the US and England.
7.
Ray Bourbon put on his show Don't Call Me Madam: A Midnight Revue in Time at Carnegie Hall in New York City to a sold-out audience.
8.
Ray Bourbon issued a series of spoken word albums on his UTC label, which were available at his performances and by mail order.
9.
Ray Bourbon traveled between performances in an old car pulling a trailer containing some 70 pet dogs; after the car broke down, he entrusted their care to a kennel owner in Texas, AD Blount.
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However, when Ray Bourbon failed to pay for the dogs' upkeep, Blount disposed of the dogs, most probably to an animal shelter.
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Ray Bourbon became convinced that the dogs had simply been killed and he hired two men, Bobby Eugene Chrisco and Randall Craneto, to beat Blount up.
12.
Ray Bourbon pleaded innocence, but was convicted with the two men and sentenced to a 99-year prison term.
13.
Ray Bourbon died in hospital in Brownwood, Texas, while serving his prison sentence in 1971.