Wray, Fay (1907–2004)

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Wray, Fay (1907–2004)

American actress. Born Vina Fay Wray, Sept 15, 1907, near Cardston, in Alberta, Canada; died Aug 8, 2004, in New York, NY; dau. of Joseph Wray; m. John Monk Saunders (playwright and screenwriter), 1928 (div. 1939); m. Robert Riskin (screenwriter), 1942 (died 1953); children: (1st m.) Susan; (2nd m.) Robert and Victoria.

Canadian-born American actress, best known for her performance as the giant ape's love interest in King Kong, moved with family to Arizona, then Los Angeles as a young child; at 13, made film debut in the comedy Blind Husbands (1919); came to prominence starring in Erich von Stroheim's The Wedding March (1926), followed by The Four Feathers (1929), Paramount on Parade (1930), The Texan (1930), The Conquering Horde (1931), The Most Dangerous Game (1932), Doctor X (1932) and The Bowery (1933), among others; secured cinematic immortality with King Kong (1933); was in retirement (1942–53); appeared on tv in such shows as "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Perry Mason" and tv movie "Gideon's Trumpet"; other films include The Countess of Monte Cristo (1934), Viva Villa (1934), Alias Bull Dog Drummond (1935), When Knights Were Bold (1936), It Happened in Hollywood (1937), Murder in Greenwich Village (1937), Adam Had Four Sons (1941), The Cobweb (1955), Queen Bee (1955), Hell on Frisco Bay (1956), Crime of Passion (1957) and Tammy and the Bachelor (1957).

See also autobiography On the Other Hand: A Life Story (1989); and Women in World History.