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'''Vina Fay Wray''' (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international recognition as an actress in horror films. She has been dubbed{{by whom?|date=November 2024}} one of the early "[[scream queen]]s".{{cn|date=November 2024}}
After appearing in minor film roles, Wray gained media attention after being selected as one of the "[[WAMPAS Baby Stars]]" in 1926. This led to her being contracted to [[Paramount Pictures]] as a teenager, where she made more than a dozen feature films. After leaving Paramount, she signed deals with various film companies, being cast in her first horror film roles, in addition to many other types of roles, including in ''[[The Bowery (1933 film)|The Bowery]]'' (1933) and ''[[Viva Villa!]]'' (1934), both of which starred [[Wallace Beery]]. For [[RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.]], Wray starred in the film she is most identified with, ''King Kong'' (1933). After the success of ''King Kong'', she made numerous appearances in both film and television, retiring in 1980.
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[[File:Fay Wray and Erich von Stroheim on the set of the film The Wedding March, 1928.jpg|thumb|Erich von Stroheim and Fay Wray on the set of the film ''[[The Wedding March (1928 film)|The Wedding March]]'']]
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, who was from [[Salt Lake City, Utah]], and Joseph Heber Wray, who was from [[Kingston upon Hull]], [[England]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wargs.com/other/wrayf.html|title=Ancestry of Fay Wray|publisher=Wargs.com|access-date=March 9, 2011}}</ref> She was one of six children<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northernstars.ca/actorsvz/wray_fay_bio.html|title=Fay Wray|publisher=Northern Stars|access-date=March 9, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611015949/http://www.northernstars.ca/actorsvz/wray_fay_bio.html|archive-date=June 11, 2011}}</ref> and was a granddaughter of LDS pioneer [[Daniel Webster Jones (Mormon)|Daniel Webster Jones]]. Her ancestors came from England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Wales
Her family returned to the United States a few years after she was born; they moved to Salt Lake City in 1912<ref>"Utah-Hollywood connection runs deep", p. B2, ''The Salt Lake Tribune'', January 26, 2009.</ref> and moved to [[Lark, Utah]], in 1914. In 1919, the Wray family returned to Salt Lake City, and then relocated to [[Hollywood, California|Hollywood]], where Fay attended [[Hollywood High School]].{{Citation needed |date=March 2024}}
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In 1923, 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.<ref>SL Tribune, January 26, 2009</ref> In the 1920s, Wray appeared in the silent film ''The Coast Patrol'' (1925), as well as uncredited bit parts at the [[Hal Roach Studios]].
In 1926, the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers selected Wray as one of the "[[WAMPAS Baby Stars]]", a group of women whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. She was at the time under contract to [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]], mostly co-starring in low-budget [[Western (genre)|Westerns]] opposite [[Buck Jones]].{{Citation needed |date=March 2024}}
The following year, Wray was signed to a contract with [[Paramount Pictures]]. In 1926, director [[Erich von Stroheim]] cast her as the main female lead in his film ''[[The Wedding March (1928 film)|The Wedding March]]'', released by Paramount two years later. While the film was noted for its high budget and production values, it was a financial failure. It also gave Wray her first lead role. Wray stayed with Paramount to make more than a dozen films and made the transition from silent films to "[[Sound film|talkies]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=209593 |title=Fay Wray |publisher=TCM.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305184552/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=209593 |access-date=March 9, 2011|archive-date=March 5, 2011 }}</ref>
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[[File:Fay Wray Stars of the Photoplay.jpg|thumb|right|upright|1930 publicity photograph]]
[[File:Pride of the Family cast photo.jpg|thumb|right|upright|1953 cast of ''Pride of the Family'': Bobby Hyatt, Wray, [[Paul Hartman]], and [[Natalie Wood]]]]
Wray continued to star in films, including ''[[The Richest Girl in the World (1934 film)|The Richest Girl in the World]]'', but by the early 1940s, her appearances became less frequent. She retired in 1942 after her second marriage but due to financial exigencies she soon resumed her acting career,<ref name="wrayreference" /> and over the next three decades, Wray appeared in several films and appeared frequently on television. Wray portrayed Catherine Morrison in the 1953–54 sitcom ''[[The Pride of the Family]]'' <ref name="etvs">{{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010|date=2011|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=978-0-7864-6477-7|page=853|edition=2nd}}</ref> with [[Natalie Wood]] playing her daughter. Wray appeared in ''[[Queen Bee (1955 film)|Queen Bee]]'' and ''[[The Cobweb (1955 film)|The Cobweb]]'', both released in 1955.
Wray appeared in [[List of Perry Mason episodes|three episodes]] of ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'': "The Case of the Prodigal Parent" (1958); "The Case of the Watery Witness" (1959), as murder victim Lorna Thomas; and "The Case of the Fatal Fetish" (1965), as voodoo practitioner Mignon Germaine. In 1959, Wray was cast as Tula Marsh in the episode "The Second Happiest Day" of ''[[Playhouse 90]]''. Other roles around this time were in the episodes "Dip in the Pool" (1958) and "The Morning After" of CBS's ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]''. In 1960, she appeared as Clara in an episode of ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]'', "Who Killed Cock Robin?" Another 1960 role was that of Mrs. Staunton, with [[Gigi Perreau]] as her daughter, in the episode "Flight from Terror" of ''[[The Islanders (TV series)|The Islanders]]''.
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After returning to the US after finishing ''[[The Clairvoyant (1935 film)|The Clairvoyant]]'' she became a naturalized citizen of the United States in May 1935.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Riskin |first=Victoria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qEJeDwAAQBAJ&dq=fay+wray+citizen&pg=PT277 |title=Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir |date=2019-02-26 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-5247-4729-9 |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Fay Wray's star on HWF.JPG|thumb|upright|right|Star on [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6349 Hollywood Blvd.]]
Wray died in her sleep of [[natural causes]]
Two days after her death, the lights of the [[Empire State Building]] were lowered for 15 minutes in her memory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/topic/Fay_Wray/photos/pg-3/ |title=Fay Wray – Empire State Building to Dim Lights in Remembrance of Actress Fay Wray |publisher=UPI.com |access-date=March 9, 2011}}</ref>
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==Honors==
[[File:Fay-Wray-Fountain.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Fay Wray Fountain, Cardston, Alberta]]
In 1989, Wray was awarded the [[Women in Film Los Angeles|Women in Film]] [[Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards#THE CRYSTAL AWARD|Crystal Award]].<ref name=WIF>{{cite web|title=Past Recipients: Crystal Award |url=http://wif.org/past-recipients |work=Women In Film |access-date=May 10, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110630083646/http://wif.org/past-recipients |archive-date=June 30, 2011 }}</ref> Wray was honored with a Legend in Film award at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Wray was honored with a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6349 Hollywood Blvd. She received a star posthumously on [[Canada's Walk of Fame]] in Toronto on June 5, 2005. A small park near Lee's Creek on Main Street in [[Cardston, Alberta]], her birthplace, was named Fay Wray Park in her honor. The small sign at the edge of the park on Main Street has a silhouette of King Kong on it, remembering her role in ''King Kong''. A large oil portrait of Wray by Alberta artist Neil Boyle is on display in the [[Empress Theatre (Fort Macleod)|Empress Theatre]] in Fort Macleod, Alberta. In May 2006, Wray became one of the first four entertainers to be honored by [[Canada Post]] by being featured on a postage stamp.{{Citation needed |date=March 2024}}
==
===Features===
{{sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|rowspan=3|1925 ||data-sort-value="Coast Patrol, The" | ''[[The Coast Patrol]]'' ||Beth Slocum ||
|-
|data-sort-value="Lover's Oath, A" | ''[[A Lover's Oath]]'' || ||Uncredited; '''lost film'''
|-
|''[[Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925 film)|Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ]]'' || Slave Girl ||Unconfirmed, uncredited
|-
|rowspan=3|1926 ||data-sort-value="Man in the Saddle, The" | ''[[The Man in the Saddle (1926 film)|The Man in the Saddle]]'' || Pauline Stewart ||'''lost film'''
|-
|data-sort-value="Wild Horse Stampede, The" | ''[[The Wild Horse Stampede]]'' || Jessie Hayden ||
|-
|''[[Lazy Lightning]]''|| Lila Rogers ||
|-
|rowspan=3|1927 ||''[[Loco Luck]]''|| Molly Vernon ||
|-
|data-sort-value="One Man Game, A" | ''[[A One Man Game]]''|| Roberta ||
|-
|-
|rowspan=4|1928 ||data-sort-value="Legion of the Condemned, The" | ''[[The Legion of the Condemned]]'' ||Christine Charteris ||'''lost film'''
|-
|data-sort-value="Street of Sin, The" | ''[[The Street of Sin]]'' || Elizabeth ||'''lost film'''
|-
|data-sort-value="First Kiss, The" | ''[[The First Kiss (1928 American film)|The First Kiss]]''||Anna Lee ||'''lost film'''
|-
|-
|rowspan=3|1929 ||data-sort-value="Four Feathers, The" | ''[[The Four Feathers (1929 film)|The Four Feathers]]'' || Ethne Eustace ||
|-
|''[[Thunderbolt (1929 film)|Thunderbolt]]'' || Ritzie ||
|-
|''[[Pointed Heels]]'' || Lora Nixon ||
|-
|rowspan=7|1930 ||''[[Behind the Make-Up]]'' ||Marie Gardoni ||
|-
|''[[Paramount on Parade]]'' ||Sweetheart (Dream Girl) || Filmed partly in [[Technicolor#Process 3|Technicolor]]
|-
|data-sort-value="Texan, The" | ''[[The Texan (1930 film)|The Texan]]'' || Consuelo ||
|-
|data-sort-value="Border Legion, The" | ''[[The Border Legion (1930 film)|The Border Legion]]'' ||Joan Randall ||
|-
|data-sort-value="Sea God, The" | ''[[The Sea God]]'' || Daisy ||
|-
|data-sort-value="Honeymoon, The" | ''The Honeymoon'' || Mitzi ||Unreleased
|-
|-
|rowspan=7|1931 ||''Stub Man'' || ||
|-
|''[[Dirigible (film)|Dirigible]]'' || Helen Pierce||
|-
|data-sort-value="Conquering Horde, The" | ''[[The Conquering Horde]]'' || Taisie Lockhart||
|-
|-
|data-sort-value="Finger Points, The" | ''[[The Finger Points]]'' || Marcia Collins||
|-
|data-sort-value="Lawyer's Secret, The" | ''[[The Lawyer's Secret]]'' || Kay Roberts ||
|-
|data-sort-value="Unholy Garden, The" | ''[[The Unholy Garden (1931 film)|The Unholy Garden]]'' || Camille de Jonghe ||
|-
|-
|''[[Doctor X (film)|Doctor X]]'' || Joanne Xavier || Filmed in [[Technicolor#Process 3|Technicolor]]
|-
|data-sort-value="Most Dangerous Game, The" | ''[[The Most Dangerous Game (1932 film)|The Most Dangerous Game]]'' || Eve Trowbridge ||
|-
|rowspan=11|1933 ||data-sort-value="Vampire Bat, The" | ''[[The Vampire Bat]]'' || Ruth Bertin ||
|-
|''[[Mystery of the Wax Museum]]'' || Charlotte Duncan || Filmed in [[Technicolor#Process 3|Technicolor]]
|-
|-
|''[[Below the Sea]]'' || Diana ||
|-
|-
|data-sort-value="Woman I Stole, The" | ''[[The Woman I Stole]]'' || Vida Carew||
|-
|-
|data-sort-value="Big Brain, The" | ''[[The Big Brain]]'' || Cynthia Glennon||
|-
|''[[One Sunday Afternoon (1933 film)|One Sunday Afternoon]]'' || Virginia Brush||
|-
|data-sort-value="Bowery, The" | ''[[The Bowery (1933 film)|The Bowery]]'' || Lucy Calhoun||
|-
|-
|-
|data-sort-value="Countess of Monte Cristo, The" | ''[[The Countess of Monte Cristo (1934 film)|The Countess of Monte Cristo]]'' || Janet Krueger||
|-
|''[[Once to Every Woman (1934 film)|Once to Every Woman]]'' || Mary Fanshane||
|-
|''[[Viva Villa!]]'' ||Teresa ||
|-
|''[[Black Moon (1934 film)|Black Moon]]'' || Gail Hamilton ||
|-
|data-sort-value="Affairs of Cellini, The" | ''[[The Affairs of Cellini]]'' || Angela ||
|-
|data-sort-value="Richest Girl in the World, The" | ''[[The Richest Girl in the World (1934 film)|The Richest Girl in the World]]''|| Sylvia Lockwood||
|-
|''[[Cheating Cheaters (1934 film)|Cheating Cheaters]]'' || Nan Brockton ||
|-
|''[[Woman in the Dark (1934 film)|Woman in the Dark]]'' || Louise Loring ||
|-
|''Mills of the Gods'' || Jean Hastings ||
|-
|rowspan=4|1935 ||data-sort-value="Clairvoyant, The" | ''[[The Clairvoyant (1935 film)|The Clairvoyant]]'' ||Rene || US title: The Evil Mind
|-
|''[[Bulldog Jack]]'' || Ann Manders ||
|-
|''[[Come Out of the Pantry]]'' || Hilda Beach-Howard ||
|-
|''[[White Lies (1935 film)|White Lies]]''|| Joan Mitchell ||
|-
|rowspan=3|1936 ||''[[When Knights Were Bold (1936 film)|When Knights Were Bold]]''|| Lady Rowena ||
|-
|''[[Roaming Lady]]'' || Joyce Reid ||
|-
|''[[They Met in a Taxi]]'' || Mary Trenton ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1937 ||''[[It Happened in Hollywood]]'' || Gloria Gay||
|-
|''[[Murder in Greenwich Village]]'' || Kay Cabot aka Lucky ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1938||data-sort-value="Jury's Secret, The" | ''[[The Jury's Secret]]'' || Linda Ware ||
|-
|''[[Smashing the Spy Ring]]'' || Eleanor Dunlap ||
|-
|1939 ||''[[Navy Secrets]]'' || Carol Mathews – Posing as Carol Evans ||
|-
|1940 ||''[[Wildcat Bus]]'' || Ted Dawson ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1941 ||''[[Adam Had Four Sons]]'' ||Molly Stoddard ||
|-
|''[[Melody for Three]]'' || Mary Stanley ||
|-
|1942 ||''[[Not a Ladies' Man]]'' || Hester Hunter ||
|-
|1944 ||''[[This Is the Life (1944 film)|This Is the Life]]'' || {{n/a}} || Based on a play by Wray and [[Sinclair Lewis]]
|-
|rowspan=2|1953 ||''[[Treasure of the Golden Condor]]'' ||Annette, Marquise de St. Malo ||
|-
|''[[Small Town Girl (1953 film)|Small Town Girl]]'' || Mrs. Kimbell ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1955 ||data-sort-value="Cobweb, The" | ''[[The Cobweb (1955 film)|The Cobweb]]'' || Edna Devanal ||
|-
|''[[Queen Bee (1955 film)|Queen Bee]]''||Sue McKinnon ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1956 ||''[[Hell on Frisco Bay]]'' || Kay Stanley ||
|-
|''[[Rock, Pretty Baby]]'' || Beth Daley ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1957 ||''[[Crime of Passion (1957 film)|Crime of Passion]]'' || Alice Pope ||
|-
|''[[Tammy and the Bachelor]]'' || Mrs. Brent||
|-
|rowspan=2|1958 ||''[[Summer Love (1958 film)|Summer Love]]'' || Beth Daley ||
|-
|''[[Dragstrip Riot]]'' || Norma Martin / Mrs. Martin ||
|-
|1962 ||''[[Wagon Train]]'' || Mrs. Edward's, The Cole Crawford Story ||
|-
|1980 ||''[[Gideon's Trumpet (1980 film)|Gideon's Trumpet]]'' ||Edna Curtis ||
|-
|1997 ||''[[Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's]]''|| Herself || Documentary
|-
|2003 ||''[[Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There]]''|| Herself || Documentary
|}
===Short subjects===
{{sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|rowspan=2|1923 ||''Gasoline Love'' || ||
|-
|''Speed Bugs'' || ||
|-
|1924 ||''Just A Good Guy'' || Girl Getting Into Car ||
|-
|rowspan=11|1925 ||''Sure-Mike'' || Salesgirl at Department Store ||
|-
|''What Price Goofy'' || Concerned Girl with Perfume ||Uncredited
|-
|''[[Isn't Life Terrible?]]'' || Potential Pen-Buyer ||Uncredited
|-
|''Thundering Landlords'' || The Wife ||
|-
|''[[Chasing the Chaser]]'' || Nursemaid ||
|-
|''Madame Sans Jane'' || ||
|-
|''[[No Father to Guide Him]]'' || Beach House Cashier ||Uncredited
|-
|''Unfriendly Enemies''||The Girl ||
|-
|''[[Your Own Back Yard]]'' || Woman in Quarrelsome Couple ||
|-
|''[[Moonlight and Noses]]'' ||Miss Sniff, the Professor's Daughter ||
|-
|''[[Should Sailors Marry?]]'' ||Herself ||
|-
|rowspan=6|1926 ||''WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1926'' ||Herself ||
|-
|''One Wild Time'' || ||
|-
|''Don Key (A Son of a Burro)'' || ||
|-
|''Don't Shoot'' || Nancy Burton ||
|-
|data-sort-value="Saddle Tramp, The" | ''The Saddle Tramp'' || ||
|-
|data-sort-value="Show Cowpuncher, The" | ''The Show Cowpuncher''|| ||
|-
|1927 ||data-sort-value="Trip Through the Paramount Studio, A" | ''A Trip Through the Paramount Studio'' || Herself ||
|-
|1931 ||data-sort-value="Slippery Pearls, The" | ''[[The Slippery Pearls]]''|| Herself ||
|-
|1932 ||''[[Hollywood on Parade]]'' || Herself ||
|}
===Partial Television Credits===
{{sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1953 || ''[[Cavalcade of America]]'' ||Mrs. Jefferson Davis || Episode: "One Nation Indivisible"
|-
|1953-1954 ||data-sort-value="Pride of the Family, The" | ''[[The Pride of the Family]]''|| Catherine Morrison|| 27 episodes
|-
|1958 ||''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' ||Mrs. Renshaw ||Episode: "Dip in the Pool"
|-
|rowspan=2|1959 ||''[[Playhouse 90]]'' ||Tula Marsh || Episode: "The Second Happiest Day"
|-
|''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' ||Mrs. Nelson || Episode: "The Morning After"
|-
|1962 || ''[[Wagon Train]]'' ||Mrs. Edwards ||Episode: "The Cole Crawford Story"
|-
|1964 || data-sort-value="Eleventh Hour, The" | ''[[The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)|The Eleventh Hour]]'' || Mrs. Brubaker ||Episode: "You're So Smart, Why Can't You Be Good?"
|-
|rowspan=2|1965 ||''[[Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre]]''|| Mrs. White || Episode: "Double Jeopardy"
|-
| ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' ||Mignon Germaine || Episode: "The Case of the Fatal Fetish"
|}
==Cultural references==
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{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb name|0942039}}
* {{
* {{IBDB name}}
* [http://www.northernstars.ca/wray_fay_bio/ Fay Wray at Northern Stars website]
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[[Category:People from Cardston]]
[[Category:RKO Pictures contract players]]
[[Category:Western (genre) film actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]
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