Date of Birth : Sep 15th 1907
Canadian-American actress and the first ever scream queen, originating from her appearances in the 1932 film Doctor X and the 1933 film King Kong, She is best remembered for her role as Ann Darrow, the blonde captive of the gigantic gorilla in the classic horror/adventure film King Kong (1933). She wore a blonde wig over her naturally dark hair for the role.
She continued in films but by the early 1940s her appearances grew sporadic. She appeared frequently on television making her final appearance in 1980. Her autobiography, On the Other Hand, was published in 1988.
In the later years of her life, Wray continued to make public appearances, and was a guest at the 70th Academy Awards, where the show’s host, Billy Crystal introduced her and paid tribute to her film legacy.
Wray was approached to appear in a small cameo for the 2005 remake of King Kong, and also met with Naomi Watts who was to play the Ann Darrow role. Before filming commenced, however, Wray died in her sleep on August 8, 2004, in her Manhattan apartment of natural causes (writers of the remake did honor her, however, with a comical mention in that film). She was 96 years old, only 38 days shy of her 97th birthday. Wray was interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. After her death was announced the lights on the Empire State Building were extinguished for 15 minutes in her memory.
CAREER
King Kong ( 1933 )
