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Studio publicity photo of Fay Wray by Studio publicity still –

Top 10 Astonishing Facts About Fay Wray

Fay Wray, fully names Vina Fay Wray was a famous actress of Canadian/American origin. She was nicknamed The Queen of Scream, a term used to describe an actress who is well known and/or influential in horror films. She was born on September 15, 1907, in Alberta, Canada.

She was a mother to three children, two girls and one boy. Her family moved from Canada to Salt Lake City then to Utah and finally settled in Hollywood where Fay attended Hollywood High school. Fay began her acting career at a young age and practised it for nearly six decades.

She passed on in Manhattan, New York at the age of 96 due to natural causes.

1. Wray was the Granddaughter of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) Pioneer Daniel Webster Jones

Wray was one of the six children of Elvina Marguerite Jones and Joseph Heber Wray. Her mother was from Salt Lake City in Utah while her father was from Kingston Upon Hull in England. She had ancestry from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England.

Her grandfather, Daniel Webster Jones, was the leader of the group that colonized what ultimately became Mesa, Arizona. Webster led the first Mormon missionary expedition into Mexico and made the first translation of selections of the Book of Mormon into Spanish.

2. She got Her First Film Role as a Teen

After performing in a few plays at Hollywood High School, Wray made her first screen appearance in 1923 at the age of 16. She landed a role in a short historical film named Gasoline Love which was sponsored by a local newspaper.

3. Wray signed Her First Official Contract at 19

Photo of the fountain at the entrance of Universal Studios by Anthony Giorgio –

In 1926, Wray was signed to Universal Studios where she got her first lead role in the film The Wedding March which was produced by Paramount Pictures.

Her first project was a failure and she slowly transitioned from making silent films to talkies that had become a global phenomenon in the 1930s.

The contract with Paramount was then terminated in 1931 and she became a free-lancing actress.

4. Wray was Married Thrice

In her lifetime, Fay was first married to John Monk Saunders (1928-1939) who was a writer. The two met on the set of Paramount’s Legion of the Condemned and got wedded later that same year.

They had a daughter named Susan Cary Saunders. Saunder’s alcoholism made the marriage problematic and led to their divorce. A year after they separated, Saunders took his own life at the age of 42.

Fay then married screenwriter Robert Riskin (1942-1955) and had 2 children Victoria Riskin and Robert Riskin Jr. Riskin passed on in 1955 from a brain embolism.

After her retirement, Wray got married to Sanford Rothenberg (1971-1991) who was a neurosurgeon.

5. She First Retired from Acting at 35

Low-res image of the original poster for the film King Kong (1933) by Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corp./Radio Pictures Inc –

In 1942 after her second marriage, Wray called it quits at acting in her last role being featured as the lead lady in Not a Ladies’ Man.

By then, she had starred in horror films including Doctor X(1932), Mystery of Wax Museum (1933), and The Vampire Bat(1933). Her best-known films were under RKO Radio Pictures namely The Most Dangerous Game(1933), and the monster adventure film she is popularly known for KingKong(1933), where she played Ann Darrow.

The success of King Kong saved RKO Radio Pictures from bankruptcy. Due to financial constraints, Fay got back to acting and proceeded with her career for another twenty-eight years!

6. She Shot Her Last Film at The Age of 73

Fay Wray From National Press club Wash. D.C. © copyright John Mathew Smith 2001 –

Fay Wray concluded her acting career in 1980 with the last film being the Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-TV movie Gideon’s Trumpet.

After countless sitcoms, films and series, she was also featured on the covers of magazines such as Motion Pictures(1929), Cinematographer(1930), Screen Romances (1931), Film Weekly(1932), Shadoplay(1933), Cinemode (1933), Silver Screen(1935), Hollywood(1936), Picturegoer(1934) and Film Fan Monthly (1974) across UK, France, and the US. She was offered a role in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic as old Rose DeWitt Bukater but she turned it down. The role was taken up by Gloria Frances Stuart.

7. Wray Wrote Her Autobiography

In 1988, Wray wrote her autobiography, On the Other Hand: A life story where she got candid about her different phases of life from her young age to her many roles in acting! Readers get the narration of her story and her experiences in Hollywood.

8. Fay Wray Park is Named After Her

Fay Wray Fountain, Cardston, Albert by Plazak-

In her honour, a park near Lee’s Creek in Cardston, Alberta where she was born, was named after her. The park has a silhouette sign of King Kong and Fay to commemorate her role in the film. A fountain memorial is also located on South Main Street.

9. She was Featured on a Canadian Postage Stamp

Fay was amongst the first four entertainers (including John Candy, Lorne Greene, and Mary Pickford) to be featured on the Canada Postage Stamp.

She starred on four domestic rates (51¢) stamps honouring Canadian actors who rose to fame and made a lasting impression in Hollywood.

10. She is Honored on The Hollywood Walk Of Fame and Canada’s Walk Of Fame

Fay Wray’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6349 Hollywood Blvd by JGKlein – Wikimedia Commons

Fay’s work was commendable and her contribution to the film industry made her receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6349 Hollywood Blvd in 1960.

After Wray died in 2004, she was interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. In June 2005, she received a star posthumously on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto.

Wray often visited the Empire State Building (ESB) in her old age and 1991 she was an honourable guest at the building’s 60th Anniversary.

On August 10^th, 2005 09:30 PM, two days after her death, the lights of the ESB were switched off for 15 minutes in honour of Fay’s memory.

Today, most of Fay’s films are lost, unavailable, or don’t exist in any form at all. Some are available on a limited archival base. Fay Wray cumulatively worked in 77 films during her acting career of which she had lead roles in 67 of these!