Steven Geray
Geray in 1931
Born
István Gyergyai

(1904-11-10)10 November 1904
Ungvár, Austria-Hungary (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine)
Died26 December 1973(1973-12-26) (aged 69)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
NationalityHungarian
OccupationActor
Years active1929–1966
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1934; died 1945)​
  • Roanne Ollafay Threet (m. 19??)

Steven Geray (born István Gyergyai, 10 November 1904 – 26 December 1973) was a Hungarian-born American film actor who appeared in over 100 films and dozens of television programs.[1] Geray appeared in numerous famed A-pictures, including Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945) and To Catch a Thief (1955), Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950), and Howard Hawks' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). However, it was in film noir that be became a fixture, being cast in over a dozen pictures in the genre. Among them were The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), Gilda (1946), The Unfaithful (1947), In a Lonely Place (1950), and The House on Telegraph Hill (1951).[2]

Early life

Geray was born István Gyergyai in Ungvár, Austria-Hungary[3] (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine) and educated at the University of Budapest.

Career

Geray made his first stage appearance at the Hungarian National Theater under his real name and after nearly four years he made his London stage debut (as Steven Geray) in 1934, appearing in Happy Week-End![4] He began appearing in English-speaking films in 1935 and moved to Hollywood in 1941.[5] He appeared alongside his wife, Magda Kun, whom he married in 1934, in the 1935 film Dance Band.[6][7][8]

Political pressure led to Geray's exit from Europe. His act in the Folies Bergère included impersonations of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, which incurred the wrath of the governments of Germany and Italy. Geray failed to heed their warnings to stop the impersonations. After being beaten up, however, he moved to Hollywood.[9]

Geray was cast as the lead in a low-budget film noir So Dark the Night (1946).[10] Even with its limited budget, it received positive critical reviews and enabled its director Joseph H. Lewis to later direct A-pictures.[11]

During his prime in cinema Geray appeared in many top-rated movies, including Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945) and To Catch a Thief (1955), Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950), and Howard Hawks' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). He found a niche in crime and adventure films such as Background to Danger (1943), Appointment in Berlin (1943), and A Bullet for Joey (1955), but it was in film noir where be became a fixture. Among his castings in the genre were The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), Cornered (1945), Deadline at Dawn (1946), Gilda (1946), The Unfaithful (1947), The Dark Past (1948), In a Lonely Place (1950), The Second Woman (1950), A Lady Without Passport (1950), Woman on the Run (1950), The House on Telegraph Hill (1951), Affair in Trinidad (1952), and New York Confidential (1955).[2]

Geray continued to work on television and in films into the 1960s.[1] Among them a guest appearance on Perry Mason in 1962 as extortionist and murder victim Franz Moray in "The Case of the Stand-in Sister",[12] three episodes of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show as French dress designer Gaston Broussard in 1956, including the over the top "A Paris Creation"[13] and various doctor roles on The Danny Thomas Show.[14]

Personal life

Geray spent some time in the late-1960s in Estes Park, Colorado, where he directed local theater (The Fantasticks). He owned and ran a bar in Estes Park from 1969 to 1970.

Geray died 26 December 1973 in Los Angeles, California. He was cremated, and his ashes were given to his wife.[3]

Selected filmography

References

  1. 1 2 "Steven Geray". Archived from the original on 30 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Steven Geray - Movies and Filmography - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  3. 1 2 Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. (2 volume set). McFarland. p. 275. ISBN 9780786479924. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Steve Geray - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  5. ↑ "Steven Geray - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  6. ↑ McFarlane, Brian (16 May 2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9781526111968 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ "Dance Band (1935) - Marcel Varnel - Cast and Crew - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  8. ↑ "Gyergyai István, Steve Geray | Magyar életrajzi lexikon | Kézikönyvtár".
  9. ↑ "Steven Geray Exiled to Fortune". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. 1 December 1946. p. 34. Retrieved 11 November 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ↑ "So Dark the Night (1946) - Joseph H. Lewis - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  11. ↑ "So Dark the Night (1946) - Articles - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
  12. ↑ "Perry Mason: The Case of the Stand-in Sister (1962) - Allen Miner - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  13. ↑ "CTVA US Comedy - "The Burns And Allen Show" (McCadden/CBS) Season 6 (1955-56)". ctva.biz.
  14. ↑ "The Danny Thomas Show". TVGuide.com.
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