Fay Wray, Star Of King Kong – 1933

This 1933 promotional still of Fay Wray (b. 1907) from King Kong was taken by RKO Pictures studio photographer Ernest Bachrach.

The Alberta, Canada native began her career in the movies during summer vacations while attending Hollywood High School. Fay Wray was already appearing in bit parts in films at the age of 16. Talent was abundant in Wray’s family. Her grandfather, Daniel Jones was a prominent author. Older sisters Willow and Vaida were both professional singers, but neither would pursue film careers. Fay Wray was signed to the stock company of Hal Roach Comedies in 1924.

Wray’s big break came in the 1928 Erich Von Stroheim classic The Wedding March playing Mitzi, the bride. Wray often said it was the best role she ever had. In 1932 Wray landed the part she would be associated with forever- Ann Darrow in King Kong.

In a January 26, 1933 article Los Angeles Times columnist Grace Kingsley says Wray accepted the role after several unnamed actresses turned it down. So who else was considered or declined the play the part? Jean Harlow, Dorothy Jordan, Frances Lee and Ginger Rogers.

King Kong did well at the box office, though it received no Academy Award nominations. Fay Wray was singled out by The Hollywood Reporter for “never being more beautiful before the camera, nor acting as well as she does.”

Initially Wray did not like being associated primarily with King Kong. As the years went by she grew to appreciate the connection.

30 years after making King Kong, Wray said, “I had some qualms about doing the picture, but today it seems to have become a classic.”

Wray told the Toronto Star in 1990. “Being in the most famous movie of all time is my greeting card,  I finally got to lunch with Larry Olivier a few years back. Wouldn’t talk a bit about Shakespeare to me. Only wanted to know how we’d made Kong climb the Empire State Building.”

One risque scene from King Kong did not seem to bother Wray. The giant ape holds Wray in his palm, peels away her clothing and fondles her. quite a shock for a 1933 film. Had King Kong been released the following year, that scene would have been cut. Significant censorship by Joseph Breen and the Production Code went into effect in 1934.

Wray’s wry sense of humor was evident in the title of her 1989 autobiography, “On The Other Hand: A Life Story.”

“Every time I’m in New York, I say a little prayer when passing the Empire State Building,” Wray told an interviewer. “A good friend of mine died up there.”

Wray’s final on-screen appearance was a a 1980 TV movie, Gideon’s Trumpet. Wray was offered the part of old Rose In James Cameron’s Titanic (1997), but refused. Fay Wray died at the age of 96 of heart failure on August 8, 2004 in New York.