File:Nicholas_Ray_(1953).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Person · Open Library
- Works
- 12
Top works
- Shrines of Wisdom
- I Was Interrupted
- From Darkness to Light
- Thinking Through Twentieth-Century Architecture
- Philosophy of Architecture
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Galesville, Wisconsin, USA
Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle; 7 August 1911 – 16 June 1979) was an American film director best known for the films Rebel Without a Cause and Johnny Guitar. Described by the Harvard Film Archive as "Hollywood's last romantic" and "one of postwar American cinema’s supremely gifted and ultimately tragic filmmakers," Ray was considered an iconoclastic auteur director who often clashed…
Known for
- Films to Die For — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)2025
- Don't Expect Too Much — Himself2011
- Rebel Without a Cause: Defiant Innocents — Himself (uncredited)2005
- James Dean: A Portrait — Self (archive footage)1995
- Vanity Fair: Jeanette Starion the Pet of the Year1990
- Lightning Over Water — Self1980
- Hair — The General1979
- Nicholas Ray: Especially for Pierre1979
- The American Friend — Derwatt1977
- Profile of Nicholas Ray — Self1977
via TMDB
Key facts
- Born
- Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr. , ( 1911-08-07 ) August 7, 1911, Galesville, Wisconsin , U.S.
- Died
- June 16, 1979 (1979-06-16) (aged 67), New York City , U.S.
- Occupations
- Film director screenwriter actor
- Years active
- 1946–1979
- Children
- 4, including Anthony Ray
- Relatives
- Gloria Grahame (daughter-in-law, 1960–1974)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Nicholas
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- La Crosse
- Place of death
- New York City
- Spouse
- Gloria Grahame
- Child
- Anthony Ray
- Occupation
- director
- Employer
- Binghamton University
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Native language
- English language
- Image
- Nicholas Ray (1953).jpg
Show 10 more facts
- date of birth
- 1911-08-07
- date of death
- 1979-06-16
- cause of death
- lung cancer
- manner of death
- natural causes
- nominated for
- Academy Award for Best Story
- Commons category
- Nicholas Ray
- related category
- Category:Films directed by Nicholas Ray
- start of work period
- 1948-00-00
- archives at
- Harry Ransom Center
- writing language
- English language
Sources (10)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr., August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Described by the Harvard Film Archive as "Hollywood's last romantic" and "one of postwar American cinema's supremely gifted and ultimately tragic filmmakers," Ray was considered an iconoclastic auteur director who often clashed with the Hollywood studio system of the time, but would prove highly influential to future generations of filmmakers.
His best-known work is the 1955 film Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean. He is appreciated for many narrative features produced between 1947 and 1963, including They Live By Night (1948), In a Lonely Place (1950), Johnny Guitar (1954), Bigger Than Life (1956), and King of Kings (1961), as well as an experimental work produced throughout the 1970s titled We Can't Go Home Again, which was unfinished at the time of Ray's death.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Nicholas Ray” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.