Fay Wray Dies

Actress Fay Wray, star of King Kong and over seventy other films, passed away in her Manhattan apartment on Sunday. She was 96. Best known for her role as the screaming object of King Kong's affections, Wray found the rest of her career overshadowed by the giant ape. She began acting during the silent era after moving to Hollywood from her hometown of Alberta, Canada. In 1933 she played Ann Darrow in Kong and was propelled to instant iconic status. Although she officially retired from films in 1942, Wray continued to make occasional appearances onscreen throughout the 40s and 50s. She was offered a part in the 1976 remake of King Kong, where Jessica Lange played Ann Darrow, but refused on the grounds that the remake would never have the power of the original. Let's hope for Peter Jackson's sake that she was wrong. Wray was married to three writers over her long life, and herself wrote plays that were produced in regional theatres. While she initially resented being remembered chiefly for Kong she came to appreciate both the film and the place that it had guaranteed her in history. "King Kong Director Merian C Cooper called me into his office and showed me sketches of jungle scenes, and told me 'You're going to have the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood'. Naturally, I thought Clark Gable." Luckily for us, she was wrong. Fay Wray is survived by her three children, Susan, Victoria and Robert Jr.