John Griffith Wray (August 30, 1881 – July 15, 1929) was an American stage actor and director who later became a noted Hollywood silent film director. He worked on 19 films between

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...

and

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

that included ''

Anna Christie ''Anna Christie'' is a play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. It made its Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work. According to historian Paul Avrich, the orig ...

'' (1923) and ''

Human Wreckage ''Human Wreckage'' is a 1923 American independent silent drama propaganda film that starred Dorothy Davenport and featured James Kirkwood, Sr., Bessie Love, and Lucille Ricksen. The film was co-produced by Davenport and Thomas H. Ince and dist ...

'' (1923),

Dorothy Davenport Fannie Dorothy Davenport (March 13, 1895 – October 12, 1977) was an American actress, screenwriter, film director, and producer. Born into a family of film performers, Davenport had her own independent career before her marriage to the film a ...

's story about her husband

Wallace Reid William Wallace Halleck Reid (April 15, 1891 – January 18, 1923) was an American actor in silent film, referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". He also had a brief career as a racing driver. Early life Reid was born in St. Louis, M ...

's drug addiction and death.

Biography

Wray was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, and died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. By 1912 Wray was a leading actor and stage director with the World's Fair Stock Company's yearlong Hawaiian tour. He married actress

Virginia Brissac Virginia Brissac (June 11, 1883 – July 26, 1979) was a popular American stage actress who headlined theatre companies from Vancouver to San Diego during the heyday of West Coast Stock in the early 1900s. An ingénue and leading lady known for ...

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

, on June 29, 1915, and became the step-father of screenwriter

Ardel Wray Ardel Wray ( Mockbee; October 28, 1907 – October 14, 1983) was an American screenwriter and story editor, best known for her work on Val Lewton's classic horror films in the 1940s. Her screenplay credits from that era include ''I Walked with ...

. The couple divorced in 1927. In October 1928, less than a year before his death, Wray married Bradley King, a Hollywood screenwriter.John G. Wray Marries. ''New York Times'', October 8, 1928, p. 15

Selected filmography

*'' The Shark God (1913 film)'' * ''

Homespun Folks ''Homespun Folks'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by John Griffith Wray and starring Lloyd Hughes, Gladys George and George Webb. It was produced on a budget of $137,000, and grossed $241,000 at the box offices.Taves p.167-68 P ...

'' (1920) * ''

Lying Lips ''Lying Lips'' is a 1939 American melodrama race film written and directed by Oscar Micheaux who co-produced the film with aviator Hubert Fauntlenroy Julian, starring Edna Mae Harris, and Robert Earl Jones (the father of James Earl Jones). ''Lyi ...

'' (1921) * ''

Beau Revel ''Beau Revel'' is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by John Griffith Wray and written by Luther Reed and Louis Joseph Vance. The film stars Lewis Stone, Florence Vidor, Lloyd Hughes, Kathleen Kirkham, Dick Ryan, and Harland Tucker. Th ...

'' (1921) *''

Hail the Woman ''Hail the Woman'' is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by John Griffith Wray. Produced by Thomas Ince, it stars Florence Vidor as a woman who takes a stand against the hypocrisy of her father and brother, played by Theodore Roberts a ...

'' (1921) *''

'' (1923) * ''

Soul of the Beast ''Soul of the Beast'' is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film directed by John Griffith Wray and starring Madge Bellamy, Cullen Landis, and Noah Beery Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American act ...

'' (1923) *'' What a Wife Learned'' (1923) *'' Her Reputation'' (1923) *''

'' (1923) *''

The Marriage Cheat ''The Marriage Cheat'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by John Griffith Wray and written by C. Gardner Sullivan. The film stars Leatrice Joy, Adolphe Menjou, Percy Marmont, Laska Winter, Henry A. Barrows, and J. P. Lockney. The f ...

'' (1924) *'' The Winding Stair'' (1925) *''

Hell's Four Hundred ''Hell's Four Hundred'', sometimes listed as ''Hell's 400'', is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by John Griffith Wray and starring Margaret Livingston, Harrison Ford, and Henry Kolker. An allegorical dream sequence towards the end of ...

'' (1926) *''

The Gilded Butterfly ''The Gilded Butterfly'' is a 1926 American silent film, silent drama film directed by John Griffith Wray and starring Alma Rubens, Bert Lytell, and Huntley Gordon. Plot As described in a film magazine review, Linda Haverhill is left penniless a ...

'' (1926) *''

Singed ''Singed'' is a 1927 American silent drama film produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation. The film was directed by John Griffith Wray and stars Blanche Sweet. ''Singed'' is based on Adela Rogers St. Johns's story "Love o' Women". A pri ...

'' (1927) *''

The Gateway of the Moon ''The Gateway of the Moon'' is a lost American 1928 silent film directed by John Griffith Wray and starring Dolores del Río, Walter Pidgeon and Anders Randolf. Plot Arthur Wyatt, an American railroad conductor, is lost in the jungle of the Amaz ...

'' (1928) *''

The Careless Age ''The Careless Age'' is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by John Griffith Wray and written by Harrison Macklyn and Harold Shumate. It is based on the 1927 play '' Diversion'' by John Van Druten. The film stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr., ...

'' (1929) *''

A Most Immoral Lady ''A Most Immoral Lady'' is a 1929 American drama film directed by John Griffith Wray and written by Forrest Halsey. It is based on the 1928 play ''A Most Immoral Lady'' by Townsend Martin. The film stars Leatrice Joy, Walter Pidgeon, Sidney Blac ...

'' (1929) *''

The Sap from Syracuse ''The Sap from Syracuse'' is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by A. Edward Sutherland and written by John Griffith Wray, along with Jack O'Donnell, John Hayden and Gertrude Purcell. The film stars Jack Oakie, Ginger Rogers, Granvil ...

'' (1930)

References

External links

*
findagrave.com
1881 births 1929 deaths Silent film directors Male actors from Minneapolis Film directors from Minnesota {{US-film-actor-1890s-stub