Ray Aranha (May 1, 1939 – October 9, 2011) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, and

stage director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Career

Born in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Aranha appeared in and written numerous stage productions. In 1974, he won a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for Outstanding New Playwright for ''My Sister, My Sister''. Aranha also wrote and toured in a one-man show, ''I Am Black'', and later appeared as "Jim Bono" in ''

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

''. In addition to stage work, Aranha appeared in various film and television roles. In 1990, he co-starred in the short-lived

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

series ''

Married People ''Married People'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC as part of its 1990–91 schedule. It was a production of Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc. in association with Columbia Pictures Television and aired between September 18, 1990 and ...

''. After the series was canceled in 1991, he appeared in yet another short-lived series '' The Heights'' in 1992. Aranha has since had roles in ''

Are You Afraid of the Dark? ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' is a horror anthology television series. The original series aired on Nickelodeon from 1992 to 1996; the pilot episode aired respectively on YTV and Nickelodeon in 1990 and 1991. It led to two revival series, w ...

'', ''

New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American Police procedural, police drama that aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and ...

'', and ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'', and has roles in '' Dead Man Walking'' (1995), ''

Deconstructing Harry ''Deconstructing Harry'' is a 1997 American black comedy film written, directed by, and co-starring Woody Allen, alongside Caroline Aaron, Kirstie Alley, Bob Balaban, Richard Benjamin, Eric Bogosian, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis and others. The film ...

'' (1997), and ''

Maid in Manhattan ''Maid in Manhattan'' is a 2002 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Wayne Wang and based on a story by John Hughes, who is credited using a pseudonym. It stars Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, and Natasha Richardson. In the film, a h ...

'' (2002).

Death

On October 9, 2011, Aranha died at the age of 72 from a stroke.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * 1939 births 2011 deaths Male actors from Miami African-American male actors African-American dramatists and playwrights American theatre directors Drama Desk Award winners 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century American male writers African-American male writers {{US-theat-actor-1930s-stub