SPALDING GRAY
Name: Spalding Gray
Born: 5 June 1941 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Died: 10 January 2004 New York, New York, U.S.
Spalding Gray (June 5, 1941 - ca. January 10, 2004) was an American actor,
screenwriter, performance artist, and playwright.
After a few minor cinema roles and appearing in The Farmer's Daughter, a
pornographic film, Gray first achieved national prominence with his film
Swimming to Cambodia, a filmed version of one of his monologues. He based the
monologue on his experiences in Southeast Asia while filming a small part in the
1984 movie The Killing Fields.
He attracted some attention from postmodernist critics over the extent of the
overlap between his off-stage self and his on-stage persona. He was sometimes
accused of appropriating the fortunes or misfortunes of others for material for
his monologues. He was a founding member of the experimental theater company The
Wooster Group. He also appeared in a Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder's Our
Town.
In the early 1990s, Gray published his first and only novel, Impossible Vacation.
The novel is strongly based upon Gray's own life experiences, including his
Christian Scientist upbringing, his WASP background, and his mother's suicide.
True to form, Gray wrote a monologue about his experiences writing the book,
entitled Monster in a Box.
In June 2001 he suffered severe injuries in a car crash while on holiday in
Ireland. In January 2004, Gray, known to suffer bouts of depression in part as a
result of these injuries, was declared missing. The night before his
disappearance he had seen Tim Burton's film Big Fish, which ends with the line "A
man tells a story over and over so many times he becomes the story. In that way,
he is immortal." Gray's widow, Kathie Russo, has said “You know, Spalding cried
after he saw that movie. I just think it gave him permission. I think it gave
him permission to die. (New York Magazine February 2, 2004)
When Gray was first declared missing, his profile was featured on the FOX
Network show America's Most Wanted.
On March 7, 2004, the New York City medical examiner's office reported that Gray's
body had been pulled from the East River. It is believed that he jumped off the
side of the Staten Island Ferry. In light of a suicide attempt in 2002, and the
fact that his mother had taken her own life in 1967, suicide was the suspected
cause of death. It was reported that Gray was working on a new monologue at the
time of his death, and that the subject matter of the piece the Ireland car
crash and his subsequent attempts to recover from his injuries might have
triggered his final bout of depression.
Gray was survived by his wife, three children (stepdaughter Marissa, a writer,
and sons Forrest Dylan Gray--aka "Forrest Fire Gray," a musician with the band "Too
Busy Being Bored," and Theo Spalding Gray, an actor), and his brothers Rockwell,
an English professor in St. Louis, Missouri, and Channing, arts writer for the
Providence Journal.
In 2005, Gray's unfinished final monologue was published in a hardcover edition
entitled Life Interrupted: The Unfinished Monologue. Running 39 pages, the
monologue which Gray had performed in one of his last public appearances is
augmented by two additional pieces he also performed at the time, a short
remembrance called "The Anniversary" and an open letter to New York City written
in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Also included in the book is an
extensive collection of remembrances and tributes from fellow performers and
friends.
Spalding Gray's voice is still being heard through the resurrection of his
journal entries in the 2007 play Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell at the
Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City. The concept for this play was derived by
Gray's widow. The show includes a cast of four actors as well as one revolving
cast member.
Name: Spalding Gray
Born: 5 June 1941 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Died: 10 January 2004 New York, New York, U.S.
Spalding Gray (June 5, 1941 - ca. January 10, 2004) was an American actor,
screenwriter, performance artist, and playwright.
After a few minor cinema roles and appearing in The Farmer's Daughter, a
pornographic film, Gray first achieved national prominence with his film
Swimming to Cambodia, a filmed version of one of his monologues. He based the
monologue on his experiences in Southeast Asia while filming a small part in the
1984 movie The Killing Fields.
He attracted some attention from postmodernist critics over the extent of the
overlap between his off-stage self and his on-stage persona. He was sometimes
accused of appropriating the fortunes or misfortunes of others for material for
his monologues. He was a founding member of the experimental theater company The
Wooster Group. He also appeared in a Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder's Our
Town.
In the early 1990s, Gray published his first and only novel, Impossible Vacation.
The novel is strongly based upon Gray's own life experiences, including his
Christian Scientist upbringing, his WASP background, and his mother's suicide.
True to form, Gray wrote a monologue about his experiences writing the book,
entitled Monster in a Box.
In June 2001 he suffered severe injuries in a car crash while on holiday in
Ireland. In January 2004, Gray, known to suffer bouts of depression in part as a
result of these injuries, was declared missing. The night before his
disappearance he had seen Tim Burton's film Big Fish, which ends with the line "A
man tells a story over and over so many times he becomes the story. In that way,
he is immortal." Gray's widow, Kathie Russo, has said “You know, Spalding cried
after he saw that movie. I just think it gave him permission. I think it gave
him permission to die. (New York Magazine February 2, 2004)
When Gray was first declared missing, his profile was featured on the FOX
Network show America's Most Wanted.
On March 7, 2004, the New York City medical examiner's office reported that Gray's
body had been pulled from the East River. It is believed that he jumped off the
side of the Staten Island Ferry. In light of a suicide attempt in 2002, and the
fact that his mother had taken her own life in 1967, suicide was the suspected
cause of death. It was reported that Gray was working on a new monologue at the
time of his death, and that the subject matter of the piece the Ireland car
crash and his subsequent attempts to recover from his injuries might have
triggered his final bout of depression.
Gray was survived by his wife, three children (stepdaughter Marissa, a writer,
and sons Forrest Dylan Gray--aka "Forrest Fire Gray," a musician with the band "Too
Busy Being Bored," and Theo Spalding Gray, an actor), and his brothers Rockwell,
an English professor in St. Louis, Missouri, and Channing, arts writer for the
Providence Journal.
In 2005, Gray's unfinished final monologue was published in a hardcover edition
entitled Life Interrupted: The Unfinished Monologue. Running 39 pages, the
monologue which Gray had performed in one of his last public appearances is
augmented by two additional pieces he also performed at the time, a short
remembrance called "The Anniversary" and an open letter to New York City written
in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Also included in the book is an
extensive collection of remembrances and tributes from fellow performers and
friends.
Spalding Gray's voice is still being heard through the resurrection of his
journal entries in the 2007 play Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell at the
Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City. The concept for this play was derived by
Gray's widow. The show includes a cast of four actors as well as one revolving
cast member.