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Spalding Gray Bio
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Spalding Gray
Spalding Gray was well known, especially to New Yorkers. He was a performer and actor whose confessional monologues, for which he was infamous, were a blend of dark cynicism and humor. Gray’s interesting career was based on doing what he loved, but was often overshadowed by his hereditary depression and suicidal tendencies, yet he was an inspiration to up-and-coming performers until his strange disappearance in 2004.
Spalding Gray was born in Rhode Island on June 5, 1941. He graduated from Emerson College and when he was in his mid-twenties, his mother committed suicide. This particular life event was often mentioned in his monologue performances, and he spent much of his later life hinting at ending his own life. He proclaimed himself to be claustrophobic and suffering from other psychological ailments, and would often confess his deepest thoughts in his performances.
His career as a writer and performer came to life when he filmed Swimming to Cambodia, which was partially based on his experiences in Southeast Asia while filming a small role in the movie The Killing Fields. Originally written as a theatre performance, Swimming to Cambodia took Gray near two years to complete and won him an Obie award.
Though many criticized Gray’s use of other people’s unfortunate happenstance, he was well received by many viewers simply because he could tell a good story and tell it well. In 1996, Gray’s story of seeking alternative treatments for a surgically corrective eye condition was told in a film-length version titled Gray’s Anatomy, directed by Steven Soderbergh.
In addition to his tales, Spalding Gray spent some of his career acting in small television and film roles. Some screen credits include a recurring role on the comedy sitcom The Nanny, which starred Fran Drescher, and a role in the 2001 romantic comedy Kate & Leopold, starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman.
In 2001, Gray suffered substantial injuries from a car accident while he was visiting Ireland. Already having battled bouts of depression, Gray became seemingly worse during his recuperation. Though he continued to write and work on his stories, he made repeated threats and attempts at taking his own life. On January 10th 2004, Gray was reported missing after having disappeared without warning from the home he shared with his wife, Kathleen Russo, in Manhattan. Three months later on March 7, his body was discovered in the East River and his death was ruled a suicide.
Spalding Gray left behind a wife, two children, and an unfinished monologue. Producer and director, Steven Soderbergh, who directed Gray’s Anatomy, has compiled Gray’s final works into a documentary film, Life Interrupted, which is based on the works and tribute Life Interrupted: The Unfinished Monologue, published in hardcover in 2005. |
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Spalding Gray - Starred in TV's 'The Nanny' with Fran Drescher .
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Spalding Gray - Starred in 'Kate & Leopold' with Meg Ryan .
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Spalding Gray - Starred in 'Kate & Leopold' with Hugh Jackman .
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