Fay Wray

Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907–August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress known for playing the female lead in the 1933 film King Kong as Ann Darrow. Through an acting career that spanned 57 years, Wray gained a reputation for her work in horror movie roles. She was one of the first "s".

Quotes

 * King Kong was difficult only because of the hours we had to put in. At that time, there was no protection for actors about time or anything. We worked straight through for 22 hours once on Kong. It was really a wearying experience, because it was mechanics, really, as much as anything that we were dealing with. The technicality was transparency to transparency from the rear, and then re-photographing me in the foreground on the same level with that screen-so I couldn't really see what was happening at all! It had to be done many, many times to confirm that it was okay. So we worked for 22 hours!
 * Rick McKay's Night on the Town with Fay Wray! (1998)

Quotes about Fay Wray

 * She was very attentive, and I think he was very moved by the experience of actually being in the same room with her. In fact, I think I saw a tear well up. It was a lovely moment.
 * He introduced me as being the new Ann Darrow, and she looked up at me and she went, 'You're not Ann Darrow, I am!'" Watts says. "I thought, 'Oh great, she's 96 and her humor is still right there.' Then I had a moment of, "Oh God, what if she doesn't like me? What if she doesn't think I'm good enough?" -- and all that typical stuff. Anyway, we had a nice dinner and chitchatted, and at the end of the night, we dropped her home at her house, and she got out of the car. We all kissed and hugged, and she whispered in my ear "Ann Darrow is in good hands." Those were great parting words, because it felt like she was giving me permission and I was given the baton.
 * Naomi Watts on meeting Fay Wray, Naomi Watts, inspired by Fay Wray, connects with Kong in a big way (December 11, 2005)


 * She as a wonderful mother. She was whimsical, smart, caring, loving, playful. If I had any fault with her as a mother, it’s that she never criticized her children. She was very, very caring and supportive. You might say to a fault. There were times when I thought I shouldn’t get away with that. We often think of film stars as these iconic figures who we see on the screen, but behind the scenes, there’s a family, there are relationships, and she managed life. She came from what I call pioneer stock. She was born in Canada, but really from a pioneer Mormon family. Then they left the Mormon family, but that pioneer’s strengths saw her through quite a bit. The more I think about her, and reflect on her and try to write about her, I realize what a resilient person she was, but she was resilient with kindness and warmth and humor, which is not to say her life was easy. I think it’s good for people to know about the difficulties she faced because I think we all face difficulties and work our way through and she’s a good role model in that sense.
 * Victoria Riskin, The Daughter of Fay Wray Explains the Grip of 'King Kong' on Cinema (March 3, 2020)