Spalding Gray

Birthday: 1941-06-05
Deathday: 2004-01-11
Birthplace: Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Gender: Male
Owned By: Unowned

Spalding Gray (June 5, 1941 – January 11, 2004) was an American actor, novelist, playwright, screenwriter and performance artist. He is best known for the autobiographical monologues that he wrote and performed for the theater in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as for his film adaptations of these works, beginning in 1987. He wrote and starred in several, working with different directors.

Theater critics John Willis and Ben Hodges called Gray's monologues "trenchant, personal narratives delivered on sparse, unadorned sets with a dry, WASP, quiet mania."  Gray achieved renown for his monologue Swimming to Cambodia, which he adapted as a 1987 film in which he starred; it was directed by Jonathan Demme. Other of his monologues that he adapted for film were Monster in a Box (1991), directed by Nick Broomfield, and Gray's Anatomy (1996), directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Gray died by suicide at the age of 62 after jumping into New York Harbor on January 11, 2004. He had been struggling with depression and severe injuries following a car accident. Soderbergh made a documentary film about Gray's life, And Everything Is Going Fine (2010). An unfinished monologue and a selection from his journals were published in 2005 and 2011, respectively.

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Credits

Year Title Character
Thirty Second Spots: TV Commercials for Artists (1982-83) Spalding Gray
2002-11-15 Revolution #9 Scooter McCrae
2001-12-25 Kate & Leopold Dr. Geisler
2001-12-21 How High Prof. Jackson
2001-01-26 Julie Johnson Mr. Tom Miranda
1999-06-08 Coming Soon Mr. Jennings
1997-04-14 Bliss Alfred
1997-03-14 Drunks Louis
1996-09-11 Gray's Anatomy Spalding Gray
1996-03-22 Diabolique Simon Veatch
1995-10-01 Glory Daze Jack's Dad
1995-05-24 Beyond Rangoon Jeremy Watt
1995-01-20 Bad Company Walter Curl
1994-03-18 The Paper Paul Bladden
1993-11-06 Zelda Sayre
1993-10-21 Twenty Bucks Priest
1993-08-20 King of the Hill Mr. Mungo
1993-04-30 The Pickle Doctor
1992-04-03 Straight Talk Dr. Erdman
1991-09-08 To Save a Child
1990-01-27 The Image Frank Goodrich
1989-04-01 Our Town Stage Manager
1988-12-21 Beaches Dr. Richard Milstein
1988-10-07 Clara's Heart Peter Epstein
1988-03-18 Stars & Bars Reverend T.J. Cardew
1987-11-28 Spalding Gray: Terrors of Pleasure Spalding Gray
1987-03-13 Swimming to Cambodia Spalding Gray
1986-10-10 True Stories Earl Culver
1986-09-26 What You Mean We? Talk show host
1986-05-09 Seven Minutes in Heaven Dr. Rodney
1985-03-29 Almost You Travel Agent
1985-02-27 Variety Obscene Phone Caller (voice)
1985-02-27 Variety Voice on answering machine (voice)
1985-01-24 Hard Choices Terry Norfolk
1984-11-23 The Killing Fields U.S. Consul
1984-01-01 Spalding Gray's Map of L.A. Spalding Gray
1984-01-01 Double Lunar Dogs
1981-01-01 Anybody's Woman
1978-10-20 Maraschino Cherry Penny's Client with Beard (uncredited)
1976-06-11 The Farmer's Daughters George
1974-12-31 Prisoner's Dilemma Spalding Gray
1970-03-21 Love-In '72 Radical at Party