Spalding Gray
Known for

Acting

Credits

62

Gender

Man

Birthday

5 Jun 1941

Day of death

11 Jan 2004 (62)

Place of birth

Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Also known as
Spalding Grey

Spalding Gray

Biography

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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Spalding Gray, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known for
Acting roles
YearMovie / TV show / OtherRole
2014Rumstick RoadSelf (archive footage)
Thirty Second Spots: TV Commercials for Artists (1982-83)Spalding Gray
2010And Everything Is Going FineSelf (archive footage)
2002Revolution #9Scooter McCrae
2002Confessions of a SociopathHimself
2001Kate & LeopoldDr. Geisler
2001How HighProf. Jackson
2001Julie JohnsonMr. Tom Miranda
1999Coming SoonMr. Jennings
1999The Mike O'Malley Show
1999Yesterday's TomorrowsSelf
1997BlissAlfred
1997DrunksLouis
1996DiaboliqueSimon Veatch
1996Gray's AnatomySelf
1995Beyond RangoonJeremy Watt
1995Bad CompanyWalter Curl
1995Glory DazeJack's Dad
1994The PaperPaul Bladden
1993King of the HillMr. Mungo
1993Twenty BucksPriest
1993The PickleDoctor
1993ZeldaSayre
1992Straight TalkDr. Erdman
1992Monster in a BoxSelf
1991To Save a Child
1990The ImageFrank Goodrich
1989Heavy PettingSelf
1989Our TownStage Manager
1988BeachesDr. Richard Milstein
1988Clara's HeartPeter Epstein
1988Stars & BarsReverend T.J. Cardew
1987Swimming to CambodiaSelf
1987Spalding Gray: Terrors of PleasureSelf
1986True StoriesEarl Culver
1986Seven Minutes in HeavenDr. Rodney
1986What You Mean We?Talk show host
1985VarietyObscene Phone Caller (voice)
1985VarietyVoice on answering machine (voice)
1985Spenser: For Hire
1985Almost YouTravel Agent
1985Hard ChoicesTerry Norfolk
1985Spalding Gray: A Life in ProgressHimself
1984The Killing FieldsU.S. Consul
1984Spalding Gray's Map of L.A.Self
1984Double Lunar Dogs
1982A Personal History of the American TheaterHimself
1982Sex and Death to the Age 14Himself
1981Anybody's Woman
1978Maraschino CherryPenny's Client with Beard (uncredited)
1976The Farmer's DaughtersGeorge
1975Saturday Night LiveNarrator of 'Brides' (voice) (uncredited)
1974Prisoner's DilemmaSpalding Gray
1971Great PerformancesStage Manager
1970Love-In '72Radical at Party
Credits
YearMovie / TV show / OtherRole
1996Gray's AnatomyWriter
1992Monster in a BoxWriter
1987Swimming to CambodiaWriter
1987Spalding Gray: Terrors of PleasureWriter
1984Spalding Gray's Map of L.A.Writer
1982Sex and Death to the Age 14Writer
1982A Personal History of the American TheaterWriter