If you queried Homosexual Gentlemen of a Certain Age on their favorite tough guy actor, you'll probably hear the expected: Robert Mitchum, Burt Lancaster, maybe Clint Walker. But dig a little deeper, and their real Macho Fantasy Figure will be revealed as Aldo Ray.
Ray began his career as a starring player in 1952, when George Cukor cast him as half of a working class couple with Judy Holliday in The Marrying Kind. Ray won critical praise for his performance as a tender-hearted tough guy, and his star began rapidly ascending.
ALDO RAY & JUDY HOLLIDAY IN THE MARRYING KIND (1952)
The remainder of the 1950's found Ray playing sexy lugs in everything from musicals (Miss Sadie Thompson, 1953) to comedies (We're No Angels, 1955) to war dramas (Battle Cry!, 1956) to melodramas (God's Little Acre, 1958).
The quintessential 1950's heavy, Ray went into a professional decline in the 1960's, with scattered film work and an emphasis on television appearances. His most notable performance of the decade was in The Green Berets (1968) with John Wayne. Ray continued to act in the 1970's, but as he became increasingly desperate to make a living, he agreed to appear in a non-sexual role in a hardcore porno, Sweet Savage (1979). This all but destroyed what was left of his mainstream Hollywood career; his final film, in 1991, was the direct-to-video Shock 'em Dead with former porn queen Traci Lords and ex-teen idol Troy Donahue. Aldo Ray died on March 27, 1991 at age 64 from throat cancer.
SEPTEMBER 25, 1926 - MARCH 27, 1991
Thanks for the memories and fantasies, Mr. Ray. You are missed.
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