Raymond Massey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Raymond Massey
Massey in a publicity photo for Adventures in Paradise, May 1961
Born	Raymond Hart Massey (1896-08-30)August 30, 1896 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died	July 29, 1983(1983-07-29) (aged 86) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Beaverdale Memorial Park in New Haven, Connecticut
Alma mater	University of Toronto Balliol College, Oxford
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1918–1973
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Margery Fremantle ​ ​ (m. 1921; div. 1929)​ Adrianne Allen ​ ​ (m. 1929; div. 1939)​ Dorothy Whitney ​ ​ (m. 1939; died 1982)​
Children	3, including Anna Massey and Daniel Massey
Relatives	Vincent Massey (brother) Lionel Massey (nephew)

Raymond Hart Massey (born August 30, 1896 – died July 29, 1983) was a famous actor from Canada. He later became an American citizen. People knew him for his strong, clear voice, which he trained for the stage.

Raymond Massey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his main role in the movie Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940). He also played Dr. Gillespie in the TV show Dr. Kildare (1961–1966). Other well-known roles include Abraham Farlan in A Matter of Life and Death and Jonathan Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).

Early Life and Education

Raymond Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His mother, Anna Vincent, was American. His father, Chester Daniel Massey, was a rich co-owner of the Massey-Harris tractor company. Raymond's family had moved to Canada from New England a few years before the War of 1812. Their ancestors came from England to the Massachusetts colony in the 1630s.

He went to high school at Upper Canada College and then Appleby College in Ontario. He also took classes at the University of Toronto. There, he was an active member of the Kappa Alpha Society.

Military Service

First World War

When World War I started, Massey joined the Canadian Army. He served on the Western Front in the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. In 1916, Lieutenant Massey was hurt in Belgium during the Battle of Mont Sorrel. He returned to Canada and became an army instructor for American officers at Yale University.

In 1918, he went back to active duty. He joined the Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force in Siberia during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. His commanding general asked him to organize a show to cheer up the allied troops in Vladivostok.

After the war, in 1919, he finished his studies at Balliol College, Oxford. He first worked in his family's business, selling farm tools. But he was very interested in acting and convinced his family to let him become an actor.

Second World War

During World War II, in 1942, Massey joined the Canadian Army again. He served as a major. He was wounded and left the Canadian Army in 1943. In 1944, he became a citizen of the United States.

Acting Career

Raymond Massey first acted on stage in London in 1922. Over the next ten years, he appeared in many plays and directed several others in England. He performed in over 80 plays. These included Pygmalion and works by George Bernard Shaw. In 1929, he directed a play called The Silver Tassie in London. His first performance on Broadway in 1931 was in Hamlet, but he did not get good reviews.

His first movie was High Treason (1928). In 1931, he played Sherlock Holmes in The Speckled Band, which was the first sound film of that story. He played the bad guy in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934). In 1936, he starred in Things to Come, a film based on a book by H.G. Wells. In 1944, Massey played a district attorney in the movie The Woman in the Window. He also played Abraham Farlan in the 1946 film A Matter of Life and Death.

Raymond Massey in the Broadway production of Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1938)

Even though he was Canadian, Massey became very famous for playing important American historical figures. He played John Brown in two films: Santa Fe Trail (1940) and Seven Angry Men (1955).

Massey had a huge success on Broadway in the play Abe Lincoln in Illinois. People were unsure about a Canadian playing Lincoln, but he did a great job. He played Lincoln again in the 1940 film version, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination. He also played Lincoln in other TV shows and movies. He once joked that he was "the only actor ever typecast as a president."

Massey played a Canadian character in a movie only once, in 49th Parallel (1941).

Beverly Garland, Richard Chamberlain and Raymond Massey in the first episode of Dr. Kildare (1961)

He played Jonathan Brewster in the movie Arsenic and Old Lace. The character in the play was originally played by Boris Karloff, and a joke in the film was how much Jonathan looked like Karloff. Massey and Karloff had worked together before in the 1932 film The Old Dark House.

After becoming an American citizen, Massey continued to work in Hollywood. He played the husband of Joan Crawford in Possessed (1947). He also starred as Gail Wynand in The Fountainhead (1949). In 1955, he played Adam Trask in East of Eden, the father of characters played by James Dean and Richard Davalos.

Massey became very well known on television in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best remembered as Dr. Gillespie in the popular NBC series Dr. Kildare (1961–1966), where Richard Chamberlain played the main role. Massey and his son Daniel played father and son in the movie The Queen's Guards (1961).

Personal Life

Richard Chamberlain, Daniela Bianchi and Massey in Dr. Kildare (1964)

Raymond Massey was married three times:

• Margery Fremantle (1921–1929). They had one child, Geoffrey Massey.
• Adrianne Allen (1929–1939). She was a stage actress. They had two children who also became actors: Anna Massey and Daniel Massey.
• Dorothy Whitney (1939–1982). She died in 1982.

His older brother, Vincent Massey, was the first Canadian-born governor general of Canada. Raymond Massey also got involved in politics. In 1964, he appeared in a TV advertisement to support Barry Goldwater, a Republican presidential candidate. Massey spoke about his support for a strong approach to the Vietnam War.

Death

Raymond Massey passed away from pneumonia in Los Angeles, California, on July 29, 1983. He was almost 87 years old. He died on the same day as David Niven, another actor he had worked with in movies like The Prisoner of Zenda. Massey is buried in Beaverdale Memorial Park in New Haven, Connecticut.

Honors

Raymond Massey has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One is for his work in films, and the other is for his television work. There is even a special drink called the Raymond Massey named after him!

Filmography

Radio Appearances

Images for kids

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  Massey in a publicity photo for Adventures in Paradise, May 1961

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  Raymond Massey in the Broadway production of Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1938)

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  Beverly Garland, Richard Chamberlain and Raymond Massey in the first episode of Dr. Kildare (1961)

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  Richard Chamberlain, Daniela Bianchi and Massey in Dr. Kildare (1964)

See also

In Spanish: Raymond Massey para niños

• Other Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
• Massey family