Talk:Ruby Ray (actress)

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Other actress(es) named Ruby Ray[edit]

The Durham County Council website has photos of a different actress named Ruby Ray, from Phoenix Little Theatre in Darlington, England. The Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough of 31 May 1934 wrote: "A memorial fund on behalf of Miss Ruby Ray, the young Darlington actress of the Phoenix Little Theatre Company, who died recently following a stage fall some months earlier, has realised more than £49."

Plays she was in - if the following articles refer to the Ruby Ray from Darlington - include Mademoiselle from Armentieres and Destiny at the Theatre Royal in Grantham (Grantham Journal, 7 Sept 1929), A Beggar on Horseback at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle (Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, 10 Sept 1932) and Trilby at the same theatre (ditto, 1 Oct 1932). The Blyth News (published in the Newcastle region) of 24 Mar 1927, announcing a play My Old Dutch, wrote: "Miss Ruby Ray is at her best in this piece. Having played in pantomime, musical comedy, revue and in her chosen vocation, drama, one of her chief assets is her versatility".

I came across a webpage with details about her grave. The page, which I can't find back just now, referenced her accident and gave her real name.

There is also a Find a Grave page that refers to a Ruby Ray "born on January 1, 1891. She is known for her work on The Wild Man of Borneo (1941), I Love You Again (1940) and Lili (1953). She died on March 27, 1984 in Los Angeles, California". This page mistakenly includes a photo of the Argentine-born Ruby Ray (1881–after 1973), so the information may be unreliable. Ni'jluuseger (talk) 15:40, 6 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The Find a Grave text refers to a Ruby Ray active in Hollywood, also referred to on IMDb, who specialised in imitating bird calls. From the Kensington News and West London Times (8 Mar 1935):

"STRANGE WORK. There are two women in Hollywood who have made their names in the film world, but are unknown to the film public. They draw huge salaries, yet neither of their names has ever appeared on the screen. One is Ruby Ray, now working on Paramount's "Ruggles of Red Cap." When the hen clucks... when the peacock screams... when the East Indian Shama bird calls in the studios, it isn't a hen, a peacock or a Shama. It's Ruby Ray. Her mother was a singer at the New York Metropolitan House. Ruby, herself, sang in opera, but she always preferred to whistle. She now holds a teaching certificate in whistling, can imitate any bird song, and has taught herself to imitate the birds which do not sing. She is Hollywood's premier imitator and is in constant demand." Ni'jluuseger (talk) 17:53, 6 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Lots of people on IMDB are not encyclopedically notable. If any other actress known as Ruby Ray ever becomes notable, it will be easy enough to further disambiguate the title to something like "Ruby Ray (Edwardian era actress)". BTW, Find-a-grave is indeed considered an unreliable source, and I believe it is even on the blacklist for sources. -- Ssilvers (talk) 18:04, 6 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I agree as far as those sources. The notability of the Darlington Ruby Ray and the bird whistling Ruby Ray is an open question to me. The former seems to have been of more local note and wasn't a picture postcard celebrity like the Argentine-born Ruby Ray, and the latter probably was too much of a person behind the scenes to get an article. I think this talk page and the disambiguation page come in handy to at least mention them to help readers tell apart the various publicly referenced Ruby Rays out there. Ni'jluuseger (talk) 18:14, 6 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Location of productions[edit]

Good work on this article. Happy editing! In the career section, can you clarify where each of the productions took place (Australia, NY, London, etc.?) -- Ssilvers (talk) 18:18, 6 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Ta. It seems several of these productions took place in various countries, so while I could check each historical newspaper write-up, this would probably still give an incomplete picture. I also don't currently have access to American newspapers and magazines to flesh out just how much work she did across the puddle. Ni'jluuseger (talk) 13:36, 7 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for adding the page numbers. The article is certainly coming along. Eventually, I hope it is possible for someone to clarify where she performed at least her most important and long-running roles (to the extent that it is not already indicated), whether it was in Australia, on Broadway, in London or on tour. Happy editing! -- Ssilvers (talk) 20:19, 7 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]