- Robert Bray
Infobox actor
name = Robert Bray
imagesize =
birthdate = birth date |1917|10|23
location = Kalispell,Montana , USA
deathdate = death date and age|1983|03|7|1917|10|23
deathplace =Bishop, California , USA
birthname = Robert E. Bray
occupation =Actor
spouse = Joan Loretta Bray (born 1930) [ [http://find.intelius.com/search-summary-out.php?ReportType=1& Intelius People Search - Public Records, Background Checks & More ] ]Robert E. Bray (October 23, 1917 – March 7, 1983) was a
film andtelevision actor probably best remembered for his role as theforest ranger Corey Stuart in the long-runningCBS series "Lassie".Bray was born to
homestead ing parents in Kalispell, the seat of Flathead County in northwesternMontana . The family moved to Seattle, where Bray attended LincolnHigh School . After graduation, he was for a time alumberjack , acowboy , and a member of theCivilian Conservation Corps . In 1942, Bray joined theUnited States Marine Corps and saw action in the South Pacific duringWorld War II . He finished the war at the rank of master sergeant and then aspired to become ataxidermist or the owner of ahunting /fishing lodge.imdb|0106248]Instead, Bray entered film in 1946 under contract to
RKO . He was marketed as the "nextGary Cooper ". In the 1950s, the then freelancing actor appeared in a varied number of roles including Carl the Bus Driver in "Bus Stop" withMarilyn Monroe (1956) and asdetective Mike Hammer in "My Gun Is Quick " (1957).In the 1960-1961 television season, Bray played Simon Kane, along with
Wayne Rogers as Luke Perry andRichard Eyer as David "Davey" Kane, Simon's son, in the ABC series "Stagecoach West", a production ofDick Powell 'sFour Star Television . Bray and Rogers portrayed the co-owners of the Timberland Stage Line which carried passengers fromMissouri to San Francisco during the 1860s. [ [http://www.tv.com/stagecoach-west/show/9582/summary.html Stagecoach West - TV.com ] ]He starred between 1960 and 1963 in three episodes of
NBC 's Western "Laramie". He appeared in three episodes of CBS's "Perry Mason ", including the 1963 segment in which he portrayed wealthymurder victim "Martin Walden" (Episode 180, "The Case of the Potted Planter"). He also guest starred onNBC 's short-lived "Temple Houston ", "Riverboat" withDarren McGavin , and "The Loretta Young Show ". He appeared between 1958 and 1961 in four episodes of CBS's suspense series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents ". Other Bray appearances were in ABC's "Maverick" and "Sugarfoot ", and NBC's "Overland Trail".In 1958, Bray was offered a supporting role in director
Joshua Logan 's "South Pacific", but he decided to star in low-budget films for Allied Artists. It was a strategic error in his career, for "South Pacific" became a smash success.In 1964, Bray won the role of Corey Stuart in "Lassie" because of his affinity for animals and their reciprocity toward him. That same year, "Lassie" went to
color film. Stuart, the plot develops, acquired Lassie after the former owner, the Martins (played byHugh Reilly ,June Lockhart , andJon Provost ), moved toAustralia . Lassie's farm life then grew more exciting with rescues and adventures in thenational forest setting. On three episodes, Bray appeared with the formerchild actor Bobby Diamond of NBC's "Fury". Bray was replaced in 1968 by two younger rangers. The storyline attributes the end of Bray's role to injuries that the character sustained while fighting aforest fire . [ [http://www.lassie.com/lassie_star.html Lassie Star ] ]Bray and his wife, Joan (born 1930), then retired to Bishop in Inyo County in the
Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California. He was often seen in hisWinnebago in Bishop with his dog "Lady". Bray was a fly fisherman, hunter, model duck carver, and all-around sportsman.He spent his last years in the High Sierras where he had made many of his early Western films. After his death of a
heart attack , Bray's ashes were scattered overZuma Beach inMalibu, California , where he had spent many pleasant days as a young man.References
External links
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