Spalding Gray
Born
June 5, 1941
Died
January 11, 2004 (62 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Providence, Rhode Island, USA
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.
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Rumstick Road
Self (archive footage)
2014
And Everything Is Going Fine
Self (archive footage)
2010
Revolution #9
Scooter McCrae
2002
Confessions of a Sociopath
Himself
2002
Kate & Leopold
Dr. Geisler
2001
How High
Prof. Jackson
2001
Julie Johnson
Mr. Tom Miranda
2001
The Mike O'Malley Show
(1 episode)
1999
Yesterday's Tomorrows
Self
1999
Coming Soon
Mr. Jennings
1999
Bliss
Alfred
1997
Drunks
Louis
1997
Gray's Anatomy
Spalding Gray
1996
Diabolique
Simon Veatch
1996
Glory Daze
Jack's Dad
1995
Beyond Rangoon
Jeremy Watt
1995
Bad Company
Walter Curl
1995
The Paper
Paul Bladden
1994
Zelda
Sayre
1993
Twenty Bucks
Priest
1993
King of the Hill
Mr. Mungo
1993
The Pickle
Doctor
1993
Monster in a Box
Self
1992
Straight Talk
Dr. Erdman
1992
To Save a Child
1991
The Image
Frank Goodrich
1990
Heavy Petting
Self
1989
Our Town
Stage Manager
1989
Beaches
Dr. Richard Milstein
1988
Clara's Heart
Peter Epstein
1988
Stars & Bars
Reverend T.J. Cardew
1988
Spalding Gray: Terrors of Pleasure
Spalding Gray
1987
Swimming to Cambodia
Spalding Gray
1987
Real Life
Earl Culver
1986
True Stories
Earl Culver
1986
What You Mean We?
Talk show host
1986
Seven Minutes in Heaven
Dr. Rodney
1986
Spenser: For Hire
(1 episode)
1985
Almost You
Travel Agent
1985
Variety
Obscene Phone Caller (voice)
1985
Variety
Voice on answering machine (voice)
1985
Hard Choices
Terry Norfolk
1985
Spalding Gray: A Life in Progress
Himself
1985
The Killing Fields
U.S. Consul
1984
Double Lunar Dogs
1984
The Farmer's Daughters
George
1976
Thirty Second Spots: TV Commercials for Artists (1982-83)
Spalding Gray
Spalding Gray's Map of L.A.
Spalding Gray
1984
Sex and Death to the Age 14
Himself
1982
A Personal History of the American Theater
Himself
1982
Anybody's Woman
1981
Maraschino Cherry
Penny's Client with Beard (uncredited)
1978
Saturday Night Live
Narrator of 'Brides' (voice) (uncredited) · (1 episode)
1975
Prisoner's Dilemma
Spalding Gray
1974
Great Performances
Stage Manager · (1 episode)
1971
Love-In '72
Radical at Party
1970