Spalding Gray

About

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...

Known for

Great PerformancesSeries • 1971The NannySeries • 1993Spenser: For HireSeries • 1985The Killing FieldsMovie • 1984How HighMovie • 2001Kate & LeopoldMovie • 2001BeachesMovie • 1988The PaperMovie • 1994DiaboliqueMovie • 1996Twenty BucksMovie • 1993King of the HillMovie • 1993BlissMovie • 1997Glory DazeMovie • 1995Coming SoonMovie • 1999Straight TalkMovie • 1992Beyond RangoonMovie • 1995Seven Minutes in HeavenMovie • 1986True StoriesMovie • 1986Bad CompanyMovie • 1995Stars & BarsMovie • 1988Swimming to CambodiaMovie • 1987Clara's HeartMovie • 1988Gray's AnatomyMovie • 1996VarietyMovie • 1985