Ray Stricklyn

Early life and career

Born in Houston, Texas; his father was a sign painter. At the age of 16 Ray Stricklyn auditioned for a part in the play Ah, Wilderness and was given the lead role. He went on to perform several roles for the Houston Little Theater.

In 1950 he won a scholarship to a New York drama school. Two years later he made his Broadway debut in A Climate of Eden by Moss Hart.

George Seaton was in New York casting his 1956 film The Proud and Profane and gave Stricklyn a one-scene role. He then moved to Los Angeles to further his film career. After his performance in Ten North Frederick (1958), he was given a contract with 20th Century-Fox, but it wasn't renewed following The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959). His first lead role was as Jesse James in Young Jesse James (1960), and he also had roles in The Big Fisherman (1959), The Lost World (1960), The Plunderers (1960), Arizona Raiders (1965), Track of Thunder (1967) and Dogpound Shuffle (1975). However, in later years he received fewer film roles and he returned to theatre work.

Stricklyn made two guest appearances on the CBS courtroom drama series Perry Mason. In 1960 he played defendant Gerald Norton in "The Case of the Bashful Burro," and in 1963 he played Reed Brent in "The Case of the Festive Felon."

In 1965 he was introduced to a furniture refurbisher David Galligan and they became lifetime companions. Galligan later became a noted stage director.

Stricklyn took work in a fudge factory and then worked as a typist for a mailing company. In 1973 he joined the public relations firm John Springer Associates in Los Angeles and became one of the most influential publicists in Hollywood, working with some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Henry Fonda, Shelley Winters, Janet Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor, and Bette Davis. He also handled the US debut of the Rubik's Cube. He eventually became the head of the company's West Coast office.

In 1983 Stricklyn was asked to put together a tribute to Tennessee Williams. He compiled a one-hour one-man show called Confessions of a Nightingale in which he himself portrayed Williams. Four weekend performances at the Beverly Hills Playhouse were planned but it was received so enthusiastically that it ran for over a year. Eva Marie Saint and her husband Jeffrey Hayden took out a full-page advertisement in Daily Variety urging everyone to see the show. He was twice named Best Actor of the Year by the LA Drama Critics Circle and LA Weekly. The show was then taken to Broadway and toured the USA for another year. It was then performed at the Edinburgh Festival.

Death

After falling ill with emphysema in 1997, he began writing his coming out autobiography. Published in 1999, Angels & Demons: One Actor's Hollywood Journey, published in Los Angeles by Belle Publishing, 297 pages, ISBN 0-9649635-4-X (hardback), is a candid and witty account of a man who, Stricklyn wrote, "might qualify as one who has had his 15 minutes in the limelight; perhaps even 20."

He is survived by his sister, Mary Ann, and his longtime companion, Los Angeles stage director David Galligan.

Awards

Press cuttings

Ray Stricklyn: Actor whose boyish looks became a hindrance Obituary by Tom Vallance in The Independent, 29th. May, 2002, page 18. "Stricklyn stated that two factors had contributed to his lack of progress. First, his homosexuality (though he had well-publicised relationships with Joan Collins and Bette Davis) and secondly, his persistently youthful appearance."

Notable Quotes