George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of
gangsterA gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
s in
crimeCrime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
melodramaThe term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
s (
mob filmMob films are a subgenre of crime films dealing with organized crime, often the Mafia. Especially in early mob films, there is some overlap with film noir.-History:...
s) of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, today George Raft is mostly known for his gangster roles in
Billy WilderBilly Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
's 1959 comedy
Some Like it HotSome Like It Hot is an American comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft. The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film is a remake by Wilder and I....
, the original
ScarfaceScarface is a 1932 American gangster film starring Paul Muni and George Raft, produced by Howard Hughes, directed by Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson, and written by Ben Hecht based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Armitage Trail...
(1932), and
Each Dawn I DieEach Dawn I Die is a 1939 gangster film featuring James Cagney and George Raft in their only movie together as leads, although Raft had made an unbilled appearance in a 1932 Cagney vehicle called Taxi! in which he won a dance contest against Cagney, after which he and Cagney brawl...
(1939), and as a dancer in
BoleroBolero is a musical drama film starring George Raft and Carole Lombard. The movie was a rare chance for Raft to star and to play a dancer, which had been his profession in New York City, rather than a gangster. The film takes its title from the Maurice Ravel composition Boléro .-Plot:The film...
(1934) and a truck driver in
They Drive by NightThey Drive by Night is a black-and-white film noir starring George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, and Humphrey Bogart, and directed by Raoul Walsh. The picture involves a pair of embattled truck drivers and was released in the UK under the title The Road to Frisco. The film was based on A. I...
(1940). Raft's real-life association with the New York mob gave his on-screen image an added realism.
Early life
Raft was born
George Ranft on September 26, 1895 in
Hell's KitchenHell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
, New York City to German immigrant Conrad Ranft and his wife Eva Glockner. His parents were married on November 17, 1895 in Manhattan, and his sister, Eva, known as "Katie" was born on April 18, 1896. Although Raft's birth year has been reported to be 1895, the 1900 Census for New York City lists his elder sister, Katie, as his parents' only child with two children born and only one living. On the 1910 Census, he is listed as being 8 years old, and his birth record can be found in the New York City birth index as being 1901. A boyhood friend of gangster
Owney MaddenOwney "The Killer" Madden was a leading underworld figure in Manhattan, most notable for his involvement in organized crime during Prohibition. He also ran the famous Cotton Club and was a leading boxing promoter in the 1930s.-Early life:Owen Vincent Madden was born at 25 Somerset Street, in...
(and later a "wheel man" for the mob"), Raft admittedly narrowly avoided a life of crime. Raft spoke German fluently, having learned the language from his parents.
Dancer
As a young man he showed aptitude in dancing which, with his elegant fashion sense, enabled him to gain employment as a dancer in New York City nightclubs, often in the same venues as
Rudolph ValentinoRudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
before Valentino became a movie actor. Raft became part of the stage act of flamboyant
speakeasyA speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
hostess
Texas GuinanMary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan was an American saloon keeper, actress, and entrepreneur.-Early life:...
and his success led him to
BroadwayBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
where he again worked as a dancer. Raft later made a semi-autobiographical film called
BroadwayBroadway is a 1942 film about Broadway theatre with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Janet Blair, Broderick Crawford, Marjorie Rambeau, Anne Gwynne, and S.Z. Sakall. Raft plays himself, recalling an incident early in his pre-movie career as a dancer. The movie was directed by William A....
(1942) about this period in which he plays himself. He also worked in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as a chorus boy in the early 1920s.
Fred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, in his autobiography Steps in Time (1959), says Raft was a lightning-fast dancer and did "the fastest
CharlestonThe Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one...
I ever saw."
Vi Kearney, later a dancer in shows for Charles Cochran and Andre Charlot, was quoted as saying:
Gangster icon
In 1929, Raft relocated to Hollywood and took small roles. In "Taxi!" (1932) with
James CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
and
Loretta YoungLoretta Young was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953...
, Raft has a colorful unbilled dancing role as Cagney's competitor in a dance contest who wins only to be knocked down by Cagney's loonily pugnacious character. His big break came later that same year as the nickel-flipping second lead alongside
Paul MuniPaul Muni was an Austrian-Hungarian-born American stage and film actor...
's raging killer in Scarface (1932), and Raft's convincing portrayal led to speculation that Raft was a gangster. Due to his life-long friendship with
Owney MaddenOwney "The Killer" Madden was a leading underworld figure in Manhattan, most notable for his involvement in organized crime during Prohibition. He also ran the famous Cotton Club and was a leading boxing promoter in the 1930s.-Early life:Owen Vincent Madden was born at 25 Somerset Street, in...
, Raft was a friend or acquaintance of several other crime figures, including
Bugsy SiegelBenjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was an American gangster who was involved with the Genovese crime family...
and Siegel's old friend
Meyer LanskyMeyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States...
. When
Gary CooperFrank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
's romantic escapades put him on one gangster's hit list, Raft reportedly interceded and persuaded the mobster to spare Cooper.
Orson WellesGeorge Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
explained to
Peter BogdanovichPeter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
in their interview book
This Is Orson WellesThis Is Orson Welles is a 1992 book by Peter Bogdanovich and Orson Welles, two major film directors, one the legendary creator of Citizen Kane, the other a former journalist-turned-popular-moviemaker of The Last Picture Show fame...
that, as Raft's career accelerated, the actor was particularly an idol and role model for actual gangsters of the period in terms of dress and attitude.
He was one of the three most popular gangster actors of the 1930s, with
James CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
and
Edward G. RobinsonEdward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
; Raft ranked far above
Humphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
in fame and
box officeA box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
clout throughout the decade. When the studio refused to hire
Texas GuinanMary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan was an American saloon keeper, actress, and entrepreneur.-Early life:...
, the performer upon whom one of the movie's characters was based, because of her age, Raft advocated for the casting of his friend,
Mae WestMae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
, in a supporting role in his first film as leading man, Night After Night (1932), which launched her movie career. Raft appeared the following year in
Raoul WalshRaoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
's energetic period piece
The BoweryThe Bowery is a 1933 historical film about the Lower East Side of Manhattan at the turn of the century. The movie was directed by Raoul Walsh and features Wallace Beery as saloon owner Chuck Connors, George Raft as Steve Brodie, the first man to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge and live, Jackie Cooper...
as Steve Brodie, supposedly the first man to jump off
Brooklyn BridgeThe Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
and survive, with
Wallace BeeryWallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
,
Jackie CooperJackie Cooper was an American actor, television director, producer and executive. He was a child actor who managed to make the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first child actor to receive an Academy Award nomination...
,
Fay WrayFay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
and
Pert KeltonPert Kelton was an American vaudeville, movie, radio and television actress. She was the first actress who played Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason and was a prominent comedic supporting film actress in the 1930s...
. Raft memorably dances into the picture in his opening scene wearing a
derbyThe bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby , billycock or bombin, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for the English soldier and politician Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester...
.
Some of his other movies include
If I Had A MillionIf I Had a Million is a Paramount Studios anthology film. There were seven directors: Ernst Lubitsch, Norman Taurog, Stephen Roberts, Norman Z. McLeod, James Cruze, William A. Seiter, and H. Bruce Humberstone...
(1932; an episodic ensemble film in which he plays a forger hiding from police, suddenly given a million dollars with no place to cash the check),
BoleroBolero is a musical drama film starring George Raft and Carole Lombard. The movie was a rare chance for Raft to star and to play a dancer, which had been his profession in New York City, rather than a gangster. The film takes its title from the Maurice Ravel composition Boléro .-Plot:The film...
(1934; in a rare role as a dancer rather than a gangster),
Limehouse BluesLimehouse Blues is a world famous jazz standard , as well as a 1934 crime film is set in London's Chinese district and starring George Raft and Anna May Wong. The film is named after the tune...
(1934; with
Anna May WongAnna May Wong was an American actress, the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American to become an international star...
), a brutal and fast-paced adaptation of
Dashiell HammettSamuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...
's
The Glass Key-Cast:*George Raft as Ed Beaumont*Edward Arnold as Paul Madvig*Claire Dodd as Janet Henry*Guinn Williams as Jeff*Ray Milland as Taylor Henry-External links:...
(1935;
remadeA remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
in 1942 with
Alan Ladd-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
in Raft's role as a result of the success of the remake of Hammett's The Maltese Falcon),
Souls at SeaSouls at Sea is a 1937 seafaring film starring Gary Cooper and George Raft. The movie features Frances Dee, Harry Carey, Robert Cummings, George Zucco, Joseph Schildkraut, Paul Fix, and Tully Marshall, and was directed by Henry Hathaway. The title of this film was spoofed in the Laurel and Hardy...
(1937; with
Gary CooperFrank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
),
Spawn of the NorthSpawn of the North is a 1938 film about rival fishermen in Alaska starring George Raft and featuring Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, and John Barrymore...
(1938; with Raft garnering top billing over
Henry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
and
John BarrymoreJohn Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
), two with
Humphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
:
Invisible StripesInvisible Stripes is a 1939 Warner Bros. crime film about a gangster unable to go straight after returning home from prison. The movie was directed by Lloyd Bacon and also features William Holden and Humphrey Bogart. The screenplay by Warren Duff was based on the novel of the same name by Warden...
(1939) and
They Drive by NightThey Drive by Night is a black-and-white film noir starring George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, and Humphrey Bogart, and directed by Raoul Walsh. The picture involves a pair of embattled truck drivers and was released in the UK under the title The Road to Frisco. The film was based on A. I...
(1940), with Bogart in supporting roles,
Each Dawn I DieEach Dawn I Die is a 1939 gangster film featuring James Cagney and George Raft in their only movie together as leads, although Raft had made an unbilled appearance in a 1932 Cagney vehicle called Taxi! in which he won a dance contest against Cagney, after which he and Cagney brawl...
(1939; with
James CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
and Raft as convicts in prison), and
ManpowerManpower is a 1941 film about power company linemen starring Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, and George Raft. The memorable posters for the movie proclaimed, "Robinson - He's mad about Dietrich. Dietrich - She's mad about Raft...
(1941; with
Edward G. RobinsonEdward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
and
Marlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
). Although Raft received third billing in Manpower, he played the lead.
Unexpected career decline
The years 1940 and 1941 proved to be Raft's career peak. He went into a gradual professional decline over the next decade, in part due to turning down some of the famous roles in movie history, notably
Raoul WalshRaoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
's High Sierra and
The Maltese FalconThe Maltese Falcon is a 1941 Warner Bros. film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and a remake of the 1931 film of the same name...
; both roles unexpectedly transformed
Humphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
from supporting player to a major force in Hollywood in 1941. Raft understandably chose
Raoul WalshRaoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
's Manpower over The Maltese Falcon because the latter film's director,
John HustonJohn Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
, had never directed before and a racier
pre-CodePre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
version of the filmThe Maltese Falcon is a 1931 American Warner Bros. Pre-Code crime film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The movie was directed by Roy Del Ruth and stars Bebe Daniels in the role of Ruth Wonderly and Ricardo Cortez as private detective Sam Spade.Maude Fulton, Brown Holmes,...
already existed. Raft was also reported to have turned down Bogart's role in
CasablancaCasablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
(1942), although according to some Warner Bros. memos, this story is supposedly
apocryphaThe term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
l.
Following the release of the espionage thriller
Background to DangerBackground to Danger is a 1943 film starring George Raft and featuring Brenda Marshall, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre. Based on the novel of the same title by Eric Ambler and set in Turkey , the screenplay was credited to W.R. Burnett, although William Faulkner also contributed, and the movie...
(1943), a film intended to capitalize on the success of
CasablancaCasablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, Raft demanded termination of his Warner Brothers contract. Jack Warner was prepared to pay Raft a $10,000 settlement, but the actor either misunderstood or was so eager to be free of the studio that it was he who gave Warner a check in that amount. Raft is widely believed to have been functionally illiterate, which could account for the confusion.
Raft's career as a leading man continued through the 1940s with films of gradually declining quality and his career spiraled steadily downward as a result until the iconic star was finally limited as a
box officeA box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
draw.
During the 1950s he was reduced to working as a greeter at the Capri Casino in Havana, Cuba, where he was part owner along with
Meyer LanskyMeyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States...
and
Santo TrafficanteSanto Trafficante, Jr. was one of the last of the old-time Mafia bosses in the United States. He allegedly controlled organized criminal operations in Florida and Cuba, which had previously been consolidated from several rival gangs by his father, Santo Trafficante, Sr...
. In 1953, Raft also starred as Lt. George Kirby in a syndicated television series police drama titled
I'm the LawI'm the Law is the title of a 30 minute syndicated American television police drama series which aired in 1953 starring George Raft as Lt. George Kirby, a NYPD detective involved in solving a variety of crimes in New York City....
, which ran for one season and was one of the earliest instances of a movie star of his previous calibre accepting the lead in a TV series. Raft wound up occasionally accepting supporting roles in movies, such as playing second fiddle to
Robert TaylorRobert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
in
Rogue CopRogue Cop is a film noir directed by Roy Rowland, based on the novel by William P. McGivern , and starring Robert Taylor, Janet Leigh, and George Raft.-Plot:...
(1954).
He satirized his gangster image with a well-received supporting performance in
Some Like it HotSome Like It Hot is an American comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft. The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film is a remake by Wilder and I....
(1959), but this did not lead to a comeback, and he spent the remainder of the decade making films in Europe. He played a small role as a casino owner in
Ocean's ElevenOcean's 11 is a 1960 heist film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring five Rat Packers: Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joey Bishop....
(1960) opposite the
Rat PackThe Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
. His final film appearances were in
SextetteSextette is a 1978 Crown International Pictures comedy/musical motion picture that starred Mae West. Other actors in the cast included Timothy Dalton, Dom DeLuise, Tony Curtis, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, George Hamilton, Alice Cooper and Walter Pidgeon....
(1978), reunited with
Mae WestMae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
in a cameo, and
The Man with Bogart's FaceThe Man with Bogart's Face is a 1980 comedy film, released by 20th Century Fox and based on a novel of the same name. Andrew J...
(1980).
Ray DantonRay Danton , also known as Raymond Danton, was a radio, film, stage, and television actor, director, and producer whose most famous role was The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond...
played Raft in
The George Raft StoryThe George Raft Story is a fictionalized 1961 movie biography of former top Hollywood film star George Raft. Ray Danton portrays Raft and the film was directed by Joseph M. Newman...
(1961), which co-starred
Jayne MansfieldJayne Mansfield was an American actress working both in Hollywood and on the Broadway theatre...
. Raft himself excoriated the movie's inaccuracies upon its release.
In the 1991 biographical movie
BugsyBugsy is a 1991 American crime-drama film which tells the story of mobster Bugsy Siegel. It stars Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna, Bebe Neuwirth, and Bill Graham....
, the character of George Raft was played by
Joe MantegnaJoseph Anthony "Joe" Mantegna, Jr. is an American actor, producer, writer,director, and voice actor. He is best known for his roles in box office hits such as Three Amigos , The Godfather Part III , Forget Paris , and Up Close & Personal...
.
Raft has two stars on the
Hollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
, for contributions to Motion Pictures at 6150 Hollywood Boulevard, and for Television at 1500 Vine St.
Personal life
Raft married Grayce Mulrooney, several years his senior, in 1923, long before his stardom. The pair separated soon thereafter, but Grayce, a devout Catholic, refused to grant Raft a divorce, and he remained married to and supported her until her death in 1970. A romantic figure in Hollywood, Raft had love affairs with
Betty GrableElizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
,
Marlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, and
Mae WestMae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
. He stated publicly that he wanted to marry
Norma ShearerEdith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
, with whom he had a long romance, but his wife's refusal to allow a divorce eventually caused Shearer to end the affair.
Raft is widely believed to have been unable to read or write and had his film scripts read to him.
In 1965, Raft was indicted for, and pled guilty to, income tax evasion and could have ended his life behind bars, but the court proved merciful when he wept before the judge, begging that he not be sent to prison, and he was sentenced to probation.
In 1967 he was denied entry into the United Kingdom (where he had been installed as Casino Director at a casino known as the "
Colony ClubThe Colony Sports Club was a London gambling casino operated by American Cosa Nostra mobsters Meyer Lansky and Philadelphia crime family boss Angelo Bruno, through front man George Raft,and low level English Gambler Alfred Salkin, who Cellini had met at another large London Casino,and was used as...
") due to his underworld associations.
Death
Raft died from
leukemiaLeukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
at age 79 in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, on November 24, 1980. Two days earlier,
Mae WestMae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
had died and their bodies were at one point alongside each other in the hallway of the same mortuary at the same time. Raft was interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Filmography
- Queen of the Night Clubs
Queen of the Night Clubs is a sound musical-drama film produced and directed by Bryan Foy and distributed by Warner Brothers. It is now considered a lost film.-Cast:*Texas Guinan - Texas Malone*John Davidson - Don Holland...
(1929) with Texas GuinanMary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan was an American saloon keeper, actress, and entrepreneur.-Early life:...
- Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929)
- Side Street
Side Street is a 1929 black-and-white talking movie featuring the only screen teaming of all three Moore Brothers , each of them major silent film stars. George Raft also makes an unbilled appearance as a professional dancer—which Raft was at the time—dancing to the song "Take a Look at Her Now",...
(1929) with Tom MooreThomas J. "Tom" Moore was an Irish-born American actor and director. He appeared in at least 186 motion pictures from 1908 to 1954...
, Owen MooreOwen Moore was an Irish-born actor in American films, appearing in more than 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937.-Life and career:...
, and Matt Moore (Raft unbilled dancer)
- Quick Millions
Quick Millions is a 1931 Pre-Code crime film directed by Rowland Brown. The film involves a truck driver and the wealthy woman that he covets, and also features George Raft and Leon Ames in supporting roles.-Cast:...
(1931) with Spencer TracySpencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
and Marguerite ChurchillMarguerite Churchill was an American movie actress with a film career spanning from 1929 to 1952.She was daughter of a producer who owned a chain of theaters but he died when she was ten years old. She was educated in New York at the Professional Children's School and the Theatre Guild Dramatic...
- Goldie
Goldie is a 1931 black-and-white comedy film about a woman named Goldie, portrayed by Jean Harlow, pursued by two sailors, played by Spencer Tracy and Warren Hymer. The movie was written by Paul Perez and Gene Towne, and directed by Benjamin Stoloff...
(1931) with Spencer TracySpencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
and Jean HarlowJean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
- Hush Money
Hush Money is a 1931 American comedy-drama film featuring Joan Bennett, Hardie Albright, Owen Moore, Myrna Loy, and George Raft. The movie was directed by Sidney Lanfield.-Cast:*Joan Bennett as Joan Gordon*Hardie Albright as Stuart Elliot...
(1931) with Joan BennettJoan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...
and Myrna LoyMyrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
- Palmy Days
Palmy Days is a 1931 musical comedy written by Eddie Cantor, Morrie Ryskind, and David Freedman, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, and choreographed by Busby Berkeley...
(1931) with Eddie CantorEddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
- Scarface (1932) with Paul Muni
Paul Muni was an Austrian-Hungarian-born American stage and film actor...
and Ann DvorakAnn Dvorak was an American film actress.Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told The Literary Digest: "My name is properly pronounced vor'shack. The D remains silent...
(Raft flips the nickel in his breakthrough role)
- Love Is a Racket
Love Is a Racket is a romantic comedy drama 1932 film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Ann Dvorak. The movie was written by Courtney Terrett from the novel by Rian James, and directed by William A. Wellman....
(1932) (scenes deleted)
- Madame Racketeer
Madame Racketeer is a 1932 film featuring Alison Skipworth, Richard Bennett, and George Raft. The movie was directed by Harry Wagstaff Gribble and Alexander Hall.-Cast:* Alison Skipworth as Countess/Martha Hicks* Richard Bennett as Elmer Hicks...
(1932) with Alison SkipworthAlison Skipworth was an English stage and screen actress. She was born Alison Mary Elliott Margaret Groom in London....
and Richard Bennett
- Night World
Night World is a pre-Code drama film featuring Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, and Boris Karloff.-Production background:The movie was directed by Hobart Henley and features an early Busby Berkeley music number, "Who's Your Little Who-Zis".-Plot:...
(1932) with Lew AyresLew Ayres was an American actor, best known for starring as Paul in All Quiet on the Western Front and for playing Dr...
, Mae ClarkeMae Clarke was an American actress most noted for playing Frankenstein's bride, chased by Boris Karloff in Frankenstein, and having a grapefruit smashed into her face by James Cagney in The Public Enemy, both released in 1931.-Early life and career:Clarke was born Violet Mary Klotz in...
, and Boris KarloffWilliam Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
- Dancers in the Dark
Dancers in the Dark is a 1932 film about a taxi dancer , a big band leader , and a gangster . The movie was written by Herman J...
(1932) with Miriam HopkinsEllen Miriam Hopkins was an American actress known for her versatility in a wide variety of roles.Hopkins was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Bainbridge, a town in the state's southwest near the Alabama border...
- Taxi!
Taxi! is a 1932 film starring James Cagney and Loretta Young. The movie was directed by Roy Del Ruth.-Plot:When a veteran cab driver, Pop Riley , refuses to be pressured into surrendering his prime soliciting location outside a cafe, wherein his daughter works, the old man's cab is intentionally...
(1932) with James CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
and Loretta YoungLoretta Young was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953...
- Winner Take All
Winner Take All is a 1932 film starring James Cagney, who had electrified the industry the previous year with his performances in The Public Enemy and Smart Money, as a boxer...
(1932) with James CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
- Night After Night (1932) with Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
as a fictionalized Texas GuinanMary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan was an American saloon keeper, actress, and entrepreneur.-Early life:...
(Raft's 1st leading role)
- Under Cover Man
Under Cover Man is a crime film starring George Raft and Nancy Carroll, and directed by James Flood. The movie was Raft's first or second leading role, along with Night After Night, released the same year.-Cast:* George Raft as Nick Darrow...
(1932) with Nancy CarrollNancy Carroll was an American actress.-Career:She was christened Ann Veronica Lahiff in New York City. Of Irish parentage, she and her sister once performed a dancing act in a local contest of amateur talent. This led her to a stage career and then to the screen. She began her acting career in...
- If I Had a Million
If I Had a Million is a Paramount Studios anthology film. There were seven directors: Ernst Lubitsch, Norman Taurog, Stephen Roberts, Norman Z. McLeod, James Cruze, William A. Seiter, and H. Bruce Humberstone...
(1932; Raft plays a man on Death Row)
- Pick-Up
Pick-Up is a 1933 crime film starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft. The movie was directed by Marion Gering.-Cast:*Sylvia Sidney as Mary Richards*George Raft as Harry Glynn*William Harrigan as Jim Richards*Lilian Bond as Muriel Stevens...
(1933) with Sylvia SidneySylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.-Early life:...
- The Bowery
The Bowery is a 1933 historical film about the Lower East Side of Manhattan at the turn of the century. The movie was directed by Raoul Walsh and features Wallace Beery as saloon owner Chuck Connors, George Raft as Steve Brodie, the first man to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge and live, Jackie Cooper...
(1933) with Wallace BeeryWallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
, Fay WrayFay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
, and Pert KeltonPert Kelton was an American vaudeville, movie, radio and television actress. She was the first actress who played Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason and was a prominent comedic supporting film actress in the 1930s...
(Raft 2nd billed)
- The Midnight Club
Midnight Club is a 1933 crime film about a gang of London jewel thieves infiltrated by an undercover agent . The movie was directed by Alexander Hall and George Somnes.This film is not related to the video game of the same name.-Cast:...
(1933) with Clive Brook (Raft 2nd billed)
- The Trumpet Blows
The Trumpet Blows is a film directed by Stephen Roberts, featuring George Raft as a Mexican matador, Adolphe Menjou as a retired bandito clearly based on Pancho Villa, and Frances Drake as Chulita, the woman they both want to marry....
(1934) with Adolphe MenjouAdolphe Jean Menjou was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies, appearing in such films as The Sheik, A Woman of Paris, Morocco, and A Star is Born...
- All of Me
All of Me is a 1934 drama film starring Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, and George Raft. The film was written by actor Thomas Mitchell and Sidney Buchman from Rose Porter's play Chrysalis, and directed by James Flood.-Cast:*Fredric March as Don Ellis...
(1934) with Fredric MarchFredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
and Miriam HopkinsEllen Miriam Hopkins was an American actress known for her versatility in a wide variety of roles.Hopkins was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Bainbridge, a town in the state's southwest near the Alabama border...
(Raft 3rd billed)
- Bolero
Bolero is a musical drama film starring George Raft and Carole Lombard. The movie was a rare chance for Raft to star and to play a dancer, which had been his profession in New York City, rather than a gangster. The film takes its title from the Maurice Ravel composition Boléro .-Plot:The film...
(1934) with Carole LombardCarole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
and Ray MillandRay Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
(besides Scarface, Raft's signature film)
- Limehouse Blues
Limehouse Blues is a world famous jazz standard , as well as a 1934 crime film is set in London's Chinese district and starring George Raft and Anna May Wong. The film is named after the tune...
(1934) with Anna May WongAnna May Wong was an American actress, the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American to become an international star...
- Every Night at Eight
Every Night at Eight is a 1935 American comedy musical film starring George Raft and Alice Faye and made by Walter Wanger Productions Inc. and Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Raoul Walsh and produced by Walter Wanger from a screenplay by C...
(1935) with Alice FayeAlice Faye was an American actress and singer, called by The New York Times "one of the few movie stars to walk away from stardom at the peak of her career." She is remembered first for her stardom at 20th Century Fox and, later, as the radio comedy partner of her husband, bandleader and comedian...
and Frances LangfordJulia Frances Langford was an American singer and entertainer who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and also made film appearances over two decades.-Birth:...
- The Glass Key
-Cast:*George Raft as Ed Beaumont*Edward Arnold as Paul Madvig*Claire Dodd as Janet Henry*Guinn Williams as Jeff*Ray Milland as Taylor Henry-External links:...
(1935) with Edward ArnoldEdward Arnold was an American actor. He was born on the Lower East Side of New York City as Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider, the son of German immigrants Carl Schneider and Elizabeth Ohse.-Acting career:...
- She Couldn't Take It
She Couldn't Take It is a 1935 comedy film made at Columbia Pictures, directed by Tay Garnett, written by C. Graham Baker, Gene Towne and Oliver H.P...
(1935) with Joan BennettJoan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...
- Stolen Harmony
Stolen Harmony is a 1935 film about a saxophone-player/dancer who joins a Big Band upon his release from jail. The movie climaxes with an exciting car chase and was directed by Alfred L...
(1935) with Lloyd NolanLloyd Benedict Nolan was an American film and television actor.-Biography:Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Margaret and James Nolan, who was a shoe manufacturer...
and William Cagney
- Rumba
Rumba is a 1935 musical drama film starring George Raft as a Cuban dancer and Carole Lombard as a Manhattan socialite. The movie was directed by Marion Gering and is considered an unsuccessful follow-up to Raft and Lombard's smash hit Bolero the previous year.-Cast:*George Raft as Joe Martin*Carole...
(1935) with Carole LombardCarole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
- Yours for the Asking
Yours for the Asking is a 1936 film starring George Raft as a casino owner and Dolores Costello as the socialite he hires as hostess. The movie also features Ida Lupino and was directed by Alexander Hall.-Cast:* George Raft as Johnny Lamb...
(1936) with Dolores CostelloDolores Costello was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen"...
and Ida LupinoIda Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
- It Had to Happen
It Had to Happen is a 1936 film starring George Raft and Rosalind Russell. The movie was written by Rupert Hughes, Kathryn Scola, and Howard Ellis Smith, and directed by Roy Del Ruth.-Cast:*George Raft as Enrico Scaffa...
(1936) with Rosalind RussellRosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
- Souls at Sea
Souls at Sea is a 1937 seafaring film starring Gary Cooper and George Raft. The movie features Frances Dee, Harry Carey, Robert Cummings, George Zucco, Joseph Schildkraut, Paul Fix, and Tully Marshall, and was directed by Henry Hathaway. The title of this film was spoofed in the Laurel and Hardy...
(1937) with Gary CooperFrank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
(Raft 2nd billed)
- You and Me (1938) with Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.-Early life:...
(with bizarre musical interludes by Kurt WeillKurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
)
- Spawn of the North
Spawn of the North is a 1938 film about rival fishermen in Alaska starring George Raft and featuring Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, and John Barrymore...
(1938) with Henry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
and John BarrymoreJohn Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
- I Stole a Million
I Stole a Million is a crime drama film starring George Raft as a cab driver and small-time crook who makes a big score and lives to regret it. The supporting cast includes Claire Trevor, Dick Foran, and Victor Jory...
(1939) with Claire TrevorClaire Trevor was an Academy Award-winning American actress. She was nicknamed the "Queen of Film Noir" because of her many appearances in "bad girl” roles in film noir and other black-and-white thrillers...
- The Lady's from Kentucky
The Lady's from Kentucky is a 1939 film starring George Raft and Ellen Drew. The movie was written by Malcolm Stuart Boylan from a story by Rowland Brown, and was directed by Alexander Hall. The screenplay involves a failing bookie who becomes half owner of a racehorse, with a Kentucky lady ...
(1939) with Ellen DrewEllen Drew was an American film actress.Born Esther Loretta Ray in Kansas City, Missouri, Drew worked various jobs and won a number of beauty contests before becoming an actress...
- Each Dawn I Die
Each Dawn I Die is a 1939 gangster film featuring James Cagney and George Raft in their only movie together as leads, although Raft had made an unbilled appearance in a 1932 Cagney vehicle called Taxi! in which he won a dance contest against Cagney, after which he and Cagney brawl...
(1939) with James CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
(Raft 2nd billed)
- The House Across the Bay
The House Across the Bay is a 1940 film directed by Archie Mayo, produced by Walter Wanger, written by Myles Connolly and Kathryn Scola, and released by United Artists. The picture involves a singer who waits for an imprisoned gangster to be released from Alcatraz, and also features Lloyd Nolan...
(1940) with Joan BennettJoan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...
- They Drive by Night
They Drive by Night is a black-and-white film noir starring George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, and Humphrey Bogart, and directed by Raoul Walsh. The picture involves a pair of embattled truck drivers and was released in the UK under the title The Road to Frisco. The film was based on A. I...
(1940) with Ann Sheridan-Life and career:Born Clara Lou Sheridan in Denton, Texas on February 21, 1915, she was a student at the University of North Texas when her sister sent a photograph of her to Paramount Pictures. She subsequently entered and won a beauty contest, with part of her prize being a bit part in a...
, Ida LupinoIda Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
, and Humphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
- Invisible Stripes
Invisible Stripes is a 1939 Warner Bros. crime film about a gangster unable to go straight after returning home from prison. The movie was directed by Lloyd Bacon and also features William Holden and Humphrey Bogart. The screenplay by Warren Duff was based on the novel of the same name by Warden...
(1940) with William HoldenWilliam Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
and Humphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
- Manpower
Manpower is a 1941 film about power company linemen starring Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, and George Raft. The memorable posters for the movie proclaimed, "Robinson - He's mad about Dietrich. Dietrich - She's mad about Raft...
(1941) with Edward G. RobinsonEdward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
and Marlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
(Raft 3rd billed but played the lead)
- Broadway
Broadway is a 1942 film about Broadway theatre with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Janet Blair, Broderick Crawford, Marjorie Rambeau, Anne Gwynne, and S.Z. Sakall. Raft plays himself, recalling an incident early in his pre-movie career as a dancer. The movie was directed by William A....
(1942) with Pat O'BrienPat O’Brien was an American film actor with more than one hundred screen credits.-Early life:O’Brien was born William Joseph Patrick O’Brien to an Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an altar boy at Gesu Church while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets...
and Broderick CrawfordBroderick Crawford was an Academy Award-winning American stage, film, radio and TV actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his starring role in the television series "Highway Patrol."-Early life:...
(Raft plays himself as a young B'way dancer)
- Background to Danger
Background to Danger is a 1943 film starring George Raft and featuring Brenda Marshall, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre. Based on the novel of the same title by Eric Ambler and set in Turkey , the screenplay was credited to W.R. Burnett, although William Faulkner also contributed, and the movie...
(1943) with Sydney GreenstreetSydney Hughes Greenstreet was an English actor. He is best known for his Warner Bros. films with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, which include The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca .-Biography:...
and Peter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
- Stage Door Canteen
Stage Door Canteen is a musical film produced by Sol Lesser Productions and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by Frank Borzage and features many cameo appearances by celebrities, and the majority of the film is essentially a filmed concert although there is also a storyline to the...
(1943) with an all-star cast
- Follow the Boys
Follow the Boys , also known as Three Cheers for the Boys, is a musical film made by Universal Pictures as an all-star cast morale booster to entertain the troops abroad and the civilians at home. The film was directed by A. Edward "Eddie" Sutherland and produced by Charles K. Feldman...
(1944) with Vera ZorinaVera Zorina was a Norwegian ballerina, musical theatre actress and choreographer.-Background:Vera Zorina was born Eva Brigitta Hartwig in Berlin, Germany. Her father Fritz was a German and her mother Billie Hartwig was Norwegian. Both were professional singers...
- Nob Hill
Nob Hill is a 1945 technicolor film about a Barbary Coast saloon keeper starring George Raft and Joan Bennett. Part musical and part drama, the movie was directed by Henry Hathaway.-Cast:*George Raft as Tony Angelo*Joan Bennett as Harriet Carruthers...
(1945) with Joan BennettJoan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...
- Johnny Angel
Johnny Angel is a film noir directed by Edwin L. Marin, written by Frank Gruber and Steve Fisher from the novel Mr. Angel Comes Aboard by Charles Gordon Booth. The movie features George Raft, Claire Trevor, Signe Hasso, and Hoagy Carmichael....
(1945) with Claire TrevorClaire Trevor was an Academy Award-winning American actress. She was nicknamed the "Queen of Film Noir" because of her many appearances in "bad girl” roles in film noir and other black-and-white thrillers...
and Hoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
- Whistle Stop (1946) with Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner was an American actress.She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers . She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day...
and Victor McLaglenVictor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was an English boxer and World War I veteran who became a successful film actor.Towards the end of his life he was naturalised as a U.S. citizen.-Early life:...
- Nocturne
Nocturne is a black-and-white film noir starring George Raft and Lynn Bari. The film was produced by longtime Alfred Hitchcock associate Joan Harrison, scripted by Jonathan Latimer, and directed by Edwin L. Marin.-Plot:...
(1946)
- Mr. Ace
Mr. Ace is a 1946 film about a society woman who taps a gangster for his political support. The movie was written by Fred F. Finkelhoffe and directed by Edwin L...
(1946) with Sylvia SidneySylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.-Early life:...
- Intrigue (1947) with June Havoc
June Havoc was a Canadian-born American actress, dancer, writer, and theater director. Havoc was a child Vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her mother. She later acted on Broadway and in Hollywood and stage directed . She last appeared on television in 1990 on General Hospital...
- Christmas Eve (1947) with George Brent
George Brent was an Irish film and television actor in American cinema.-Early life:He was born George Brendan Nolan in Raharabeg, County Roscommon on the opposite bank of the River Shannon from the town of Shannonbridge, County Offaly, Ireland, the son of a British Army officer.During the Irish...
, Randolph ScottRandolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
, and Joan BlondellRose Joan Blondell was an American actress who performed in movies and on television for five decades as Joan Blondell.After winning a beauty pageant, Blondell embarked upon a film career...
- Race Street
Race Street is an American crime film noir directed by Edwin L. Marin. The drama features George Raft, William Bendix and Marilyn Maxwell.-Cast:* George Raft as Daniel J. 'Dan' Gannin* William Bendix as Lt...
(1948) with William BendixWilliam Bendix was an American film, radio, and television actor, best remembered in movies for the title role in the movie The Babe Ruth Story and for portraying clumsily earnest aircraft plant worker Chester A. Riley in radio and television's The Life of Riley...
and Marilyn MaxwellMarilyn Maxwell , born Marvel Marilyn Maxwell, was an American actress and entertainer.Noted for her blonde hair and sexually alluring persona, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope.-Career:She...
- A Dangerous Profession
A Dangerous Profession is a 1949 American film noir directed by Ted Tetzlaff and written by Warren Duff and Martin Rackin. The drama features George Raft, Ella Raines, Pat O'Brien, among others.-Plot:...
(1949)
- Johnny Allegro (1949) with Nina Foch
Nina Foch was a Dutch-born American actress and leading lady in many 1940s and 1950s films.- Personal life :...
and Will GeerWill Geer was an American actor and social activist. His original name was William Aughe Ghere. He is remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series, The Waltons....
- Outpost in Morocco
Outpost in Morocco is a 1949 Drama directed by Robert Florey, starring George Raft and Marie Windsor. Paul Gerard , a Moroccan Spahi officer and his French Foreign Legion garrison, holds off attacks from the native tribes of the Emir of Bel-Rashad , the father of Cara , the woman he loves.As a...
(1949) with Marie WindsorMarie Windsor . Born as Emily Marie Bertelson in Marysvale, Piute County, Utah, Windsor was an actress known as "The Queen of the Bs" because she appeared in so many film noirs and B-movies like Cat-Women of the Moon...
and Akim TamiroffAkim Mikhailovich Tamiroff was an Armenian actor. He won the first Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.Tamiroff was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire , of Armenian ethnicity. He trained at the Moscow Art Theatre drama school. He arrived in the U.S. in 1923 on a tour with a troupe of actors...
- We Shall Go to Paris (1949)
- Red Light
Red Light is a 1949 film noir, directed and produced by Roy Del Ruth. It is based on the story "This Guy Gideon" by Don "Red" Barry, and features strong religious overtones.-Plot:...
(1949) with Virginia MayoVirginia Mayo was an American film actress.After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during the 1940s established herself as a supporting player in such films as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat .Mayo remained an A-list actress into the mid-'50s, but then went...
, Gene LockhartEugene "Gene" Lockhart was a Canadian character actor, singer, and playwright. He also wrote the lyrics to a number of popular songs.-Early life:...
, and Raymond BurrRaymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
- A Dangerous Profession
A Dangerous Profession is a 1949 American film noir directed by Ted Tetzlaff and written by Warren Duff and Martin Rackin. The drama features George Raft, Ella Raines, Pat O'Brien, among others.-Plot:...
(1949) with Ella RainesElla Wallace Raines was an American film and television actress.-Life and career:Born Ella Wallace Raubes near Snoqualmie Falls, Washington, Raines studied drama at the University of Washington and was appearing in a play there when she was seen by Howard Hawks...
, Pat O'BrienPat O’Brien was an American film actor with more than one hundred screen credits.-Early life:O’Brien was born William Joseph Patrick O’Brien to an Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an altar boy at Gesu Church while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets...
, and Jim BackusJames Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
- I'll Get You For This (1951; AKA "Lucky Nick Cain") with Coleen Gray
Coleen Gray is an American movie and television actress born in Staplehurst, Nebraska. She is known for her roles in the films Nightmare Alley , Red River , in which she played John Wayne's fiancée, and Stanley Kubrick's The Killing .-Early career:Born Doris Jensen, Gray was a farmer's daughter...
- Loan Shark (1952) with Dorothy Hart
Dorothy Hart was an American screen actress, known mostly for her supporting roles.-Background:Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she became a model in her late-teens, and was signed by Columbia in 1946. Her contract stipulated "A-movies only". Although considered one of the top supporting actresses of her...
- Dramma nella Kasbah (1953; AKA "The Man From Cairo")
- I'm the Law
I'm the Law is the title of a 30 minute syndicated American television police drama series which aired in 1953 starring George Raft as Lt. George Kirby, a NYPD detective involved in solving a variety of crimes in New York City....
(1954; 3-episode TV series)
- Black Widow
Black Widow is a 1954 mystery color film noir, written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson and starring Van Heflin, Ginger Rogers, Gene Tierney, and George Raft.-Plot:...
(1954) with Ginger RogersGinger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
, Van HeflinEmmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
, and Gene TierneyGene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
(Raft 4th billed)
- Rogue Cop
Rogue Cop is a film noir directed by Roy Rowland, based on the novel by William P. McGivern , and starring Robert Taylor, Janet Leigh, and George Raft.-Plot:...
(1954) with Robert TaylorRobert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
and Janet LeighJanet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
(Raft 3rd billed)
- A Bullet for Joey
A Bullet for Joey is a 1955 film noir starring Edward G. Robinson and George Raft-Critical Response:In his book, Film Noir, Detective and Mystery Movies on DVD, John Howard Reid considered the movie dull. Slow pace, one-dimensional characters, and an unconvincing climax plague the film....
(1955) with Edward G. RobinsonEdward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
(Raft 2nd billed)
- Around the World in 80 Days
Around the World in 80 Days is a 1956 adventure film produced by the Michael Todd Company and released by United Artists. It was directed by Michael Anderson. It was produced by Michael Todd, with Kevin McClory and William Cameron Menzies as associate producers. The screenplay was written by James...
(1956) with David NivenJames David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
and Marlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
(Raft cameo)
- Jet Over the Atlantic
Jet Over the Atlantic is a 1959 film directed by Byron Haskin and starring Guy Madison, Virginia Mayo, and George Raft.-Cast:*Guy Madison as Brett Murphy*Virginia Mayo as Jean Gurney*George Raft as Stafford*Ilona Massey as Mme. Galli-Cazetti...
(1959) with Guy MadisonGuy Madison was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Robert Ozell Moseley in Pumpkin Center, California, Madison attended Bakersfield College, a junior college, for two years and then worked briefly as a telephone lineman before joining the United States Coast Guard in...
and Virginia MayoVirginia Mayo was an American film actress.After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during the 1940s established herself as a supporting player in such films as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat .Mayo remained an A-list actress into the mid-'50s, but then went...
(Raft 3rd billed)
- Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot is an American comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft. The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film is a remake by Wilder and I....
(1959) with Marilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, Tony CurtisTony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
, and Jack LemmonJohn Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
(Raft 4th billed)
- Ocean's Eleven
Ocean's 11 is a 1960 heist film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring five Rat Packers: Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joey Bishop....
(1960) with the Rat PackThe Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
(Frank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Dean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, Sammy Davis, Jr.Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
, Peter LawfordPeter Sydney Ernest Aylen , better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor.He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to US President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting...
, and Joey BishopJoey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
)
- The Ladies Man
The Ladies Man is a 1961 American comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on June 28, 1961 by Paramount.-Plot:...
(1961) with Jerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
(Raft cameo)
- For Those Who Think Young
For Those Who Think Young is a 1964 beach party film directed by Leslie H. Martinson and featuring James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, Paul Lynde, Tina Louise, Bob Denver, Robert Middleton, and Woody Woodbury.-Plot:...
(1964)
- The Patsy (1964)
- The Upper Hand (1966) with Jean Gabin
-Biography:Born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, he grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise département, about 22 mi north of Paris. The son of cabaret entertainers, he attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly...
(Raft 2nd billed)
- Five Golden Dragons
Five Golden Dragons is a 1967 action film directed by Jeremy Summers and starring Robert Cummings. -Cast:* Robert Cummings - Bob Mitchell* Margaret Lee - Magda* Rupert Davies - Comm...
(1967) with Robert CummingsCharles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings , mostly known professionally as Robert Cummings but sometimes as Bob Cummings, was an American film and television actor....
and Klaus KinskiKlaus Kinski, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski , was a German actor. He appeared in more than 130 films, and is perhaps best-remembered as a leading role actor in Werner Herzog films: Aguirre, the Wrath of God , Nosferatu the Vampyre , Woyzeck , Fitzcarraldo and Cobra Verde .-Early...
- Casino Royale
Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...
(1967)
- Skidoo
Skidoo is an American comedy film directed by Otto Preminger, starring Jackie Gleason and Carol Channing, written by Doran William Cannon and released by Paramount Pictures on December 19, 1968...
(1968) with Jackie GleasonJackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
and Groucho MarxJulius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
- Madigan's Millions
Madigan's Millions , is a 1968 Italian-Spanish movie directed by Stanley Prager and produced by Sidney W. Pink....
(1968)
- Hammersmith Is Out
Hammersmith Is Out is a 1972 comedy film based on the legend of Faust. It is directed by Peter Ustinov, who starred in the film alongside Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Beau Bridges, Leon Ames, and George Raft.-Plot:...
(1972) with Elizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Richard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
, and Peter UstinovPeter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
- Deadhead Miles (1972)
- Sextette
Sextette is a 1978 Crown International Pictures comedy/musical motion picture that starred Mae West. Other actors in the cast included Timothy Dalton, Dom DeLuise, Tony Curtis, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, George Hamilton, Alice Cooper and Walter Pidgeon....
(1978) with Mae WestMae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
and Timothy DaltonTimothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
(Raft cameo)
- The Man with Bogart's Face
The Man with Bogart's Face is a 1980 comedy film, released by 20th Century Fox and based on a novel of the same name. Andrew J...
(1980)
Short Subjects:
- Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933
-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
)
- Hollywood on Parade No. B-5 (1933)
- Hollywood on Parade No. B-8 (1934
-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
)
- The Fashion Side of Hollywood (1935
-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
)
- Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 4 (1938
The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
)
- Meet the Stars #6: Stars at Play (1941
The year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
)
- Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2 (1941)
- Hollywood Park (1946
The year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
)
- Screen Snapshots: Vacation at Del Mar (1949
The year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
)
Footnotes
- 1900 United States Federal Census, Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll T623_1109; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 642.
- 1910; Census Place: Manhattan Ward 12, New York, New York; Roll T624_1025; Page: 19A; Enumeration District: 668; Image: 1104
- Ancestry.com. New York City Births, 1891-1902 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
- New York City Grooms Index, http://www.italiangen.org/NYCmarriageresults.asp?kind=exact&Esurname=ranft&Efirst=&CertNbr=&StartYear=&EndYear=&B1=Submit.
- New York City Birth Index, familysearch.org, https://beta.familysearch.org/s/recordDetails/show?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fpilot.familysearch.org%2Frecords%2Ftrk%3A%2Ffsrs%2Frr_655994601%2Fp1&hash=MPAfKvgWGXfZ5STyuqUCQxOVNk8%253D.
- Social Security Death Index, Ancestry.com.
Further reading
- Beaver, Jim
James Norman "Jim" Beaver, Jr. is an American stage, film, and television actor, playwright, screenwriter, and film historian...
. George Raft. Films in Review, April, 1978.
- Lewis, Brad. Hollywood's Celebrity Gangster. The Incredible Life and Times of Mickey Cohen. Enigma Books: New York, 2007. ISBN 978-1-929631-65-0.
- Parish, James Robert. The George Raft File: The Unauthorized Biography. New York: Drake Publishers, 1973. ISBN 0877495203.
- Wallace, Stone. George Raft-The Man Who Would Be Bogart. Albany: BearManor Media, 2008. ISBN 1-59393-123-9.
- Yablonsky, Lewis. George Raft. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1974. ISBN 0070722358.
External links