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Job Actor
Years active 1929-1978
Top Roles Joe Dennis, Tony Angelo, Dancer, Joe Barton, William Kenny
Top Genres Drama, Crime, Comedy, Film Noir, Musical, Romance
Top Topics Pre-Code Cinema, Romance (Comic), Book-Based, Gangsters, Money
Top Collaborators Al Hill, Irving Bacon, Matt McHugh, Dennis O'Keefe, Roy Del Ruth (Director), Tom Kennedy, William B. Davidson, Roscoe Karns
Also Born on September 26
Also Born in 1901
Also Born in New York
Also a Libra

George Raft Overview:

Legendary actor, George Raft, was born George Ranft on Sep 26, 1901 in New York City, NY. Raft died at the age of 79 on Nov 24, 1980 in Los Angeles, CA and was laid to rest in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery (Hollywood Hills) in Los Angeles, CA.

MINI BIO:

Silken-smooth, narrow-eyed, rather menacing American actor who slipped from a somewhat dubious background as consort of criminals and nightclub dancers to portray criminals and dancers on screen. Dark hair slicked down, he glided lizard-like through both guises, but it was gangster roles that won him most public favor and he played thriller leads until he was 60. Died from leukemia.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Stars).

HONORS and AWARDS:

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He was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the categories of Motion Pictures and Television. George Raft's handprints and footprints were 'set in stone' at Grauman's Chinese Theater during imprint ceremony #53 on Mar 25, 1940. Raft was never nominated for an Academy Award.

George Raft BlogHub Articles:

TCM Summer Under the Stars: Day Twenty-Four — George Raft

Hard-boiled on screen and off. George Raft was the essence of the 1930s cinema gangster – calculating, ruthless, and always handy with a gat. Off-screen, he led a life that often mirrored his big-screen persona, rubbing shoulders with such real-life mobsters as Bugsy Siegel and Owney Madden and on... Read full article


Background to Danger (1943) with George Raft and Peter Lorre

... Read full article


Book Look! George Raft: The Man Who Would Be Bogart by Stone Wallace

Book Look! George Raft: The Man Who Would Be Bogart by Stone Wallace This is a short and sweet - but highly informative - biography about forgotten Hollywood star George Raft. Just as an aside, I'd like to mention that after having read this biography of Raft, I now have a dangerously inappr... Read full article


The Gentleman Gangster: Stone Wallace on George Raft – Part 2

This is part two of an interview I completed with George Raft biographer, Stone Wallace. For part one, click here. For everyone else, enjoy: Emma: How did Raft get into film acting? Did he have any training before beginning acting or was he simply a natural performer? Stone: George was fr... Read full article


The Gentleman Gangster: Stone Wallace on George Raft – Part 2

This is part two of an interview I completed with George Raft biographer, Stone Wallace. For part one, click here. For everyone else, enjoy: Emma: How did Raft get into film acting? Did he have any training before beginning acting or was he simply a natural performer? Stone: George was fr... Read full article


See More George Raft Articles

George Raft Quotes:

Cliff Taylor: What's the matter
Peggy: Nothing.
Cliff Taylor: Oh, you're just crying to make sure you haven't forgotten how.

Marty Black: [shooting craps] It only takes 17 straight passes to make a million.

Cassie Hartley: I'll pay you back.
Joe Fabrini: Yeah, I'm real worried about that. I've got it all doped out with the cops if you don't

Superintendent: I'll see to it you never work for another cab company in this town.
Joe Lourik, alias Joe Harris: Don't bother. I'll see to it.

Joe Lane: Black, I'll give you $7,500 cash for your half of the horse.
Marty Black: You're just 32 and four-fifths seconds late.
See more quotes from George Raft...
George Raft Facts
Theft of $3150 worth of jewelry and clothing from Beverly Hills home at 1218 Coldwater Canyon Road reported May 10, 1939.

Banned from entering Britain in 1966 because of his alleged Mafia connections.

There has been much debate over when George was born. Although most sources and articles claim his birth year as 1895, including his gravestone, New York census reports suggest Mr. Raft was born in 1901.

Interred at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, California, USA, in the Court of Remembrance.

The "Hell's Kitchen" set built for George in 'Invisible Stripes' was an exact replica of Raft's own New York birthplace.

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