Photo: Nat Dallinger / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Nicholas Ray is one of those directors who Hollywood half-broke and the French New Wave had to rescue from obscurity — Godard and Truffaut practically canonized him while American studios were still treating him like a difficult employee. Born in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1911, he came up through theater under Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin fellowship and left-wing political circles, and that restless, anti-establishment energy bleeds into every frame he shot. Rebel Without a Cause alone would be enough to cement a legacy — the way he captured James Dean's raw anguish against the cool artifice of 1950s suburbia is still stunning — but In a Lonely Place and Johnny Guitar show just how deep his range ran. He burned bright and burned out, dying in 1979, but the films endure as genuinely personal works in an era when that was nearly impossible.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Nicholas Ray
- Name (Japanese)
- ニコラス・レイ
- Reading
- にこらす・れい
- Born
- August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Boar
- Origin
- La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States
- Occupation
- film director / screenwriter / actor / director
2. Background
- High school
- Lincoln Park High School
- University
- University of Chicago
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Nicholas Ray born?
August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979.
Where is Nicholas Ray from?
Nicholas Ray is from La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States.
What does Nicholas Ray do?
Nicholas Ray works as film director, screenwriter, actor, director.
Film director — see all → · Screenwriter — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.