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George Raft

December 29, 2022

George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901[1][2][3] – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembered for his gangster roles in Quick Millions (1931) with Spencer Tracy, Scarface (1932) with Paul Muni, Each Dawn I Die (1939) with James Cagney, Invisible Stripes (1939) with Humphrey Bogart, Billy Wilder's comedy Some Like It Hot (1959) with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon, and as a dancer in Bolero (1934) with Carole Lombard and a truck driver in They Drive by Night (1940) with Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino and Bogart.[4]

George Raft
Born
George Ranft

(1901-09-26)September 26, 1901
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, U.S.
DiedNovember 24, 1980(1980-11-24) (aged 79)
Los Angeles, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • dancer
  • film producer
Years active1924–1980
Spouse
Grace Mulrooney
​
​
(m. 1923; died 1970)​

Raft said he never regarded himself as an actor. "I wanted to be me," he said.[5]

Early life and career

George Raft was born in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, to a family of German descent,[6] the son of Eva (née Glockner), a German immigrant, and Conrad Ranft, who was born in Massachusetts to German immigrant parents.[7] His parents were married on November 17, 1895 in Manhattan. Raft's older sister Eva, known as Katie, was born on April 18, 1896. Raft's grandfather had emigrated from Germany and worked on merry-go-rounds and prospected for gold. His father worked in carnivals before settling in New York.[8]

Most obituaries cited Raft's year of birth as 1895, which he stated was correct when he appeared on The Mike Douglas Show seven months prior to his death.[9] However, Raft is recorded in the New York City Birth Index as having been born on September 26, 1901 in Manhattan as "George Rauft" (although "Rauft" is likely a mistranscription of "Ranft").[10] The 1900 census for New York City lists his sister Katie as his parents' only child, with two children born and only one living.[11] In the 1910 census, he is listed as eight years old.[7][12]

Raft grew up on 41st Street and worked as an errand boy and a fishwrapper after school. His parents sent him to live at his grandparents' house on 164th Street. He left school at the age of 12, and left home at 13. He worked as an apprentice electrician for a year, then boxed professionally for two years beginning at the age of 15. As Dutch Rauft, he fought 14 bouts, with nine victories, three defeats and two draws.[13][14] Another account says that Raft fought 25 bouts and was knocked out seven times.[15]

Raft played minor-league baseball, reportedly with Springfield of the Eastern League, as a utility outfielder with pitching aspirations. However, his batting was poor and he was dropped.[16][17][18]

"I was just trying to find something that I liked that would make me a living," said Raft later. "I saw guys fighting, so I fought. I saw guys playing ball, so I played ball. Then I saw guys dancing... and getting paid for it!"[13]

Career as a dancer

Raft's mother taught him how to dance, and he danced at outdoor amusement parks and carnivals with his parents.[19] Following his baseball career, he began working as a taxi dancer in the poorer sections of New York. At first he struggled financially, but then he won a Charleston competition and was launched professionally.

Raft started performing exhibition dances in the afternoon at Healy's, Murray's, Rectors and Churchills in New York.[20] He then started working in New York City nightclubs, often in the same venues as did Rudolph Valentino before Valentino became a film actor.[21] Raft had a notable collaboration with Elsie Pilcer.[22] A May 1924 review in Variety called him "gifted."[23]

"I could have been the first X-rated dancer," he said later. "I was very erotic. I used to caress myself as I danced. I never felt I was a great dancer. I was more of a stylist, unique. I was never a Fred Astaire or a Gene Kelly, but I was sensuous."[24]

Raft went on tour as a dancer and helped popularize the tango in Paris, Vienna, Rome, London and New York.[13] He had a great success as a dancer in London in 1926, and the Duke of Windsor was "an ardent fan and supporter."[25] Fred Astaire, in his autobiography Steps in Time (1959), wrote that Raft was a lightning-fast dancer and did "the fastest Charleston I ever saw."[26] A September 1926 edition of Variety spoke of Raft's reputation as "the best Charleston dancer in New York."[27]

During this time, Raft befriended a number of gangsters, including Enoch Johnson and Larry Fay, and he would occasionally drive for Owney Madden.[28] A boyhood friend of gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, and later a "wheel man" for the mob, Raft acknowledged having narrowly avoided a life of crime.[29]

Broadway

Raft became part of the stage act of flamboyant speakeasy and nightclub hostess Texas Guinan at the 300 Club, and he also produced some of her shows.[14]

His success led him to Broadway, where he again worked as a dancer.[13] His stage performances included The City Chap (October 1925) (with music by Jerome Kern),[30] Gay Paree, Madhattan, Palm Beach Nights (also known as No Foolin') and Padlocks of 1927 (1927). He was called "the fastest Charleston dancer."[31]

Raft later starred in the film Broadway (1942), a fictionalized account of his life when he was working the Paramount-Publix circuit and performing in stage shows that were presented before movies.[citation needed]

Los Angeles and early films

Owney Madden told Raft that he should be in motion pictures, and Raft decided to try to break into film acting after being threatened by the husband of a woman whom he had been seeing.[13][32] In 1927, Raft relocated to Hollywood, where he first danced in clubs to pay the bills.[13]

In October 1928, Raft appeared in a stage show presented by Texas Guinan called Night Club. The Los Angeles Times said Raft "scores a tremendous individual hit."[33] Variety wrote that Raft appeared at the climax when he "came to the front and did his eccentric dance routine, which he climaxed with the hottest black bottom ever. He goaled the audience, being the big punch of the show."[34]

Film debut

Raft's screen debut was in Queen of the Night Clubs starring Guinan, who insisted Raft have a small role. Although Raft's scenes were cut, a Variety review said "...a nite club scene introduces George Raft, the hot stepper, as the m. c. and band leader, being brought down for one of his rip-snorting hoofing specialties."[35][36] Raft also appeared in stage shows supporting the film. One reviewer called him "a clever dancer".[37] Queen of the Night Clubs is considered a lost film.

Raft followed this with small roles in Gold Diggers of Broadway and Side Street. His dancing skills were noticed by director Rowland Brown, who cast him in a substantial supporting gangster role as Spencer Tracy's character's sidekick in Quick Millions (1931).[14] Raft's appearances in these films were followed by Goldie with Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow, Hush Money with Joan Bennett, and the Eddie Cantor musical Palmy Days.

In Taxi! (1932), starring James Cagney and Loretta Young, Raft had a colorful unbilled dancing role as Cagney's competitor in a dance contest, who wins only to be knocked down by Cagney. He was third-billed in an extremely large role as a gangster in Dancers in the Dark (1932), below Miriam Hopkins as a dancer and Jack Oakie as a bandleader.

Scarface

Raft's big break came when cast as the second lead, alongside Paul Muni as Tony Camonte, in Howard Hawks's Scarface. In the film, he plays second-in-command Guino Rinaldo, who falls in love with Camonte's sister and is murdered by him. Raft's performance is notable for his character's habit of flipping a coin, which became an iconic trope in gangster films; while others claimed credit for the mannerism, writer W.R. Burnett confirmed that it was Raft who invented it. Burnett said: "He realized he wasn't a good actor, which he wasn't. But he knew if he reacted to what other people said, he was effective."[38] Scarface was filmed in September 1931, but it was not released by United Artists until the following year. It became a hit and made Raft a star. He said: "That was the big one. People remembered me. I was getting real fan mail – by the bushel basket – and even a dumb kid from 10th Avenue could figure out how to translate that into money."[13]

After filming Scarface, Raft made Night World (1932) at Universal, supporting Lew Ayres, and Love Is a Racket, directed by William Wellman, although all of Raft's scenes were eventually cut.

Paramount

Raft signed a contract with Paramount in March 1932.[39][40] The following month, he was cast in a supporting role in Madame Racketeer (1932), and contemporary reports referred to his "menacing suavity."[41] He was announced for Ladies of the Big House with Sylvia Sidney and Gene Raymond.[42]

Night After Night (1932)

When Scarface was released, public response was so strong that Raft was offered the lead role in a film based on a story by Louis Bromfeld, originally titled Number 55[43] and then changed to Night After Night (1932).[44] When the studio adamantly refused to hire Texas Guinan, upon whom one of the film's characters is based, because of her age, Raft advocated for his friend Mae West to be cast in a supporting role in his first film as leading man. Almost half a century later, Raft and West would die within two days of each other and their bodies would be momentarily placed together on stretchers in a hallway of the same morgue.

Raft was one of several Paramount stars who appeared in the episodic comedy/drama If I Had a Million (1932), playing a forger hiding from police who is suddenly given a million dollars with no place to cash the check. He starred in Under-Cover Man (1932) and was announced for Bodyguard, which was never made.[45] He next appeared in Pick Up (1933). At the time, Raft told Variety:

I don't know what I do, but it's not acting. It's me. Supposing I'm supposed to hate a guy. Then I think of somebody I hate and visualize him instead of the actor. Same way when I'm supposed to be in love with the heroine. I think of a girl I could be crazy about and though I'm saying to the actress "I love you, darling", all the time I keep thinking of the other party.[46]

First suspension

Raft refused to appear in The Story of Temple Drake (1933) with Miriam Hopkins, as he did not want to play a sadist. He was replaced by Jack La Rue, who had been originally cast for Raft's role in Scarface.[47] Raft was placed on suspension in February.[48]

He said: "It's not that I mind being the guy on the wrong side of the law. But I won't take a role that's pure heel. The character has to have some ray of warmth, some redeeming quality – or it just isn't real."[13]

The Story of Temple Drake performed poorly at the box office and was believed to have hurt La Rue's career.[20] Raft was removed from suspension in April 1933,[49] and he returned to Hollywood to appear in Midnight Club (1933), set in London.

The Bowery (1933)

Raft was borrowed by Twentieth Century Pictures, a new production company established by Darryl F. Zanuck (former head of production at Warner Bros.). He appeared in the studio's first film, Raoul Walsh's highly popular and energetic period piece The Bowery, as Steve Brodie, supposedly the first man to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge and survive. Raft plays the second lead to Wallace Beery as a flamboyant saloon owner who competes with Raft for Fay Wray's character as well as Pert Kelton as a singer/dancer.

Back at Paramount, Raft supported Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins in All of Me (1934), which was not popular. Zanuck wanted him for Blood Money, but Raft was too busy at Paramount.[50]

Bolero (1934)

Raft was meant to appear in It's a Pleasure to Lose, based on the life of Nick the Greek, but instead was slated to star in Bolero (1934), playing a dancer with Carole Lombard. Raft initially refused the film until it was re-written, and the studio suspended him, but Raft eventually made the film, which became a great success.[20][51] The New York Times wrote: "Raft is a vivid and pictorially interesting type, rather than an actor in the technical sense, and consequently he proves unequal to the full implications of the fame-hungry dancer. The exterior attractiveness which Mr. Raft brings to the rôle gives 'Bolero' considerable color, nevertheless."[52]

In March 1934, Raft was suspended a second time for having refused the male lead in Mae West's It Ain't No Sin (later changed to Belle of the Nineties) because his part was subordinate to West's.[53][54] In May 1934, Raft signed a new contract with Paramount to reflect his star status.[55]

Raft next appeared in The Trumpet Blows (1934), playing a matador. The fim was an attempt to invoke Valentino's Blood and Sand, and for a time, Raft was promoted as a "second Valentino."[56] Raft walked out on the film unhappy with his role, but later returned after re-writes were made. The film was a box-office disappointment.[57]

Raft then starred in Limehouse Blues (1934) with Anna May Wong. In February 1934, he admitted to having been involved in three fights during his career as a dancer and actor, including one in which he hit the producer of Bolero.[58] In August 1934, Raft was involved in a brawl at the Hollywood Brown Derby.[59] At the end of 1934, Raft was listed in a survey of theater managers as among Paramount's secondary tier of stars "if properly cast."[60]

In Rumba (1935), Raft was reunited with Lombard. He also starred in Stolen Harmony (1935) and was slated to appear in Gambler's Maxim from a story by James Edward Grant, but the film was not made.[61]

The Glass Key (1935)

Raft starred in a brutal and fast-paced adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's The Glass Key (1935). He tried a comedy, Every Night at Eight (1935), and was borrowed by Columbia Pictures to appear in She Couldn't Take It (1935), a comedy in the vein of It Happened One Night (1934). He then was borrowed by 20th Century-Fox for It Had to Happen (1936) and starred in Paramount's Yours for the Asking (1936).

Raft was meant to team with Lombard for a third time in The Princess Comes Across (1936), but refused to make the film as he was unhappy with the choice of cameraman. He was replaced by Fred MacMurray and was suspended again in February 1936.[62] He was scheduled to star in You and Me, the directorial debut of Norman Krasna, but he refused to work for a first-time director.[63] Raft was put on suspension and $24,000 of his salary was withheld.[64] In October 1936, he reconciled with Paramount and the studio returned his $24,000.[65]

Souls at Sea (1937)

Raft was offered a part opposite the studio's top male star Gary Cooper in Souls at Sea (1937), directed by Henry Hathaway. Raft originally turned it down as his character was a coward, leaving Paramount and his $4,000-per-week contract in November 1936, though the contract still had two years remaining. Samuel Goldwyn wanted Raft for the film version of Dead End and Universal, David O. Selznick and 20th Century Fox were keen on using Raft. Lloyd Nolan was announced as Raft's replacement in Souls at Sea.[66] Raft was discussing a three-films-per-year deal with United Artists for three years, to start with Dead End.[67] However, Raft agreed to return to Paramount and Souls at Sea when his part was re-written to be more sympathetic.[68] Souls at Sea was a great hit, and in 1937 Raft was the third-highest-paid star in Hollywood (behind Cooper and Warner Baxter), earning $202,666.[13] In May 1937, Raft reportedly tested for the role of Rhett Butler for the film Gone with the Wind.[69]

Paramount announced Raft for Millions for Defense with Ray Milland and Frances Farmer, a film about the Barbary War, but the picture was not made.[70] Instead, Raft appeared with Sylvia Sidney in Fritz Lang's drama You and Me (1938), and was next reunited with Hathaway to star in another adventure story, Spawn of the North (1938), with Henry Fonda and John Barrymore playing supporting roles.

Raft was announced for the films The World Applauds and Two-Time Loser.[71]

Paramount wanted Raft to appear in St. Louis Blues, but he refused and was replaced by Lloyd Nolan.[72] "Raft is Hollywood's authority on walk outs," wrote one columnist.[57] He was suspended again, then allowed to do a comedy, The Lady's from Kentucky (1939). In January 1939, he refused to make The Magnificent Fraud and was again replaced by Nolan. Raft's contract was meant to last until February of that year, but Paramount ended it prematurely.[39]

Warner Bros: 1939–1943

 
William Holden and Raft in Invisible Stripes (1939)

Raft received an offer from Warner Bros. to appear opposite James Cagney in a prison film titled Each Dawn I Die (1939); the film was a great success and Warner Bros. offered Raft a long-term contract in July 1939 at three films per year. He next appeared in I Stole a Million (1939) for Universal. [73][74]

Hal Wallis later wrote that "Our association with Raft was a constant struggle from start to finish. Hypersensitive to public accusations of underworld connections, he flatly refused to play the heavy in any film... Time and time again we offered him gangster parts and time and time again he turned them down."[75]

Raft was slated to appear in a remake of The Patent Leather Kid, one of his favorite films,[76] and a John Dillinger film with Cagney, but both projects were canceled.[77] He was assigned to Invisible Stripes (1939) with William Holden, Jane Bryan and Humphrey Bogart. Raft was borrowed by Walter Wanger to play a gangster in The House Across the Bay (1940), which was a flop. He was cast in City for Conquest (1940), but declined the role and was replaced by Anthony Quinn.[78]

Raft was scheduled to appear in Star of Africa[79] and declined a role in The Dealer's Name Was George, but neither film was made.[80]

In Raoul Walsh's trucking melodrama They Drive by Night (1940), Raft played the lead, with Ann Sheridan as Raft's leading lady, Humphrey Bogart in a supporting role as his brother, and Ida Lupino as a ravishing young beauty relentlessly pursuing Raft. In July 1940, Raft reprised his vaudeville act.[81]

In August 1940, Raft declined the lead role in South of Suez (1940) and was replaced by George Brent.[82] He was again placed on suspension, but was intended to appear in The Sea Wolf (1941) after the suspension period. However, Raft did not like the role and was suspended again,[83] with John Garfield taking his place.[84] MGM intended to borrow Raft to costar with Norma Shearer in The World We Make,[85] but the film was never made.[citation needed]

Raft also declined the leads in High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon (1941), and both roles were played by Bogart, catapulting Bogart's career. Raft instead made Manpower (1941) with Edward G. Robinson and Marlene Dietrich. Robinson recalled Raft as "touchy, difficult and thoroughly impossible to play with."[86] During filming, Raft and Robinson came to blows, with photographs splashed across newspapers.

Raft next rejected the lead role in All Through the Night (1942), refusing to appear on the first day of filming because he did not want to play a heel,[87] and Bogart once again replaced him. Raft was unable to accept Fox's offer to appear in To the Shores of Tripoli (1942).[88]

Raft wanted to appear in Universal's film version of the musical Broadway (1942), but Jack Warner refused to loan him, so Raft spent eight months on suspension without pay. However, Warner Bros. could only maintain the suspension while making films that Raft declined, and the studio eventually ran out of such films, forcing them to resume paying him, and they eventually agreed to let him make Broadway, playing a fictionalized version of himself as a young dancer named George Raft.[89]

Raft said that he paid $27,500 of his own money so that Warner Bros. could borrow Robert Cummings from Universal for another film.[90] Raft was reported to have turned down Bogart's role in Casablanca (1942), although according to some Warner Bros. memos, this story is apocryphal. Raft was discussed as a possibility for the lead at one stage, as was Ronald Reagan, but was never offered it.[91]

Raft was one of many Warner Bros. stars who appeared in United Artists' Stage Door Canteen (1943). He finally returned to filming at Warner Bros. with the espionage thriller Background to Danger (1943), a film intended to capitalize on the success of Casablanca.[5] In November 1942, Raft bought himself out of his Warner Bros. contract in order to appear in Hell's Kitchen, a story of his life, on stage,[92] but the play never materialized.[citation needed]

 
Judy Canova and Raft in 1979

Freelance star and producer

Raft's career as a freelance actor initially began well. He toured the U.S., England and Africa performing for the troops from January through March 1944.[93] In March 1943, he was voted the sixth-most-popular star among African-American movie audiences; Variety said: "Raft has always been a prime favorite with the Negro filmgoer."[94] His price as a guest star on radio was $1,500-$2,500.[95] Raft declined the lead role in Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944). Wilder later said "We knew then that we'd have a good picture"[96] and Raft later admitted that "I wasn't very intelligent then."[5] Raft's first film after leaving Warner Bros. was the 1944 Universal musical Follow the Boys (1944), which featured a number of Universal's stars in a guest spots and Raft in the lead. It achieved a healthy gross. 20th Century Fox hired him to a contract so that he could appear in Henry Hathaway's hit musical Nob Hill (1945), replacing Fred MacMurray.[97]

Edwin Marin

 
Whistle Stop (1946) with Ava Gardner

Raft next appeared in director Edwin Marin's Johnny Angel (1945) for RKO,[98] an unexpected hit that realized a profit of more than a million dollars.[99] He next appeared in the popular Whistle Stop (1946), a United Artists melodrama that offered a good early role to Ava Gardner. Mr. Ace (1946), with Sylvia Sidney and director Marin for producer Benedict Bogeaus, was a flop, but it did lead to a rather successful radio series starring Raft entitled The Cases of Mr. Ace (1947).[citation needed]

In 1946, Raft earned a reported $108,000 for the year.[100] He created his own production company, Star Films, with Sam Bischoff as president, and planned to make three films in two years for $3.5 million.[101] He and Marin returned to RKO to make the popular film noir Nocturne (1946), produced by Joan Harrison.

Raft's next three films were all directed by Marin: Christmas Eve (1947) at United Artists for Bogeaus, a box-office disappointment, Intrigue (1947) at United Artists for Star Films and Race Street (1948) at RKO.

In June 1947, Raft received bad publicity when his friend, the Las Vegas mobster Bugsy Siegel, was murdered.[102] However, the following year, Hedda Hopper wrote that Raft was "going stronger than ever today" adding that "he has made millions, but hasn't got 'em due to a fondness for gambling and a loyalty to helping old friends."[103]

Decline as a star

Star Film's second film was Outpost in Morocco (1949), a story of the French Foreign Legion partly shot on location in Africa that was a box-office disappointment.[104] Raft followed this with a series of thrillers: Johnny Allegro (1949), directed by Ted Tetzlaff for Columbia, Red Light (1949), by Roy Del Ruth for United Artists and A Dangerous Profession (1949) by Tetzlaff for RKO. None of these performed strongly at the box office, and Raft's standing as a box-office attraction had been damaged. The lengthy period of shooting for Johnny Allegro caused him to miss the chance to star in The Big Steal (1949), and he was replaced by Robert Mitchum.[105]

Raft went to England to make I'll Get You for This, which was filmed in 1950 but not released for another year. In the summer of 1951, Raft took the title role in the radio adventure series Rocky Jordan, playing "the owner of a cabaret in Cairo whose life is steeped in intrigue." However, it only lasted a few months.[106]

Three films for Lippert Pictures

Raft appeared in two Lippert Pictures low-budget thrillers, Escape Route (1952), shot in England with Sally Gray, and Loan Shark (1952).

He starred in a syndicated television series titled I'm the Law (1953) that ran for one season.[106] The Man from Cairo (1953), also for Lippert and shot in Europe and Africa, was Raft's last film with top billing. He resumed his dancing career, including an exhibition in Las Vegas. "As far as films are concerned, I'm dead," he said, "Nobody has been breaking their necks trying to hire me."[107] He tried to persuade Darryl Zanuck to remake The Honor System. He said: "I want to play heavies again. I think I made a mistake going straight."[108]

Supporting actor

Raft took an excellent role as a mob boss supporting Robert Taylor in Rogue Cop (1954), a hit for MGM. Also popular was Black Widow (1954), a film noir with Ginger Rogers, but A Bullet for Joey (1955), which reunited Raft with Edward G. Robinson, was a flop.

Raft was one of many guest stars in Around the World in 80 Days (1956), and after the film's release, he said that "the telephone just seemed to stop ringing."[13] He decided to seek other work.

Television

In 1953 Raft appeared as NYPD detective Lt. George Kirby on 27 episodes of I’m the Law, a police drama series. He spoofed his tough-guy image in a comedy sketch on the Feb. 20, 1955 episode of The Jack Benny Program. He appeared in 3 episodes of The Red Skelton Show, portraying gangster-types in comedy skits. In 1964 he performed a tango dance with the Hugh Lambert dancers to the song "La Cumparasita" on an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. In 1967 he did an episode of the Batman (TV series), “Black Widow Strikes Again”. In 1971 he twice appeared on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In comedy show, and in one episode of the sitcom The Chicago Teddy Bears, which was his last TV acting role.

Later career

Casinos

In 1955, Raft was offered the chance to buy a 2% share in the Flamingo Hotel for $65,000 if he would act as its entertainment director. Raft agreed, but was rejected for a gaming license because of his alleged associations with underworld figures. He appealed, arguing that although he knew many gangsters, "I never did business with any of them," and the decision was overturned in December 1955. Raft worked at the hotel negotiating its showbusiness deals.[13][109]

Raft was hired by Santo Trafficante, Jr. to work as a greeter at the Capri Casino in Havana, Cuba,[110] at which he was also a part owner. However, Fidel Castro took command of the country and closed all of its casinos, and Raft was in Havana on the night when the rebels arrived.[13][93]

Return to filmmaking

In July 1958, Raft was offered a role in his first film in four years, Some Like It Hot (1959), playing a gangster. Because of Marilyn Monroe's tardiness on set, the job turned into 16 weeks of work[93] before Raft was able to appear in Jet Over the Atlantic (1959). The success of Some Like It Hot did not lead to a comeback, but Raft subsequently appeared as a casino owner in the Rat Pack movie Ocean's 11 (1960), and he appeared in a cameo role as himself in The Ladies Man (1961). In Britain, he appeared in Two Guys Abroad (1962), a film intended as a pilot for a television series, and back in Hollywood had small roles in For Those Who Think Young and The Patsy (both 1964).

In 1965, Raft was convicted of income-tax evasion. He pled guilty to one count and was fined $2,500. The following year, he testified in front of a New York grand jury about organized-crime financial transactions.[16]

London

Raft received an offer from Andy Neatrour to work as a host and part owner of a gambling club in London called the Colony Club. He went to London in 1966,[111] and while there, he took parts in several films, including a cameo role in the 1967 James Bond spoof Casino Royale, the French film The Upper Hand (1966) with Jean Gabin and Five Golden Dragons (1967). Although the gambling club was successful, after having returned from the U.S. in 1967 for a trip home, Raft was banned from reentering the UK as an "undesirable."[16]

Raft's later films included Skidoo and Madigan's Millions (both 1968). However, Raft became ill during the making of Madigan's Millions, and he was replaced by Cesar Romero in the title role. None of Raft's scenes remain in the film.[112]

In the early 1970s, Raft appeared in an Alka-Seltzer television commercial as a prison inmate, worked as a goodwill ambassador for the Riviera in Las Vegas[16] and sold his house to move into an apartment in Century City.[13]

Raft's final film appearances were in Hammersmith Is Out (1972), Sextette (1978), in which he reunited with Mae West, and The Man with Bogart's Face (1980), a nod to 1940s detective films.[4] He also cohosted an episode of The Mike Douglas Show in 1980.[113]

Raft was a stockholder in the Parvin-Dohrmann Corporation, a hotel and casino company that owned the Flamingo Las Vegas.[114]

Controversies

Links to criminal figures

When James Cagney became president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1942 for a two-year term, he took a role in the guild's fight against the Mafia, which had taken an active interest in the movie industry. Cagney's wife Billie once received a phone call telling her that Cagney was dead.[115] Cagney alleged that, having failed to scare him, the mob sent a hitman to kill him by dropping a heavy light on his head. On hearing about the rumor of the hit, George Raft allegedly made a call to have the hit canceled.[115][116]

Raft was interviewed by FBI agents in 1938 and 1953. The 1938 interview was about his knowledge of Louis Buchalter and Jacob Shapiro.[117]

Raft was investigated for tax evasion in 1942.[118]

In 1944, he gave evidence when Bugsy Siegel was on trial for bookmaking.[119]

In 1946, Raft was sued by an attorney in Australia for assault.[120]

In 1957, Mickey Cohen said that he wanted Raft to play him in any film about his life because "the others would portray me as a vicious gangster, but George would not."[121]

In 1967, Raft was denied entry into the UK, where he had been installed as casino director at the Colony Club, because of his alleged underworld associations.[122]

Personal life

Raft married Grace Mulrooney (1902–1970) in 1923,[123] long before his stardom. The pair separated soon thereafter, but the devoutly Catholic Mulrooney refused to grant a divorce, and Raft officially remained married to her and continued to support her until her death in 1970. A romantic figure in Hollywood, Raft had love affairs with Betty Grable, Marlene Dietrich, Tallulah Bankhead, Carole Lombard and Mae West. He stated publicly that he wanted to marry Norma Shearer, with whom he had a long romance, but his wife's refusal to allow a divorce eventually caused Shearer to end the affair.[29][124]

Death

Raft died from emphysema at the age of 79 in Los Angeles on November 24, 1980. Raft left behind no will, and his estate consisted of only a $10,000 insurance policy and some furniture. In the last years of his life, he had lived on approximately $800 a month, a combination of social security and his pension.[125] He was interred at the Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. Raft's personal effects and wardrobe were sold through a classified advertisement listing the lot for $800 in Hemmings Motor News in the fall of 1981.

Filmography

Short subjects

  • Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933)
  • Hollywood on Parade No. B-5 (1933)
  • Hollywood on Parade No. B-8 (1934)
  • The Fashion Side of Hollywood (1935)
  • Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 4 (1938)
  • Meet the Stars #6: Stars at Play (1941)
  • Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2 (1941)
  • Hollywood Park (1946)
  • Screen Snapshots: Vacation at Del Mar (1949)

Roles rejected

Raft turned down roles in the following films:[126][127]

Select radio appearances

  • Kraft Cheese Program (1936)
  • Lux Radio Theatre – "Cheating Cheaters" (31 August 1936) – with June Lang[130]
  • Lux Radio Theatre – "Spawn of the North" (12 September 1938) – with Dorothy Lamour and Fred MacMurray
  • Bob Hope – "Bob Hope is Remodeling His House" (1939)
  • Screen Guild Theatre: "A Mug, a Moll and a Mountaineer" (2 April 1939)
  • Procter and Gamble's Knickerbocker Playhouse – "Bulldog Drummond" (1939)[131]
  • Campbell Soup Playhouse – "A Free Soul" (1941)
  • Lux Radio Theatre – "They Drive By Night" (2 June 1941) – with Lana Turner
  • Screen Guild Theatre – "Torrid Zone" (25 January 1942)
  • Lux Radio Theatre – "Manpower" (16 March 1942) – with Marlene Dietrich and Edward G. Robinson
  • Lux Radio Theatre – "Broadway" (30 November 1942) – with Lloyd Nolan
  • Lux Radio Theatre – "Each Dawn I Die" (22 March 1943) – with Franchot Tone
  • Lux Radio Theatre – Air Force (7 December 1943)[132]
  • Lux Radio Theatre – "Action in the North Atlantic" (15 May 1944) – with Raymond Massey
  • The Cases of Mr. Ace (4 June – 3 September 1947) – regular series
  • Lux Radio Theatre – "Intrigue" (5 October 1948)
  • Rocky Jordan (27 June – 22 August 1951)[133]
  • Martin and Lewis Show (12 October 1951)

In popular culture

Ray Danton played Raft in The George Raft Story (1961), which co-starred Jayne Mansfield. Raft excoriated the film upon its release due to inaccuracies. In the 1991 biographical movie Bugsy, the character of George Raft was played by Joe Mantegna.[4]

Raft has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: for movies at 6150 Hollywood Boulevard and for television at 1500 Vine Street.

Junior Soprano tells Tony that his uncle Eckle, whom he never knew about, looked similar to Raft.

References

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Sources

  • 1900 United States Federal Census, Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll T623_1109; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 642.[non-primary source needed]
  • 1910; Census Place: Manhattan Ward 12, New York, New York; Roll T624_1025; p. 19A; Enumeration District: 668; Image: 1104[non-primary source needed]

Further reading

  • Beaver, Jim. 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 978-1929631650.
  • 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 1593931239.
  • Yablonsky, Lewis. George Raft. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1974. ISBN 0070722358.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to George Raft.
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to George Raft.

December 29, 2022
george, raft, born, george, ranft, september, 1901, november, 1980, american, film, actor, dancer, identified, with, portrayals, gangsters, crime, melodramas, 1930s, 1940s, stylish, leading, dozens, movies, raft, remembered, gangster, roles, quick, millions, 1. George Raft born George Ranft September 26 1901 1 2 3 November 24 1980 was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s A stylish leading man in dozens of movies Raft is remembered for his gangster roles in Quick Millions 1931 with Spencer Tracy Scarface 1932 with Paul Muni Each Dawn I Die 1939 with James Cagney Invisible Stripes 1939 with Humphrey Bogart Billy Wilder s comedy Some Like It Hot 1959 with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon and as a dancer in Bolero 1934 with Carole Lombard and a truck driver in They Drive by Night 1940 with Ann Sheridan Ida Lupino and Bogart 4 George RaftTrailer for Invisible Stripes 1939 BornGeorge Ranft 1901 09 26 September 26 1901Hell s Kitchen Manhattan U S DiedNovember 24 1980 1980 11 24 aged 79 Los Angeles U S OccupationsActordancerfilm producerYears active1924 1980SpouseGrace Mulrooney m 1923 died 1970 wbr Raft said he never regarded himself as an actor I wanted to be me he said 5 Contents 1 Early life and career 1 1 Career as a dancer 1 2 Broadway 2 Los Angeles and early films 2 1 Film debut 2 2 Scarface 2 3 Paramount 2 4 Night After Night 1932 2 5 First suspension 2 6 The Bowery 1933 2 7 Bolero 1934 2 8 The Glass Key 1935 2 9 Souls at Sea 1937 2 10 Warner Bros 1939 1943 2 11 Freelance star and producer 2 12 Edwin Marin 2 13 Decline as a star 2 13 1 Three films for Lippert Pictures 2 14 Supporting actor 2 15 Television 3 Later career 3 1 Casinos 3 2 Return to filmmaking 3 3 London 4 Controversies 4 1 Links to criminal figures 5 Personal life 5 1 Death 6 Filmography 6 1 Short subjects 6 2 Roles rejected 7 Select radio appearances 8 In popular culture 9 References 10 Sources 11 Further reading 12 External linksEarly life and career EditGeorge Raft was born in Hell s Kitchen New York City to a family of German descent 6 the son of Eva nee Glockner a German immigrant and Conrad Ranft who was born in Massachusetts to German immigrant parents 7 His parents were married on November 17 1895 in Manhattan Raft s older sister Eva known as Katie was born on April 18 1896 Raft s grandfather had emigrated from Germany and worked on merry go rounds and prospected for gold His father worked in carnivals before settling in New York 8 Most obituaries cited Raft s year of birth as 1895 which he stated was correct when he appeared on The Mike Douglas Show seven months prior to his death 9 However Raft is recorded in the New York City Birth Index as having been born on September 26 1901 in Manhattan as George Rauft although Rauft is likely a mistranscription of Ranft 10 The 1900 census for New York City lists his sister Katie as his parents only child with two children born and only one living 11 In the 1910 census he is listed as eight years old 7 12 Raft grew up on 41st Street and worked as an errand boy and a fishwrapper after school His parents sent him to live at his grandparents house on 164th Street He left school at the age of 12 and left home at 13 He worked as an apprentice electrician for a year then boxed professionally for two years beginning at the age of 15 As Dutch Rauft he fought 14 bouts with nine victories three defeats and two draws 13 14 Another account says that Raft fought 25 bouts and was knocked out seven times 15 Raft played minor league baseball reportedly with Springfield of the Eastern League as a utility outfielder with pitching aspirations However his batting was poor and he was dropped 16 17 18 I was just trying to find something that I liked that would make me a living said Raft later I saw guys fighting so I fought I saw guys playing ball so I played ball Then I saw guys dancing and getting paid for it 13 Career as a dancer Edit Raft s mother taught him how to dance and he danced at outdoor amusement parks and carnivals with his parents 19 Following his baseball career he began working as a taxi dancer in the poorer sections of New York At first he struggled financially but then he won a Charleston competition and was launched professionally Raft started performing exhibition dances in the afternoon at Healy s Murray s Rectors and Churchills in New York 20 He then started working in New York City nightclubs often in the same venues as did Rudolph Valentino before Valentino became a film actor 21 Raft had a notable collaboration with Elsie Pilcer 22 A May 1924 review in Variety called him gifted 23 I could have been the first X rated dancer he said later I was very erotic I used to caress myself as I danced I never felt I was a great dancer I was more of a stylist unique I was never a Fred Astaire or a Gene Kelly but I was sensuous 24 Raft went on tour as a dancer and helped popularize the tango in Paris Vienna Rome London and New York 13 He had a great success as a dancer in London in 1926 and the Duke of Windsor was an ardent fan and supporter 25 Fred Astaire in his autobiography Steps in Time 1959 wrote that Raft was a lightning fast dancer and did the fastest Charleston I ever saw 26 A September 1926 edition of Variety spoke of Raft s reputation as the best Charleston dancer in New York 27 During this time Raft befriended a number of gangsters including Enoch Johnson and Larry Fay and he would occasionally drive for Owney Madden 28 A boyhood friend of gangster Benjamin Bugsy Siegel and later a wheel man for the mob Raft acknowledged having narrowly avoided a life of crime 29 Broadway Edit Raft became part of the stage act of flamboyant speakeasy and nightclub hostess Texas Guinan at the 300 Club and he also produced some of her shows 14 His success led him to Broadway where he again worked as a dancer 13 His stage performances included The City Chap October 1925 with music by Jerome Kern 30 Gay Paree Madhattan Palm Beach Nights also known as No Foolin and Padlocks of 1927 1927 He was called the fastest Charleston dancer 31 Raft later starred in the film Broadway 1942 a fictionalized account of his life when he was working the Paramount Publix circuit and performing in stage shows that were presented before movies citation needed Los Angeles and early films EditOwney Madden told Raft that he should be in motion pictures and Raft decided to try to break into film acting after being threatened by the husband of a woman whom he had been seeing 13 32 In 1927 Raft relocated to Hollywood where he first danced in clubs to pay the bills 13 In October 1928 Raft appeared in a stage show presented by Texas Guinan called Night Club The Los Angeles Times said Raft scores a tremendous individual hit 33 Variety wrote that Raft appeared at the climax when he came to the front and did his eccentric dance routine which he climaxed with the hottest black bottom ever He goaled the audience being the big punch of the show 34 Film debut Edit Raft s screen debut was in Queen of the Night Clubs starring Guinan who insisted Raft have a small role Although Raft s scenes were cut a Variety review said a nite club scene introduces George Raft the hot stepper as the m c and band leader being brought down for one of his rip snorting hoofing specialties 35 36 Raft also appeared in stage shows supporting the film One reviewer called him a clever dancer 37 Queen of the Night Clubs is considered a lost film Raft followed this with small roles in Gold Diggers of Broadway and Side Street His dancing skills were noticed by director Rowland Brown who cast him in a substantial supporting gangster role as Spencer Tracy s character s sidekick in Quick Millions 1931 14 Raft s appearances in these films were followed by Goldie with Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow Hush Money with Joan Bennett and the Eddie Cantor musical Palmy Days In Taxi 1932 starring James Cagney and Loretta Young Raft had a colorful unbilled dancing role as Cagney s competitor in a dance contest who wins only to be knocked down by Cagney He was third billed in an extremely large role as a gangster in Dancers in the Dark 1932 below Miriam Hopkins as a dancer and Jack Oakie as a bandleader Scarface Edit Raft s big break came when cast as the second lead alongside Paul Muni as Tony Camonte in Howard Hawks s Scarface In the film he plays second in command Guino Rinaldo who falls in love with Camonte s sister and is murdered by him Raft s performance is notable for his character s habit of flipping a coin which became an iconic trope in gangster films while others claimed credit for the mannerism writer W R Burnett confirmed that it was Raft who invented it Burnett said He realized he wasn t a good actor which he wasn t But he knew if he reacted to what other people said he was effective 38 Scarface was filmed in September 1931 but it was not released by United Artists until the following year It became a hit and made Raft a star He said That was the big one People remembered me I was getting real fan mail by the bushel basket and even a dumb kid from 10th Avenue could figure out how to translate that into money 13 After filming Scarface Raft made Night World 1932 at Universal supporting Lew Ayres and Love Is a Racket directed by William Wellman although all of Raft s scenes were eventually cut Paramount Edit Raft signed a contract with Paramount in March 1932 39 40 The following month he was cast in a supporting role in Madame Racketeer 1932 and contemporary reports referred to his menacing suavity 41 He was announced for Ladies of the Big House with Sylvia Sidney and Gene Raymond 42 Night After Night 1932 Edit When Scarface was released public response was so strong that Raft was offered the lead role in a film based on a story by Louis Bromfeld originally titled Number 55 43 and then changed to Night After Night 1932 44 When the studio adamantly refused to hire Texas Guinan upon whom one of the film s characters is based because of her age Raft advocated for his friend Mae West to be cast in a supporting role in his first film as leading man Almost half a century later Raft and West would die within two days of each other and their bodies would be momentarily placed together on stretchers in a hallway of the same morgue Raft was one of several Paramount stars who appeared in the episodic comedy drama If I Had a Million 1932 playing a forger hiding from police who is suddenly given a million dollars with no place to cash the check He starred in Under Cover Man 1932 and was announced for Bodyguard which was never made 45 He next appeared in Pick Up 1933 At the time Raft told Variety I don t know what I do but it s not acting It s me Supposing I m supposed to hate a guy Then I think of somebody I hate and visualize him instead of the actor Same way when I m supposed to be in love with the heroine I think of a girl I could be crazy about and though I m saying to the actress I love you darling all the time I keep thinking of the other party 46 First suspension Edit Raft refused to appear in The Story of Temple Drake 1933 with Miriam Hopkins as he did not want to play a sadist He was replaced by Jack La Rue who had been originally cast for Raft s role in Scarface 47 Raft was placed on suspension in February 48 He said It s not that I mind being the guy on the wrong side of the law But I won t take a role that s pure heel The character has to have some ray of warmth some redeeming quality or it just isn t real 13 The Story of Temple Drake performed poorly at the box office and was believed to have hurt La Rue s career 20 Raft was removed from suspension in April 1933 49 and he returned to Hollywood to appear in Midnight Club 1933 set in London The Bowery 1933 Edit Raft was borrowed by Twentieth Century Pictures a new production company established by Darryl F Zanuck former head of production at Warner Bros He appeared in the studio s first film Raoul Walsh s highly popular and energetic period piece The Bowery as Steve Brodie supposedly the first man to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge and survive Raft plays the second lead to Wallace Beery as a flamboyant saloon owner who competes with Raft for Fay Wray s character as well as Pert Kelton as a singer dancer Back at Paramount Raft supported Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins in All of Me 1934 which was not popular Zanuck wanted him for Blood Money but Raft was too busy at Paramount 50 Bolero 1934 Edit Raft was meant to appear in It s a Pleasure to Lose based on the life of Nick the Greek but instead was slated to star in Bolero 1934 playing a dancer with Carole Lombard Raft initially refused the film until it was re written and the studio suspended him but Raft eventually made the film which became a great success 20 51 The New York Times wrote Raft is a vivid and pictorially interesting type rather than an actor in the technical sense and consequently he proves unequal to the full implications of the fame hungry dancer The exterior attractiveness which Mr Raft brings to the role gives Bolero considerable color nevertheless 52 In March 1934 Raft was suspended a second time for having refused the male lead in Mae West s It Ain t No Sin later changed to Belle of the Nineties because his part was subordinate to West s 53 54 In May 1934 Raft signed a new contract with Paramount to reflect his star status 55 Raft next appeared in The Trumpet Blows 1934 playing a matador The fim was an attempt to invoke Valentino s Blood and Sand and for a time Raft was promoted as a second Valentino 56 Raft walked out on the film unhappy with his role but later returned after re writes were made The film was a box office disappointment 57 Raft then starred in Limehouse Blues 1934 with Anna May Wong In February 1934 he admitted to having been involved in three fights during his career as a dancer and actor including one in which he hit the producer of Bolero 58 In August 1934 Raft was involved in a brawl at the Hollywood Brown Derby 59 At the end of 1934 Raft was listed in a survey of theater managers as among Paramount s secondary tier of stars if properly cast 60 In Rumba 1935 Raft was reunited with Lombard He also starred in Stolen Harmony 1935 and was slated to appear in Gambler s Maxim from a story by James Edward Grant but the film was not made 61 The Glass Key 1935 Edit Raft starred in a brutal and fast paced adaptation of Dashiell Hammett s The Glass Key 1935 He tried a comedy Every Night at Eight 1935 and was borrowed by Columbia Pictures to appear in She Couldn t Take It 1935 a comedy in the vein of It Happened One Night 1934 He then was borrowed by 20th Century Fox for It Had to Happen 1936 and starred in Paramount s Yours for the Asking 1936 Raft was meant to team with Lombard for a third time in The Princess Comes Across 1936 but refused to make the film as he was unhappy with the choice of cameraman He was replaced by Fred MacMurray and was suspended again in February 1936 62 He was scheduled to star in You and Me the directorial debut of Norman Krasna but he refused to work for a first time director 63 Raft was put on suspension and 24 000 of his salary was withheld 64 In October 1936 he reconciled with Paramount and the studio returned his 24 000 65 Souls at Sea 1937 Edit Raft was offered a part opposite the studio s top male star Gary Cooper in Souls at Sea 1937 directed by Henry Hathaway Raft originally turned it down as his character was a coward leaving Paramount and his 4 000 per week contract in November 1936 though the contract still had two years remaining Samuel Goldwyn wanted Raft for the film version of Dead End and Universal David O Selznick and 20th Century Fox were keen on using Raft Lloyd Nolan was announced as Raft s replacement in Souls at Sea 66 Raft was discussing a three films per year deal with United Artists for three years to start with Dead End 67 However Raft agreed to return to Paramount and Souls at Sea when his part was re written to be more sympathetic 68 Souls at Sea was a great hit and in 1937 Raft was the third highest paid star in Hollywood behind Cooper and Warner Baxter earning 202 666 13 In May 1937 Raft reportedly tested for the role of Rhett Butler for the film Gone with the Wind 69 Paramount announced Raft for Millions for Defense with Ray Milland and Frances Farmer a film about the Barbary War but the picture was not made 70 Instead Raft appeared with Sylvia Sidney in Fritz Lang s drama You and Me 1938 and was next reunited with Hathaway to star in another adventure story Spawn of the North 1938 with Henry Fonda and John Barrymore playing supporting roles Raft was announced for the films The World Applauds and Two Time Loser 71 Paramount wanted Raft to appear in St Louis Blues but he refused and was replaced by Lloyd Nolan 72 Raft is Hollywood s authority on walk outs wrote one columnist 57 He was suspended again then allowed to do a comedy The Lady s from Kentucky 1939 In January 1939 he refused to make The Magnificent Fraud and was again replaced by Nolan Raft s contract was meant to last until February of that year but Paramount ended it prematurely 39 Warner Bros 1939 1943 Edit William Holden and Raft in Invisible Stripes 1939 Raft received an offer from Warner Bros to appear opposite James Cagney in a prison film titled Each Dawn I Die 1939 the film was a great success and Warner Bros offered Raft a long term contract in July 1939 at three films per year He next appeared in I Stole a Million 1939 for Universal 73 74 Hal Wallis later wrote that Our association with Raft was a constant struggle from start to finish Hypersensitive to public accusations of underworld connections he flatly refused to play the heavy in any film Time and time again we offered him gangster parts and time and time again he turned them down 75 Raft was slated to appear in a remake of The Patent Leather Kid one of his favorite films 76 and a John Dillinger film with Cagney but both projects were canceled 77 He was assigned to Invisible Stripes 1939 with William Holden Jane Bryan and Humphrey Bogart Raft was borrowed by Walter Wanger to play a gangster in The House Across the Bay 1940 which was a flop He was cast in City for Conquest 1940 but declined the role and was replaced by Anthony Quinn 78 Raft was scheduled to appear in Star of Africa 79 and declined a role in The Dealer s Name Was George but neither film was made 80 In Raoul Walsh s trucking melodrama They Drive by Night 1940 Raft played the lead with Ann Sheridan as Raft s leading lady Humphrey Bogart in a supporting role as his brother and Ida Lupino as a ravishing young beauty relentlessly pursuing Raft In July 1940 Raft reprised his vaudeville act 81 In August 1940 Raft declined the lead role in South of Suez 1940 and was replaced by George Brent 82 He was again placed on suspension but was intended to appear in The Sea Wolf 1941 after the suspension period However Raft did not like the role and was suspended again 83 with John Garfield taking his place 84 MGM intended to borrow Raft to costar with Norma Shearer in The World We Make 85 but the film was never made citation needed Raft also declined the leads in High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon 1941 and both roles were played by Bogart catapulting Bogart s career Raft instead made Manpower 1941 with Edward G Robinson and Marlene Dietrich Robinson recalled Raft as touchy difficult and thoroughly impossible to play with 86 During filming Raft and Robinson came to blows with photographs splashed across newspapers Raft next rejected the lead role in All Through the Night 1942 refusing to appear on the first day of filming because he did not want to play a heel 87 and Bogart once again replaced him Raft was unable to accept Fox s offer to appear in To the Shores of Tripoli 1942 88 Raft wanted to appear in Universal s film version of the musical Broadway 1942 but Jack Warner refused to loan him so Raft spent eight months on suspension without pay However Warner Bros could only maintain the suspension while making films that Raft declined and the studio eventually ran out of such films forcing them to resume paying him and they eventually agreed to let him make Broadway playing a fictionalized version of himself as a young dancer named George Raft 89 Raft said that he paid 27 500 of his own money so that Warner Bros could borrow Robert Cummings from Universal for another film 90 Raft was reported to have turned down Bogart s role in Casablanca 1942 although according to some Warner Bros memos this story is apocryphal Raft was discussed as a possibility for the lead at one stage as was Ronald Reagan but was never offered it 91 Raft was one of many Warner Bros stars who appeared in United Artists Stage Door Canteen 1943 He finally returned to filming at Warner Bros with the espionage thriller Background to Danger 1943 a film intended to capitalize on the success of Casablanca 5 In November 1942 Raft bought himself out of his Warner Bros contract in order to appear in Hell s Kitchen a story of his life on stage 92 but the play never materialized citation needed Judy Canova and Raft in 1979 Freelance star and producer Edit Raft s career as a freelance actor initially began well He toured the U S England and Africa performing for the troops from January through March 1944 93 In March 1943 he was voted the sixth most popular star among African American movie audiences Variety said Raft has always been a prime favorite with the Negro filmgoer 94 His price as a guest star on radio was 1 500 2 500 95 Raft declined the lead role in Billy Wilder s Double Indemnity 1944 Wilder later said We knew then that we d have a good picture 96 and Raft later admitted that I wasn t very intelligent then 5 Raft s first film after leaving Warner Bros was the 1944 Universal musical Follow the Boys 1944 which featured a number of Universal s stars in a guest spots and Raft in the lead It achieved a healthy gross 20th Century Fox hired him to a contract so that he could appear in Henry Hathaway s hit musical Nob Hill 1945 replacing Fred MacMurray 97 Edwin Marin Edit Whistle Stop 1946 with Ava Gardner Raft next appeared in director Edwin Marin s Johnny Angel 1945 for RKO 98 an unexpected hit that realized a profit of more than a million dollars 99 He next appeared in the popular Whistle Stop 1946 a United Artists melodrama that offered a good early role to Ava Gardner Mr Ace 1946 with Sylvia Sidney and director Marin for producer Benedict Bogeaus was a flop but it did lead to a rather successful radio series starring Raft entitled The Cases of Mr Ace 1947 citation needed In 1946 Raft earned a reported 108 000 for the year 100 He created his own production company Star Films with Sam Bischoff as president and planned to make three films in two years for 3 5 million 101 He and Marin returned to RKO to make the popular film noir Nocturne 1946 produced by Joan Harrison Raft s next three films were all directed by Marin Christmas Eve 1947 at United Artists for Bogeaus a box office disappointment Intrigue 1947 at United Artists for Star Films and Race Street 1948 at RKO In June 1947 Raft received bad publicity when his friend the Las Vegas mobster Bugsy Siegel was murdered 102 However the following year Hedda Hopper wrote that Raft was going stronger than ever today adding that he has made millions but hasn t got em due to a fondness for gambling and a loyalty to helping old friends 103 Decline as a star Edit Star Film s second film was Outpost in Morocco 1949 a story of the French Foreign Legion partly shot on location in Africa that was a box office disappointment 104 Raft followed this with a series of thrillers Johnny Allegro 1949 directed by Ted Tetzlaff for Columbia Red Light 1949 by Roy Del Ruth for United Artists and A Dangerous Profession 1949 by Tetzlaff for RKO None of these performed strongly at the box office and Raft s standing as a box office attraction had been damaged The lengthy period of shooting for Johnny Allegro caused him to miss the chance to star in The Big Steal 1949 and he was replaced by Robert Mitchum 105 Raft went to England to make I ll Get You for This which was filmed in 1950 but not released for another year In the summer of 1951 Raft took the title role in the radio adventure series Rocky Jordan playing the owner of a cabaret in Cairo whose life is steeped in intrigue However it only lasted a few months 106 Three films for Lippert Pictures Edit Raft appeared in two Lippert Pictures low budget thrillers Escape Route 1952 shot in England with Sally Gray and Loan Shark 1952 He starred in a syndicated television series titled I m the Law 1953 that ran for one season 106 The Man from Cairo 1953 also for Lippert and shot in Europe and Africa was Raft s last film with top billing He resumed his dancing career including an exhibition in Las Vegas As far as films are concerned I m dead he said Nobody has been breaking their necks trying to hire me 107 He tried to persuade Darryl Zanuck to remake The Honor System He said I want to play heavies again I think I made a mistake going straight 108 Supporting actor Edit Raft took an excellent role as a mob boss supporting Robert Taylor in Rogue Cop 1954 a hit for MGM Also popular was Black Widow 1954 a film noir with Ginger Rogers but A Bullet for Joey 1955 which reunited Raft with Edward G Robinson was a flop Raft was one of many guest stars in Around the World in 80 Days 1956 and after the film s release he said that the telephone just seemed to stop ringing 13 He decided to seek other work Television Edit In 1953 Raft appeared as NYPD detective Lt George Kirby on 27 episodes of I m the Law a police drama series He spoofed his tough guy image in a comedy sketch on the Feb 20 1955 episode of The Jack Benny Program He appeared in 3 episodes of The Red Skelton Show portraying gangster types in comedy skits In 1964 he performed a tango dance with the Hugh Lambert dancers to the song La Cumparasita on an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show In 1967 he did an episode of the Batman TV series Black Widow Strikes Again In 1971 he twice appeared on Rowan amp Martin s Laugh In comedy show and in one episode of the sitcom The Chicago Teddy Bears which was his last TV acting role Later career EditCasinos Edit In 1955 Raft was offered the chance to buy a 2 share in the Flamingo Hotel for 65 000 if he would act as its entertainment director Raft agreed but was rejected for a gaming license because of his alleged associations with underworld figures He appealed arguing that although he knew many gangsters I never did business with any of them and the decision was overturned in December 1955 Raft worked at the hotel negotiating its showbusiness deals 13 109 Raft was hired by Santo Trafficante Jr to work as a greeter at the Capri Casino in Havana Cuba 110 at which he was also a part owner However Fidel Castro took command of the country and closed all of its casinos and Raft was in Havana on the night when the rebels arrived 13 93 Return to filmmaking Edit In July 1958 Raft was offered a role in his first film in four years Some Like It Hot 1959 playing a gangster Because of Marilyn Monroe s tardiness on set the job turned into 16 weeks of work 93 before Raft was able to appear in Jet Over the Atlantic 1959 The success of Some Like It Hot did not lead to a comeback but Raft subsequently appeared as a casino owner in the Rat Pack movie Ocean s 11 1960 and he appeared in a cameo role as himself in The Ladies Man 1961 In Britain he appeared in Two Guys Abroad 1962 a film intended as a pilot for a television series and back in Hollywood had small roles in For Those Who Think Young and The Patsy both 1964 In 1965 Raft was convicted of income tax evasion He pled guilty to one count and was fined 2 500 The following year he testified in front of a New York grand jury about organized crime financial transactions 16 London Edit Raft received an offer from Andy Neatrour to work as a host and part owner of a gambling club in London called the Colony Club He went to London in 1966 111 and while there he took parts in several films including a cameo role in the 1967 James Bond spoof Casino Royale the French film The Upper Hand 1966 with Jean Gabin and Five Golden Dragons 1967 Although the gambling club was successful after having returned from the U S in 1967 for a trip home Raft was banned from reentering the UK as an undesirable 16 Raft s later films included Skidoo and Madigan s Millions both 1968 However Raft became ill during the making of Madigan s Millions and he was replaced by Cesar Romero in the title role None of Raft s scenes remain in the film 112 In the early 1970s Raft appeared in an Alka Seltzer television commercial as a prison inmate worked as a goodwill ambassador for the Riviera in Las Vegas 16 and sold his house to move into an apartment in Century City 13 Raft s final film appearances were in Hammersmith Is Out 1972 Sextette 1978 in which he reunited with Mae West and The Man with Bogart s Face 1980 a nod to 1940s detective films 4 He also cohosted an episode of The Mike Douglas Show in 1980 113 Raft was a stockholder in the Parvin Dohrmann Corporation a hotel and casino company that owned the Flamingo Las Vegas 114 Controversies EditLinks to criminal figures Edit When James Cagney became president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1942 for a two year term he took a role in the guild s fight against the Mafia which had taken an active interest in the movie industry Cagney s wife Billie once received a phone call telling her that Cagney was dead 115 Cagney alleged that having failed to scare him the mob sent a hitman to kill him by dropping a heavy light on his head On hearing about the rumor of the hit George Raft allegedly made a call to have the hit canceled 115 116 Raft was interviewed by FBI agents in 1938 and 1953 The 1938 interview was about his knowledge of Louis Buchalter and Jacob Shapiro 117 Raft was investigated for tax evasion in 1942 118 In 1944 he gave evidence when Bugsy Siegel was on trial for bookmaking 119 In 1946 Raft was sued by an attorney in Australia for assault 120 In 1957 Mickey Cohen said that he wanted Raft to play him in any film about his life because the others would portray me as a vicious gangster but George would not 121 In 1967 Raft was denied entry into the UK where he had been installed as casino director at the Colony Club because of his alleged underworld associations 122 Personal life EditRaft married Grace Mulrooney 1902 1970 in 1923 123 long before his stardom The pair separated soon thereafter but the devoutly Catholic Mulrooney refused to grant a divorce and Raft officially remained married to her and continued to support her until her death in 1970 A romantic figure in Hollywood Raft had love affairs with Betty Grable Marlene Dietrich Tallulah Bankhead Carole Lombard and Mae West He stated publicly that he wanted to marry Norma Shearer with whom he had a long romance but his wife s refusal to allow a divorce eventually caused Shearer to end the affair 29 124 Death Edit Raft died from emphysema at the age of 79 in Los Angeles on November 24 1980 Raft left behind no will and his estate consisted of only a 10 000 insurance policy and some furniture In the last years of his life he had lived on approximately 800 a month a combination of social security and his pension 125 He was interred at the Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles Raft s personal effects and wardrobe were sold through a classified advertisement listing the lot for 800 in Hemmings Motor News in the fall of 1981 Filmography EditQueen of the Night Clubs 1929 with Texas Guinan as Gigola Gold Diggers of Broadway 1929 as Dancer uncredited Side Street 1929 with Tom Owen and Matt Moore Raft unbilled dancer as Georgie Ames the Dancer uncredited Quick Millions 1931 with Spencer Tracy and Marguerite Churchill as Jimmy Kirk Goldie 1931 with Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow as Pickpocket uncredited Hush Money 1931 with Joan Bennett and Myrna Loy as Maxie Palmy Days 1931 with Eddie Cantor as Joe Yolando s Henchman Taxi 1932 with James Cagney and Loretta Young as William Kenny Dance Contestant uncredited Dancers in the Dark 1932 with Miriam Hopkins as Louie Brooks Scarface 1932 with Paul Muni and Ann Dvorak as Guino Rinaldo Raft flips the nickel in his breakthrough role Night World 1932 with Lew Ayres Mae Clarke and Boris Karloff as Ed Powell Love Is a Racket 1932 as Sneaky scenes deleted Madame Racketeer 1932 with Alison Skipworth and Richard Bennett as Jack Houston Night After Night 1932 with Mae West as a fictionalized Texas Guinan Raft s 1st leading role as Joe Anton If I Had a Million 1932 Raft plays a forger as Eddie Jackson Under Cover Man 1932 with Nancy Carroll as Nick Darrow Winner Take All 1932 with James Cagney as bandleader at Guinan s archive footage uncredited Pick Up 1933 with Sylvia Sidney as Harry Glynn Midnight Club 1933 with Clive Brook Raft 2nd billed as Nick Mason The Bowery 1933 with Wallace Beery Fay Wray and Pert Kelton Raft 2nd billed as Steve Brodie All of Me 1934 with Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins Raft 3rd billed as Honey Rogers Bolero 1934 with Carole Lombard and Ray Milland besides Scarface Raft s signature film as Raoul De Baere The Trumpet Blows 1934 with Adolphe Menjou as Manuel Montes Limehouse Blues 1934 with Anna May Wong as Harry Young Rumba 1935 with Carole Lombard as Joe Martin Stolen Harmony 1935 with Lloyd Nolan and William Cagney as Ray Angelo alias Ray Ferraro The Glass Key 1935 with Edward Arnold as Ed Beaumont Every Night at Eight 1935 with Alice Faye and Frances Langford as Tops Cardona She Couldn t Take It 1935 with Joan Bennett as Spot Ricardi Joseph Ricard It Had to Happen 1936 with Rosalind Russell as Enrico Scaffa Yours for the Asking 1936 with Dolores Costello and Ida Lupino as Johnny Lamb Souls at Sea 1937 with Gary Cooper Raft 2nd billed as Powdah You and Me 1938 with Sylvia Sidney with bizarre musical interludes by Kurt Weill as Joe Dennis Spawn of the North 1938 with Henry Fonda and John Barrymore as Tyler Dawson The Lady s from Kentucky 1939 with Ellen Drew as Marty Black Each Dawn I Die 1939 with James Cagney Raft 2nd billed as Hood Stacey I Stole a Million 1939 with Claire Trevor as Joe Lourik alias Joe Harris Invisible Stripes 1939 with William Holden and Humphrey Bogart as Cliff Taylor The House Across the Bay 1940 with Joan Bennett as Steve They Drive by Night 1940 with Ann Sheridan Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart as Joe Fabrini Manpower 1941 with Edward G Robinson and Marlene Dietrich Raft 3rd billed but played the lead as Johnny Marshall Broadway 1942 with Pat O Brien and Broderick Crawford young B way dancer as Himself Stage Door Canteen 1943 with an all star cast as Himself Background to Danger 1943 with Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre as Joe Barton Follow the Boys 1944 with Vera Zorina as Tony West Nob Hill 1945 with Joan Bennett and Vivian Blaine as Tony Angelo Johnny Angel 1945 with Claire Trevor and Hoagy Carmichael as Johnny Angel Whistle Stop 1946 with Ava Gardner and Victor McLaglen as Kenny Veech Mr Ace 1946 with Sylvia Sidney as Eddie Ace Nocturne 1946 with Lynn Bari as Joe Warne Christmas Eve 1947 with George Brent Randolph Scott and Joan Blondell as Mario Torio Intrigue 1947 with June Havoc as Brad Dunham Race Street 1948 with William Bendix and Marilyn Maxwell as Daniel J Dan Gannin Outpost in Morocco 1949 with Marie Windsor and Akim Tamiroff as Capt Paul Gerard Johnny Allegro 1949 with Nina Foch and Will Geer as Johnny Allegro Red Light 1949 with Virginia Mayo Gene Lockhart and Raymond Burr as Johnny Torno A Dangerous Profession 1949 with Ella Raines Pat O Brien and Jim Backus as Vince Kane We Shall Go to Paris 1950 also known as Nous Irons a Paris as Himself I ll Get You for This 1951 AKA Lucky Nick Cain with Coleen Gray as Nick Cain Loan Shark 1952 with Dorothy Hart as Joe Gargen Escape Route 1952 AKA I ll Get You as Steve Rossi The Man from Cairo 1953 Raft s last top billing in a theatrical film as Mike Canelli I m the Law 1954 26 episode TV series as Police Lt George Kirby Rogue Cop 1954 with Robert Taylor and Janet Leigh Raft 3rd billed as Dan Beaumonte Black Widow 1954 with Ginger Rogers Van Heflin and Gene Tierney Raft 4th billed as Detective Lt C A Bruce A Bullet for Joey 1955 with Edward G Robinson Raft 2nd billed as Joe Victor aka Steiner Around the World in 80 Days 1956 with David Niven and Marlene Dietrich as Bouncer at the Barbary Coast Saloon Some Like It Hot 1959 with Marilyn Monroe Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon Raft 4th billed as Spats Colombo Chicago mobster Jet Over the Atlantic 1959 with Guy Madison and Virginia Mayo Raft 3rd billed as Stafford Ocean s 11 1960 with the Rat Pack as Jack Strager casino owner The Ladies Man 1961 with Jerry Lewis Raft cameo Two Guys Abroad 1962 as Nightclub co owner For Those Who Think Young 1964 as Detective uncredited The Patsy 1964 as Himself The Upper Hand 1966 with Jean Gabin Raft 2nd billed as Charles Binnaggio Casino Royale 1967 as Himself Five Golden Dragons 1967 with Robert Cummings and Klaus Kinski as Dragon 2 Skidoo 1968 with Jackie Gleason and Groucho Marx as Capt Garbaldo Hammersmith Is Out 1972 with Elizabeth Taylor Richard Burton and Peter Ustinov as Guido Scartucci Deadhead Miles 1972 as Himself Sextette 1978 with Mae West her final movie and Timothy Dalton as Himself The Man with Bogart s Face 1980 as Petey Cane final film role Short subjects Edit Hollywood on Parade No A 9 1933 Hollywood on Parade No B 5 1933 Hollywood on Parade No B 8 1934 The Fashion Side of Hollywood 1935 Screen Snapshots Series 18 No 4 1938 Meet the Stars 6 Stars at Play 1941 Hedda Hopper s Hollywood No 2 1941 Hollywood Park 1946 Screen Snapshots Vacation at Del Mar 1949 Roles rejected Edit Raft turned down roles in the following films 126 127 The Story of Temple Drake 1933 128 replaced by Jack La Rue Belle of the Nineties 1934 replaced by Roger Pryor The Princess Comes Across 1935 replaced by Fred MacMurray Dead End 1937 replaced by Humphrey Bogart Stolen Heaven 1938 replaced by Gene Raymond The Magnificent Fraud 1939 129 replaced by Lloyd Nolan St Louis Blues 1939 replaced by Lloyd Nolan South of Suez 1940 replaced by George Brent City for Conquest 1940 replaced by Anthony Quinn It All Came True 1940 replaced by Humphrey Bogart Blues in the Night 1941 replaced by Richard Whorf The Sea Wolf 1941 replaced by John Garfield High Sierra 1941 replaced by Humphrey Bogart The Wagons Roll at Night 1941 replaced by Humphrey Bogart Out of the Fog 1941 replaced by John Garfield The Maltese Falcon 1941 replaced by Humphrey Bogart All Through the Night 1942 replaced by Humphrey Bogart The Big Shot 1942 replaced by Humphrey Bogart Juke Girl 1942 replaced by Ronald Reagan Double Indemnity 1944 replaced by Fred MacMurray The Big Heat 1953 replaced by Alexander Scourby Morning Call 1957 replaced by Ron RandellSelect radio appearances EditKraft Cheese Program 1936 Lux Radio Theatre Cheating Cheaters 31 August 1936 with June Lang 130 Lux Radio Theatre Spawn of the North 12 September 1938 with Dorothy Lamour and Fred MacMurray Bob Hope Bob Hope is Remodeling His House 1939 Screen Guild Theatre A Mug a Moll and a Mountaineer 2 April 1939 Procter and Gamble s Knickerbocker Playhouse Bulldog Drummond 1939 131 Campbell Soup Playhouse A Free Soul 1941 Lux Radio Theatre They Drive By Night 2 June 1941 with Lana Turner Screen Guild Theatre Torrid Zone 25 January 1942 Lux Radio Theatre Manpower 16 March 1942 with Marlene Dietrich and Edward G Robinson Lux Radio Theatre Broadway 30 November 1942 with Lloyd Nolan Lux Radio Theatre Each Dawn I Die 22 March 1943 with Franchot Tone Lux Radio Theatre Air Force 7 December 1943 132 Lux Radio Theatre Action in the North Atlantic 15 May 1944 with Raymond Massey The Cases of Mr Ace 4 June 3 September 1947 regular series Lux Radio Theatre Intrigue 5 October 1948 Rocky Jordan 27 June 22 August 1951 133 Martin and Lewis Show 12 October 1951 In popular culture EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed July 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Ray Danton played Raft in The George Raft Story 1961 which co starred Jayne Mansfield Raft excoriated the film upon its release due to inaccuracies In the 1991 biographical movie Bugsy the character of George Raft was played by Joe Mantegna 4 Raft has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for movies at 6150 Hollywood Boulevard and for television at 1500 Vine Street Junior Soprano tells Tony that his uncle Eckle whom he never knew about looked similar to Raft References Edit George Raft w Mike 1980 Tony Randall amp Sid Stone commercials retrieved 2022 07 03 ssdm One Step Search Results jewishgen org Retrieved Nov 24 2022 Social Security Death Master File ssdmf info Archived from the original on 3 August 2014 Retrieved 16 October 2021 a b c George Raft at IMDb a b c J B Jun 4 1974 George Raft Grease games The Washington Post ProQuest 146164755 Lewis Yablonsky George Raft paperback iUniverse 19 July 2000 ISBN 0595010032 a b United States Census 1910 Census Place Manhattan Ward 12 New York New York Roll T624 1025 Page 19A Enumeration District 0668 Image 1107 FHL Number 1375038 George Raft With Nancy Carroll in Play of Revenge The Washington Post 18 Dec 1932 p 33 George Raft Molly Picon Rudy Vallee George Jessel 1980 TV Interview and Songs Retrieved Nov 24 2022 via www youtube com George Raft birth data Archived 2019 02 08 at the Wayback Machine italiangen org accessed August 15 2015 United States Census 1900 Census Place Manhattan New York New York Roll T623 1109 Page 4B Enumeration District 642 Tough guy George raft dies of emphysema at 85 Archived 2016 04 03 at the Wayback Machine The Milwaukee Sentinel November 25 1980 accessed August 10 2009 a b c d e f g h i j k l m Thackrey T O 25 November 1980 George Raft tough guy in films and life dead at 85 Los Angeles Times ProQuest 162998070 a b c Circuitous Route to Hollywood for Raft Los Angeles Times 23 October 1932 p B7 D E Dec 25 1932 George Raft Started Out As Pugilist Became Fast Hoofer And Was Snapped Up As Actor By Chance The China Press p C13 a b c d Movie tough guy George Raft dies Chicago Tribune Nov 25 1980 ProQuest 172163696 Weil Martin 25 November 1980 Screen tough guy George Raft dies of emphysema off stage life mirrored star s Hollywood image Washington Post Yablonsky pp 11 12 D E Dec 25 1932 George raft started out as pugilist The China Press a b c J M Nov 7 1937 Studio learns the actor means what he says The Washington Post ProQuest 150918620 Earle The Washington Post Feb 8 1926 Yablonsky p 21 81st Street Variety 28 May 1924 p 33 Yablonsky pp 20 21 Yablonsky p 238 Astaire Fred Steps in Time ISBN 0061567566 5th Avenue Variety 1 September 1926 p 22 Yablonsky pp 45 47 a b Magazine article by Jim Beaver George Raft profile Films in Review April 1978 Review of The City Chap at Variety George Raft Variety 30 December 1925 p 29 Hopper H Oct 31 1948 Being the type wins tough guy recognition Los Angeles Times Scheuer P K Oct 15 1928 Night Club Racket in Loew Debut Los Angeles Times Loew s State Variety 17 October 1928 p 39 Queen of the Night Clubs Variety March 20 1929 p 12 Schallert E Mar 8 1929 Charm Marks Talk Novelty Los Angeles Times Busby M Mar 5 1929 Night Club Hostess n Film Debut Los Angeles Times Burnett Mate Ken McGilligan Pat White Dennis L Film Comment Vol 19 no January February 1983 New York pp 58 68 70 80 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link a b Screen News Here and in Hollywood New York Times Jan 21 1939 Kingsley Grace Mar 28 1932 Nomad Stars Coming Home Gary Cooper Returning to Appear With Bankhead Eula Guy Todd Chosen for Society Girl Adrienne Ames Plans Trip to Honolulu Los Angeles Times p A8 Raft s Suavity Utilized in Film Los Angeles Times Apr 17 1932 p B20 Kingsley G May 19 1932 Timely Themes Program BasiS Los Angeles Times Merrick M May 20 1932 Raft Due for Film Stardom Los Angeles Times ProQuest 162653232 James Robert Parish The George Raft File The Unauthorized Biography New York Drake Publishers 1973 ISBN 0877495203 Merrick M 1 September 1932 Hollywood in Person Los Angeles Times ProQuest 163046807 George Raft Funny Kind of Star Variety 13 December 1932 p 3 Widely read story becomes film play with notable cast The Washington Post May 28 1933 ProQuest 163089245 Schwartz faces re indictment on three counts Los Angeles Times Feb 18 1933 ProQuest 163089245 Raft to resume with Paramount New York Times Apr 27 1933 ProQuest 100720295 Schallert E 15 August 1933 Dr Rockwell noted comedian ensnared by films news gossip of studio theaters Los Angeles Times ProQuest 163072855 Hollywood Happenings New York Times Oct 1 1933 ProQuest 100892728 Movie Review An Ambitious Dancer The New York Times February 17 1934 Shaffer G Mar 10 1934 George Raft leaves cast of Mae West film Chicago Daily Tribune ProQuest 181490340 George Raft Refuses Part in Mae West Film The West Australian Vol 50 no 9 936 Western Australia 4 May 1934 p 3 Retrieved 27 July 2017 via National Library of Australia Schallert E Mar 16 1934 Life of Virgie Waters substituted for Alien Corn on Ann Harding s schedule Los Angeles Times ProQuest 163122133 No Longer a Second Valentino Western Mail Vol 53 no 2 706 Western Australia 6 January 1938 p 33 Retrieved 27 July 2017 via National Library of Australia a b J M Aug 1 1937 Scenes kept from public often best The Washington Post ProQuest 150963429 G R 25 February 1934 In which a young man who has a reputation speaks his mind Washington Post ProQuest 150532869 Raft Mixes in Battle Los Angeles Times 4 August 1934 ProQuest 163256685 D W Nov 25 1934 Taking a Look at the Record New York Times ProQuest 101193306 Schallert E 3 December 1934 Henry Hull to pursue career as important character lead in Transient Lady Los Angeles Times ProQuest 163332856 Who ll take their picture Los Angeles Times 12 February 1936 ProQuest 164552400 News of the Screen New York Times September 3 1936 News from Hollywood New York Times Nov 20 1936 Raft Back at Par Variety 14 October 1936 p 3 Schallert E 16 November 1936 Studios Go On Most Terrific Actor Borrowing Spree Ever Los Angeles Times Raft Talking UA Deal after his Par Walk Variety 18 November 1936 p 2 Schallert E Nov 20 1936 George Raft Paramount Make Up Star Goes Into Souls at Sea Los Angeles Times ProQuest 164630698 Read K May 30 1937 Odd and Interesting Los Angeles Times ProQuest 164710371 Highlights From the Studios New York Times Oct 3 1937 ProQuest 848187589 Schallert E July 19 1938 George Raft to star in Two Time Loser Los Angeles Times ProQuest 164899458 L N 9 October 1938 John Payne indebted to Dick Powell Washington Post ProQuest 151020309 T M Jul 23 1939 A Slick Latin From Old Manhattan New York Times ProQuest 102971065 Chruchill Douglas W Jul 15 1939 Screen New Here and in Hollywood New York Times ProQuest 103041219 Wallis Hal B Higham Charles 1980 Starmaker the autobiography of Hal Wallis Macmillan Pub Co p 48 ISBN 978 0026231701 Yablonsky p 58 News of the Screen New York Times Mar 6 1939 ProQuest 102812421 Chruchill Douglas W May 27 1940 Screen News Here and in Hollywood New York Times ProQuest 105197935 Chruchill Douglas W Jun 29 1940 Screen News Here and in Hollywood New York Times ProQuest 105246730 Portrait in Black to Become a Film New York Times Dec 3 1945 ProQuest 107097615 Strand NY Variety 31 July 1940 p 134 Screen News Here and in Hollywood New York Times Aug 21 1940 ProQuest 105273942 Chruchill Douglas W Oct 31 1940 Screen News Here and in Hollywood New York Times ProQuest 105223582 Chruchill Douglas W Nov 4 1940 News of the Screen New York Times ProQuest 105452933 Screen News Here and in Hollywood New York Times Aug 9 1940 ProQuest 105195018 Robinson Edward G Spigelglass Leonard 1973 All my yesterdays an autobiography Hawthorn Books p 244 245 Schallert E Aug 1 1941 Raft refuses to play heel role at Warners Los Angeles Times Chruchill Douglas W Aug 30 1941 Screen News Here and in Hollywood New York Times ProQuest 105977616 T B Jan 11 1942 The Hollywood Scene New York Times ProQuest 106247892 Brady Thomas F Apr 5 1942 A Few Hollywood Aches and Pains Metro Gauges Public Reaction to Ayres Case Mr Raft Protests New York Times p X3 Behlmer Rudy 1987 Inside Warner Bros 1913 1951 ISBN 0671631357 page needed Screen News Here and in Hollywood Warners to Produce Life of de Gaulle and Liberator Record of a Bomber New York Times Nov 13 1942 ProQuest 106201687 a b c Adler D 30 July 1967 George Raft loses A toss Los Angeles Times ProQuest 155741484 Bette Bogart Variety 31 March 1943 p 44 Junkets on Radio Coin Variety 14 July 1943 p 94 Scheuer P K Aug 6 1944 Film history made by Double Indemnity Los Angeles Times ProQuest 165550897 Screen News Here and in Hollywood New York Times Jun 5 1944 ProQuest 106959362 George Raft is signed by RKO for Johnny Angel four new pictures due this week New York Times Jul 24 1944 ProQuest 165705686 Richard Jewell amp Vernon Harbin The RKO Story New Rochelle New York Arlington House hardcover 27 August 1982 p 205 ISBN 0517546566 M Carey s Wage of 1 113 035 Year s Highest Treasury Report Places Film Producer First Chicago Daily Tribune June 17 1946 p 6 Raft Is Organizing Own Movie Studios Actor and Sam Bischoff Will Produce as Star Films Inc James Mason in Deal New York Times September 13 1946 p 5 Underworld keeps its secrets about Siegel Los Angeles Times Jun 26 1947 ProQuest 165705686 Hopper Hedda Oct 31 1948 George Rides High Looking at Hollywood Chicago Daily Tribune p B8 A H Weiler Dec 7 1947 George Raft plans CYO film New York Times ProQuest 108012692 Mitchum In Lead of The Big Steal RKO Moves Actor Into Role Originally Given to Raft Bank Tightens Loans New York Times December 23 1948 p 25 a b Scannell Walter Winter 2014 Tough Guys Do Dance Nostalgia Digest 40 1 26 31 George Raft to Give Pictures Away Goulburn Evening Post New South Wales Australia May 14 1953 p 1 Retrieved July 27 2017 via National Library of Australia George Raft Dances Again The World s News No 2707 New South Wales Australia November 7 1953 p 27 Retrieved July 27 2017 via National Library of Australia Raft Gets okay for 2 Buy of Vegas Casino Variety 28 December 1955 p 2 English T J 2019 The Corporation Gangsters Drugs Sex and Violence The Rise and Fall of American s Cuban Mafia London Blink p 379 ISBN 978 1911274513 OCLC 1079204333 Colin Fry The Krays A Violent Business The Definitive Inside Story of Britain s Most Notorious Brothers in Crime Random House 5 May 2011 Madigan s Millions 1968 IMDb Retrieved Nov 24 2022 via www imdb com Episode 19 151 Apr 29 1980 Retrieved Nov 24 2022 via IMDb Heller Jean October 30 1969 Funds For Parvin Foundation Came From Flamingo Hotel Sale The Evening Sun Hanover Pennsylvania p 29 Retrieved August 29 2016 via Newspapers com Other stockholders included singer Tony Martin and actor George Raft a b Warren Doug Cagney James 1983 Cagney The Authorized Biography Mass Market ed New York St Martin s Press p 166 ISBN 0312902077 Cagney James 2005 1976 Cagney by Cagney Doubleday ISBN 0385520263 George Raft FBI File archive org Tax Inquiry on George Raft Truth No 2742 Sydney 26 July 1942 p 20 Retrieved 27 July 2017 via National Library of Australia Indignant Role for Actor Raft in Bookie Trial Chicago Daily Tribune 18 July 1944 ProQuest 176920724 Actor George Raft Sued The Mercury Vol CLXIV no 23 733 Tasmania Australia 31 December 1946 p 9 Retrieved 27 July 2017 via National Library of Australia Mickey Cohen Variety 29 May 1957 p 46 Raft denied entry into UK news google com accessed August 25 2015 Marriage details Ancestry com Wallace Stone George Raft The Man Who Would Be Bogart ISBN 1593932049 George Raft leaves only 10 000 policy furniture Chicago Tribune Jan 31 1981 ProQuest 172217909 Everett Aaker The Films of George Raft McFarland amp Company 2013 pp 184 188 A M Sperber amp Eric Lax Bogart HarperCollins 2011 Projection Jottings New York Times 19 Feb 1933 p X5 Schallert Edwin January 20 1939 Joan Bennett Set for Man in Iron Mask Brent Plays Minister Atwill in The Gorilla New Television Plans New Raft Controversy Los Angeles Times p 10 Review of Cheating Cheaters radio show at Variety Review of show at Variety Radio s Golden Age Nostalgia Digest 40 1 40 41 Winter 2014 Rocky Jordan infosite thrillingdetective com accessed August 1 2016 Sources Edit1900 United States Federal Census Census Place Manhattan New York New York Roll T623 1109 Page 4B Enumeration District 642 non primary source needed 1910 Census Place Manhattan Ward 12 New York New York Roll T624 1025 p 19A Enumeration District 668 Image 1104 non primary source needed Further reading EditBeaver Jim 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 1929631650 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 1593931239 Yablonsky Lewis George Raft New York McGraw Hill Book Co 1974 ISBN 0070722358 External links Edit Biography portal Wikimedia Commons has media related to George Raft Wikiquote has quotations related to George Raft George Raft at IMDb George Raft at the TCM Movie Database George Raft at the Internet Broadway Database George Raft s FBI File at Internet Archive George Raft at Find a Grave George Raft profile Virtual History com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Raft amp oldid 1127366454, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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