Dead of the Nite

When it comes to Scream Queens, there is only one place to
begin, Fay Wray. The petite, auburn haired beauty with hazel
eyes not only has the the honor of being the original Scream
Queen, but also has the distinction of having played in more
films in which she was the only girl than any other actress in
Hollywood. Vina Fay Wray was born on September 15, 1907, on
a ranch near Cardston, Alberta, Canada, to Mormon parents,
Elvina Marguerite Jones and Joseph Heber Wray. Her family left
their ranch in 1910 and moved to the United States, where Fay
began to participate in school plays. She soon became fascinated
by the world of motion pictures. After moving to Los Angeles,
young Fay would soon after make her movie debut by being
cast as an extra, in Hal Roach comedy shorts and B westerns. In
1926, the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers
selected Wray as one of the "WAMPAS Baby Stars" alongside
Joan Crawford, Dolores del Rio and Mary Astor, young women
whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom
In 1927, Fay was contracted to Paramount Pictures. In
1928, director Erich von Stroheim cast her as the main female
lead in his film The Wedding March. While the film
was noted for its high budget and production values, it was
a financial failure, but gave Wray her first lead role. Soon
after, she began working with many of Hollywood’s main
male stars, such as Gary Cooper, William Powell and Ronald
Colman. Wray stayed with Paramount to make more than a
dozen films and to make the transition from silent films to
"talkie" films. Leaving Paramount, Fay was cast in various
horror films. However, her greatest known films were produced
under her deal with RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
It was in 1932 that the Scream Queen seed began to grow,
as Fay became involved in her first horror film, Doctor X,
with Lionel Atwill. For the first time for such a project, the
Fay Wray scream would be heard in a theatre! The Most
Dangerous Game (1932), her first film under RKO, costarred
Joel McCrea was shot at night on the same jungle
sets that were being used for King Kong during the day. Running around in wet clothes was to be Fay’s major
physical activity for many days.