George Raft(1901-1980)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
George Raft was born and grew up in a poor family in Hell's Kitchen, at
the time one of the roughest, meanest areas of New York City. He was
born George Ranft, and was the son of Eva (Glockner) and Conrad Ranft,
a department store deliveryman. His parents were both of German
descent. In his youth, he showed a great interest in, and aptitude for,
dancing. That, combined with his dark good looks and sharp dressing,
made him a local favorite at such spots as the El Fey Club with
Texas Guinan. In 1928, Raft went to
Hollywood to try his luck at acting. His first big role was as the
coin-tossing henchman in
Scarface (1932). His career was marked
by numerous tough-guy roles, often a gangster or convict. The
believability with which he played these, together with his lifelong
associations with such real-life gangsters as
Owney Madden and
Bugsy Siegel, added to persistent rumors
that he was also a gangster. The slightly shady reputation may have
helped his popularity early on, but it made him somewhat undesirable to
movie executives later in his career. He somewhat parodied his gangster
reputation in Billy Wilder's
Certains l'aiment chaud (1959).
