George Raft
Birthday:
26 September 1901, New York City, New York, USA
Birth Name:
George Ranft
Height:
170 cm
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 fo...
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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 Some Like It Hot (1959). Show less «
[on his acting] I'm afraid to look, because I'm probably awful.
[on his acting] I'm afraid to look, because I'm probably awful.
I must have gone through $10 million during my career. Part of the loot went for gambling, part for horses and part for women. The rest I sp...Show more »
I must have gone through $10 million during my career. Part of the loot went for gambling, part for horses and part for women. The rest I spent foolishly. Show less «
[on acting] You see, I found it tough work. What I would do would be to think over the scene in my mind and try to become whoever I was play...Show more »
[on acting] You see, I found it tough work. What I would do would be to think over the scene in my mind and try to become whoever I was playing. I would try to feel like the person in that particular scene. Sometimes my words would be different from the script. Show less «
[In a 1936 interview, discussing former jobs before getting into the acting profession] My one ambition then was to drive a horse. So I got ...Show more »
[In a 1936 interview, discussing former jobs before getting into the acting profession] My one ambition then was to drive a horse. So I got a job driving a delivery wagon for a large grocery company. I drove up and down Ninth avenue like I was daffy. I raced all the other delivery wagons. I gave all the boys rides. Deliveries were always late, customers complained, and I was fired. Show less «
[April, 1944] Here I am, back in a musical comedy picture. And that's not all. A fan called me from Chicago the other day and told me I was ...Show more »
[April, 1944] Here I am, back in a musical comedy picture. And that's not all. A fan called me from Chicago the other day and told me I was her pin-up boy. How d'ya like that? I'm a boy, now. Show less «
[on turning down the leading part in one of Hollywood's greatest dramas] Whoever heard of Casablanca? I don't want to star opposite an unkno...Show more »
[on turning down the leading part in one of Hollywood's greatest dramas] Whoever heard of Casablanca? I don't want to star opposite an unknown Swedish broad. Show less «
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