Ray Walston

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Birthday:

2 December 1914, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Birth Name:

Herman Walston

Height:

173 cm

Ray Walston started his acting career as a spear carrier with a local stock company. When the family moved to Houston, Texas, Walston's father wanted to teach him the oil business, but Walston instead joined a traveling repertory company (selling tickets as well as acting). He went on to associate with Margo Jones at the Houston Civic Theater for six years, then spent three seasons with the Cleveland Playhouse before arriving in New York in 1945. He has won a Tony Award for his performance as the Devil in Broadway's "Damn Yankees", two Emmy Awards for Picket Fences (1992), and become a household name playing the extraterrestrial "Uncle Martin" on My Favorite Martian (1963). Ray Walston died at age 86 of lupus on New Year's Day 2001 in Beverly Hills, California. Show less «

I never should have done My Favorite Martian (1963). I didn't work in television or film for three years after. Everyone thought of me as a ...Show more »

I never should have done My Favorite Martian (1963). I didn't work in television or film for three years after. Everyone thought of me as a Martian. Do you know what it's like to go to Madrid, Spain, on vacation and have a guy yell out, "Hey, Martin!" and put antennas behind his head? When that happens, you know your career is dead. Show less «

(on his thoughts after four episodes of My Favorite Martian (1963)) I thought, "What am I doing here? I'm running around with two pieces of ...Show more »

(on his thoughts after four episodes of My Favorite Martian (1963)) I thought, "What am I doing here? I'm running around with two pieces of wire coming out of my head. I must be crazy.". Show less «

(his 1995 Emmy Award acceptance speech) I have 30 seconds to tell you I have been waiting 60 years to get on this stage.

(on being labeled a character actor) I'm an actor and that's it -- period. Producers and studios have thrown many things at me over the year...Show more »

(on being labeled a character actor) I'm an actor and that's it -- period. Producers and studios have thrown many things at me over the years: comedy, tragedy, drama, drawing-room comedy. I've managed to keep my head above water in most of these genres, but I don't put myself in any one category like "comic actor" or "musical-comedy" actor. Show less «

My Favorite Martian (1963) ended after three years, because the people at the top killed the goose that laid the golden egg. They didn't kno...Show more »

My Favorite Martian (1963) ended after three years, because the people at the top killed the goose that laid the golden egg. They didn't know how to keep the goose alive. Show less «