George Raft
George Raft ( born September 26, 1901 in New York City as George Ranft; † November 24, 1980 in Los Angeles, California ) was an American actor. The son of German dancer was successful for decades as a movie star, but he often played gangsters, such as Scarface, a Night and Some Like it Hot. In fact, he was a good friend of mobsters Bugsy Siegel.
Life and career
George Raft was 1901 - Other sources also give 1895 - when George Ranft in Washington Heights, the son of Eva Glockner and Conrad Ranft, who had immigrated from Germany, born in a very poor background. His parents worked as a dancer in New York clubs. Even as a 13 - year-old he ran away from home. In his early years he tried his hand as a boxer, a nightclub dancer and taxi drivers. Since his childhood, he was friends with the Mobstern Bugsy Siegel and Owney Madden, with whom he grew up in the same criminal neighborhoods. Later he provided for acquaintance seal in Hollywood and supported him with its popularity in court. In 1923 he married Grace Mulrooney, with whom he was married until her death in 1970. In fact, the marriage was broken long before, since Raft had affairs with Betty Grable, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West and Norma Shearer. However, rafts wife was a strict Catholic and did not want to get divorced, so that the marriage remained.
1928 was the relatively slight, but good-looking raft to Hollywood to film in the city to try his luck. In the early years he got only small roles, his breakthrough came in 1932, then in the classic movie Scarface as gangster partner of Paul Muni, who is killed by this because of an affair with his sister. Raft strengthened in the 1930s, mainly through crime films such as fear of death at every dusk and at night go its position as the star of the gangster film. The early 1940s, he should take the lead roles in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca, quite by accident rafts longtime co-star Humphrey Bogart was committed and reached through these roles worldwide fame.
From colleagues Raft was described as very professional worker who could memorize his lines in front of all the other performers. However, it is assumed that Raft was so good as to read and write the scripts and got used to read. He also spoke fluent German, which he had learned from his parents.
From 1945, he was often seen in films of the noir. Mostly, the film projects were small and could not reach its previous successes, after all, he embodied in these usually the main role. Even film projects in Europe as well as his own TV series proved to be failures. He opened with Cosa Nostra head Meyer Lansky and Santo Trafficante the mafia boss Capri Casino in Havana, that went well at first. He lost it, however, in 1959 by the revolution in Cuba. He had his today perhaps best known appearance in the same year in the comedy classic Some Like It Hot. In a larger supporting role he played the crime boss " Leggings Colombo ", a parody of his usual type of role. It was one of his last more significant roles, then he had to make do with mostly cameo appearances and supporting roles.
1965 Raft was accused of having committed tax evasion because of its financial problems. However, he got off with a suspended sentence because he pleaded guilty. 1967 Great Britain banned him entry because of his mafia contacts. George Raft died at the age of 79 from leukemia and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park. He got on the Hollywood Walk of Fame a star for his performance in the film ( 6150 Hollywood Boulevard ) and one for his career in television (1500 Vine St. ).
1991 appeared the biographical movie Bugsy, in which Joe Mantegna represented Raft in a Supporting Role George. In 1962 appeared the B- movie The George Raft Story ( in Germany known as: The dancing gangsters ), who also handled his acquaintances with gangsters.