Biography

Bernard B. Ray was born on November 18, 1895 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was a producer and director, known for Hollywood Thrill-Makers (1954), Spring Affair (1960) and It's All in Your Mind (1938). He was married to Georgia Mae Tallant. He died on December 10, 1964 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Brother of Leon Shamroy.

Member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).

Although several sources have claimed that one of his many aliases was "Raymond K. Johnson", that is not the case.--Raymond K. Johnson was a cameraman and director who worked for Ray's company on occasion, but they were not the same person.

[in 1938] I used to get $1,850 out of a London distributor for a Western. Now I can't get $100. Hell, I can't give 'em away.

[in 1938] We got to have somebody in the picture who can ride a horse. Up 'til the Guild [Screen Actors Guild] got started we could get them for $3 a day and at night they would drink up all their pay except say about a dime for breakfast. Now with the Guild in, they get about $25 a day and STILL have a dime left the next morning.

[in 1938, on the state of the independent "B" western] The Western business is shot . . . The plots are so formula that New York, Philadelphia and Chicago don't go for them any more. The South dearly loves them, but that's not enough.