Ray Mala

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ray Mala
Hollywood, California
, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1921–1952
Spouses
Gertrude Becker
​
​
(m. 1932, divorced)​
Galina Kropotkin Liss
​
​
(m. 1937)​

Ray Mala (born Ray Agnaqsiaq Wise,[1] also known as Ach-nach-chiak (Iñupiaq othography: Aġnatchiaq or Aġnasiaq); December 27, 1906 – September 23, 1952) was a prominent Alaska Native Hollywood actor. He was one of Hollywood's Native American movie actors along with Lillian St. Cyr, Jesse Cornplanter, Chief Yowlachie, William Eagle Shirt, and Will Rogers who also had successful careers during that time. Mala's career peaked in the 1930s and he was best known for his lead role in Republic Pictures' 14-part serial Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island (1936) following his feature role in MGM's Eskimo, directed by Woody Van Dyke. He was named a "Top Ten Alaskan" by TIME Magazine in 2009.[2]

Early life

Ray Mala was born Ray Wise in the small village of Candle, Alaska, to a Russian Jewish immigrant father and an Iñupiaq mother.[3] He was born during a time when Alaska was still only a territory of the United States and was viewed by most Americans as a vast, mysterious frontier. In 1921 an explorer, Captain Frank Kleinschmidt, ventured to Alaska on an expedition to produce Primitive Love, a film in which a 14-year-old Mala made his screen debut. The teenager acted in front of the camera in a minor role and at times served as a cameraman while shooting on location. Later, from 1921 to 1924, Mala also accompanied Knud Rasmussen, the Danish Arctic explorer and writer, as official cameraman on Rasmussen's trip The Great Sled Journey to collect and describe Inuit songs and legends.

Career

In 1925, Mala arrived in Hollywood and got a job as a cameraman with

Oscar for Best Film Editing
for his work on the picture.

Ray Mala gained praise following Eskimo, and as a result MGM cast him as the lead in Last of the Pagans (1935), directed by

Son of Fury (1942), starring Tyrone Power; The Tuttles of Tahiti (1942), starring Charles Laughton
; and many others.

Mala also spent time behind the camera. He worked with

Academy Award winner Joseph LaShelle on many pictures, including Laura (1944), starring Gene Tierney, and Les Misérables (1952). He was on location in Santa Rosa as a cameraman on Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943). Other films include Meet Me After the Show (1951), starring Betty Grable, and The Fan
(1949).

In 1952, Mala reappeared in front of the camera to play in Red Snow opposite Guy Madison. According to the American Film Institute, Red Snow is the first film to deal with the Cold War and the atomic bomb.

Death

Shortly after the release of Red Snow, Mala died from

heart problems on the set of his last film. He was only 45.[5] His career in Hollywood spanned almost 30 years.[3] Fifty years after his death, his remains were returned to Alaska, with a reburial ceremony in 2018 inside Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery.[6]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1933 Eskimo Mala, aka Kripik Uncredited
1935 Last of the Pagans Taro
1936 Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island Agent Ray Mala
The Jungle Princess Melan
1938 Hawk of the Wilderness Olee John
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok Little Elk Serial (ch. 5-6)
Hawk of the Wilderness Kias Serial
1939 Union Pacific Indian Finding Cigar Store Indian Uncredited
Mutiny on the Blackhawk Wani - Native Slave Leader
Coast Guard Eskimo Driver Uncredited
1940 Green Hell Mala
Zanzibar Mala
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe Prince of the Rock People Serial (ch. 7-9); uncredited
South of Pago Pago Native Diver Uncredited
Girl from God's Country Joe
North West Mounted Police Indian Uncredited
The Devil's Pipeline Talamu
1941 Hold Back the Dawn Young Mexican Bridegroom Uncredited
Honolulu Lu Native Cop Uncredited
1942
Son of Fury
 Marnoa
The Mad Doctor of Market Street Barab
The Girl from Alaska Charley
The Tuttles of Tahiti Nat
1952 Red Snow Sgt. Koovuk Final film role

References

  1. ^ Stern, Pamela R. (2013). Historical Dictionary of the Inuit. Scarecrow Press. p. 197. Stern gives Mala's birth year as 1908.
  2. ^ TIME Magazine, January 2, 2009
  3. ^ a b Dunham, Mike (March 27, 2011). "Book Recounts Career of The 'Eskimo Clark Gable'". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  4. ISBN 9780275983963
    .
  5. ISBN 9780810835474
    . Gives Mala's birth and death dates.
  6. ^ Carney, Jack (August 20, 2018). "Oscar Winning Alaska Native Ray Mala Reburied in Anchorage". KTUU. Retrieved March 8, 2019.

Further reading

External links
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