Ray, Nicholas

Ray, Nicholas (b. Raymond Nicholas Kienzle)

(1911–79) film director; born in La Crosse, Wis. After studying architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright, he became an actor and sometime director for radio and the stage. His film directorial debut came with They Live by Night (1949). A specialist in movies of social rebellion, characterized by tense and restless camera movement, he directed such movies as Knock on Any Door (1949), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and 55 Days at Peking (1963). With this last film he effectively retired from Hollywood (although he worked with New York State University students in filming You Can't Go Home Again, finished in 1976), but his reputation continued to increase due primarily to the tributes from foreign students of films and from many Hollywood insiders.