Gray, Spalding

▪ 2005

      American writer, monologuist, and actor (b. June 5, 1941, Barrington, R.I.—found dead March 7, 2004, New York, N.Y.), was a master storyteller who used his own life experiences for a series of monologues, including his most famous, Swimming to Cambodia (1984; filmed 1987), as well as such others as Monster in a Box (1990; filmed 1992) and Gray's Anatomy (1993; filmed 1996). He also appeared in more than 30 movies, including The Killing Fields (1984), Beaches (1988), and Beyond Rangoon (1995), and on Broadway in Our Town (1988) and Gore Vidal's The Best Man (2000). Gray, who had been troubled by depression for several years, had been missing since January 10 and was thought to have taken his own life.

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