I'm 73 and remember George Raft fondly. Back in the 50s, TV was still a fairly new medium and a lot of local stations and even some networks played a lot of movies from the 30s and 40s regularly and so we got to see a lot of the movies that were made in those past two decades. I remember George Raft being interview once on television in the late 50s or early 60s and he said something that always stuck with me! He said in all of his movie career he's never seen himself on film or in any of his movies and they were on TV all the time. He then added in the interview that he would never see himself on film or on TV for as long as he lived! True story and he was kind of famous for having said this because no other actor had even said this before!
What most people never knew about George Raft was that he was a song-and-dance man in Speak Easy's and grew up around gangsters before he was a full actor. I have been to his grave too. He is located at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills in the Courts of Remembrance crypts. He is buried just to the right of another actor, Freddie Prinze.
I've watched George Raft films as a pre-teen and teenager in my Middle School days. I still do. Scarface 1932, They Drive By Night, Invisible Stripes, Manpower with Edward G. Robinson are my fave Raft films.
George Raft was a great actor who played his roles with an iconic stage persona that is one day, going to cause a memorence of him to surge by classic Movie buffs. I remember him in the movie, The House Across the Bay, with Joan Bennett and in another great movie, Whistle Stop.
George Raft got married when he was around 22. Stayed married until his wife died some 47 years later. If for no other reason, he is golden in my book of Hollywood fame!!!!
Well, she wouldn't give him a divorce, so he did support her for decades! He was truly in love with a woman much later but it had to be broken off because he couldn't get a divorce.
Not a mystery...she wouldn't allow him to divorce her (Catholics) so he actually continued to support her financially all her life. He couldn't marry the woman he wanted to years later because of this situation.
@@secretariatgirl4249 It was Norma Shearer. Apparently they had a long term relationship but when his wife still wouldn't give him a divorce, Norma broke up with him.
I do recall him in Movies. When I was young, I loved the older movies. He was a good actor. Still adore black and white movies over the the modern drivil offered now.
I love all of George Raft's movies for many years. I have watched these types of movies since I was a kid. He deserves more acclaim for his talent like Humphrey Bogart & James Cagney.
I've known of George Raft thru my being a serious Frank Sinatra fan, and also as a Mob historian. I've seen clips of him in films and I thought that he was both cool and smooth. He was an incredibly talented dancer! I think that it's a shame that he never got the proper credit for this! I can tell that he may have gotten his skills at a Black and Tan jazz club in Harlem during prohibition. I've just purchased a book about his life by a writer named Lewis Yablonsky. It should be interesting!
That is a very interesting book...I have a paperback from when it was first published decades ago! His remembrances about Valentino are really interesting!! George felt that Rudy was depressed even in his early days in NY and was very unhappy just before he died...RIP
I never heard of him until now but what it appears in the above mentioned datas he is a very good actor & it even shows how good he would've been in The Roles that went to Humprey Bogart.
When you suggest no one remembers George Raft today, you are just showing Your Own ignorance. He was an iconic actor, who started as a fine song and dance man in New York. As usual he went to Hollywood and they only judged by his looks, so mostly cast him as gangsters. (You show a picture of him next to James Cagney, who was also mostly cast as villains, but was another accomplished song and dance man.) Please don't foist your own lack of knowledge on the rest of us who remember George Raft quite well.
I remember him : I’ve got several of his movies including If I Had a Million (he plays a forger and no one will believe him) and also, being a French elder woman, I also have the DVD of « Du rififi à Paname » : he faces Jean Gabin.
Raft was from a jewish german family. The story was that he was pretty much illiterate so the scripts had to be read to him. His signature move, flipping a coin during a scene, was created by the director as it was thought Raft couldnt act and this motion would make him memorable to the audience
This May Seem Silly, I Always Liked Ginger Ale, My Father Said Too Me Decades Ago. Ginger Ale Was George Raft's Favorite Drink Favorite Drink. And I Liked His Movies Great Actors.👍
This is the first generation less smart than the previous one. The excuse "Before my time" doesn't cut it anymore. Its just not culture things, but all history in general. Younger people no longer read unless its a text or Twitter. Scary.
Raft also was a boxer for about 15 matches...his best buddy from his youth in Hell's Kitchen was Bugsy Siegel, the gangster, and he stayed friends with him for life.
Yes, I remember him well. Appeared in a number of the noir films of the ‘40’s. Pushed ahead by “The boys,” as Sinatra was, he was heralded as the New Valentino. A lover of Betty Grable, he lost her to Harry James, a band leader. I thought him appealing on screen, tho a little stiff.
He ended his career behind a desk as a clerk, he never took Hollywood seriously, had gangsters as friends, like Bugsy Siegle, turned down some iconic roles that brought Humphrey Bogart to stardom, but yes he was a star...
His name is familiar, but I don't know his movies. This video has piqued my interest. The 40's are my favorite movie decade. Now those actors/actresses were Movie Stars!!! 😍
I was born in the 50's and grew up on westerns. Once I was on my own, I discovered the wonderful world of 40's movies. One actor, William Powell, was a delight. I'll be checking out your channel again. Thanks!
Not really for us Movie Buffs do Remember the Tough guy Actor..he just had a poor Movie Representation some roles.he would not play the " Guy guy" Loved Drive By Nigjt and his roles with Humphrey and Johnny Angle was a super movie along with some like it hot...he liked roles playing the mobster... GOERGE RAFT is great...have lots of movies of his in my home library...just wish the networks sponsored George Raff movie narathons... his talent would shine. Well lots of prayers George you are remember in my movie Library..
Only thing I remember of him is in an episode of The Andy Griffith show Barney mentions wanting to see a George Raft movie on TV. It was from season three Barney mends a broken heart episode.
I remember George Raft. The only movie I can remember him in was is Some like a Hot and Casino Royale (1967). He had a reputation in Hollywood for being very difficult to work with and a very generous man, but not very good with his money. As I understand it, he lived his remaining years almost completely broke. Even though he earned millions throughout his career. In the end he was penniless. A good actor that unfortunately his ego and is drinking got the better of him. RIP: George Raft, born George Ranft, September 26, 1901 - November 24, 1980, age 79. ✝️
Good stuff, and a nice tribute to, yes, a star not really remembered today (but as time marches on, a lot of classic names from the Hollywood yesteryear are fading if not outright forgotten by those except die-heard film fans . . . but some errors: Raft did dance in many movies, including a scene in the pre-Scarface movie starring Spencer Tracy, Quick Millions, but he never makes a single dance move in Scarface, though Ann Dvorak does a seductive one. Also, Raft never turned down Casablanca; in fact he campaigned for the role but producer Hal Wallis and director Michael Curtiz wanted Bogart - whose career was definitely on the rise thanks to George turning down so many films (both good and bad) that Bogie inherited. Another film that Raft turned down, post-Warners, was Double Indemnity -- because by this point in his career Raft wanted to change his gangster image and be seen as a good guy. After director Billy Wilder finished reading Raft the script of Double Indemnity, George wanted to know when his Walter Neff character would suddenly flash open his badge to reveal he was really an undercover cop out to nab Barbara Stanwyck for the murder of her husband. Huh??!! Totally a different movie under those circumstances, ditto Dead End where the character of Baby Face Martin (if played by Raft under his conditions), was to discourage the Dead End Kids into following a life of crime rather than pursuing it, a la Bogart's interpretation. Oh George -- you took these roles too personally.
Sure your Gen-X, Millennials and Gen-Z, but I being a Boomer remember who he was seeing his movies on TV in the late 1950's and early 60's As far as that goes the generations that came after me don't know who the majority of actors from Hollywood's Golden Age or even the 1960 - 1970's. It's shows how out of step I am with those groups when I mention one of these Stars.
I’m stepping right next to you. If we get another 10 or so of us, we’ll be a formidable gang! We need our own colors though. Maybe red, white and blue? That seems to be abandoned in the the gangs of today.
Another big obstacle Raft had to overcome was his height. At 5' 6", many producers were reluctant to have him take leading roles, and often times he wore platform shoe inserts.
That didn’t stop Alan Ladd. All the studios cared about was ticket sales. Size, height, breath smell, didn’t matter if they could put them in the movie theater seats.
@@magovenor, Ladd and Cagney had various roles in movies, whereas Raft was pretty much type cast to the "ganster" genre; back then in Hollywood "size did matter", but only when the directors and producers said so. Today, with new technology, such things as height, weight, old, young.., are much easier to adjust. Speaking of height, Dolly Parton comes to mind; last year I met Dolly at a truck stop outside of Nashville, and was I surprised how short she is! I'm 6'6", and the little sweetie pie couldn't be over 5 feet tall!🙂😂😁
I remember this ACTOR very well! TCM plays movies of his! He was a very debonaire personification of a gentleman! ❤ watch his movies and revive his accomplishments!🙏🏼🫶🏻🥰
Did you know that George Raft died poor? Find out why here: th-cam.com/video/sjCSNDiQ2PI/w-d-xo.html
I'm 73 and remember George Raft fondly. Back in the 50s, TV was still a fairly new medium and a lot of local stations and even some networks played a lot of movies from the 30s and 40s regularly and so we got to see a lot of the movies that were made in those past two decades. I remember George Raft being interview once on television in the late 50s or early 60s and he said something that always stuck with me! He said in all of his movie career he's never seen himself on film or in any of his movies and they were on TV all the time. He then added in the interview that he would never see himself on film or on TV for as long as he lived! True story and he was kind of famous for having said this because no other actor had even said this before!
Probably because he knew how bad an actor he was and would be embarrassed even while watching a movie by himself. George was absolutely atrocious.
What most people never knew about George Raft was that he was a song-and-dance man in Speak Easy's and grew up around gangsters before he was a full actor. I have been to his grave too. He is located at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills in the Courts of Remembrance crypts. He is buried just to the right of another actor, Freddie Prinze.
Yup Madden Fay in 40s near Timsz Sq
I've watched George Raft films as a pre-teen and teenager in my Middle School days. I still do. Scarface 1932, They Drive By Night, Invisible Stripes, Manpower with Edward G. Robinson are my fave Raft films.
George Raft was a great actor who played his roles with an iconic stage persona that is one day, going to cause a memorence of him to surge by classic Movie buffs. I remember him in the movie, The House Across the Bay, with Joan Bennett and in another great movie, Whistle Stop.
Beautiful words, thank you for your message for George. We're moved. May he find peace 🙏🙏
George Raft got married when he was around 22. Stayed married until his wife died some 47 years later. If for no other reason, he is golden in my book of Hollywood fame!!!!
Thanks for watching! We're glad to know that you love our video. If we may ask, what is your favorite role of George?
Enigma, Raft didn't live with his wife for decades. He had numerous affairs with other women.
Well, she wouldn't give him a divorce, so he did support her for decades! He was truly in love with a woman much later but it had to be broken off because he couldn't get a divorce.
Not a mystery...she wouldn't allow him to divorce her (Catholics) so he actually continued to support her financially all her life. He couldn't marry the woman he wanted to years later because of this situation.
@@secretariatgirl4249 It was Norma Shearer. Apparently they had a long term relationship but when his wife still wouldn't give him a divorce, Norma broke up with him.
I remember George Raft . I really enjoyed his acting. I'm 93 yrs old so remember alot of the old stars
Jj😅
George IS THE GREATEST
I do recall him in Movies. When I was young, I loved the older movies. He was a good actor. Still adore black and white movies over the the modern drivil offered now.
Fun stuff, thank you so much for sharing your life story. Who is your all-time favorite actor?
I love all of George Raft's movies for many years. I have watched these types of movies since I was a kid. He deserves more acclaim for his talent like Humphrey Bogart & James Cagney.
I've known of George Raft thru my being a serious Frank Sinatra fan, and also as a Mob historian. I've seen clips of him in films and I thought that he was both cool and smooth. He was an incredibly talented dancer! I think that it's a shame that he never got the proper credit for this! I can tell that he may have gotten his skills at a Black and Tan jazz club in Harlem during prohibition.
I've just purchased a book about his life by a writer named Lewis Yablonsky. It should be interesting!
That is a very interesting book...I have a paperback from when it was first published decades ago! His remembrances about Valentino are really interesting!! George felt that Rudy was depressed even in his early days in NY and was very unhappy just before he died...RIP
I do remember him. I worked the late shift at work and came home to watch late movies.
Snap
We're very happy to know that you remember George. Which of his roles appealed to you the most?
I've never forgotten him.
George Raft was an excellant actor very talanted.❤️
I remember George raft very well he was a gangster in most all of his movies that I ever saw and he was very good at it like he was a pro
Glad to know that you remember George. In your opinion, what is his finest role?
Top actor top play boy top dancer + he loved London Town will always be remembered in my head...
No one?? Anyone who loves great films knows his name and his work. But great films haven't been made in Hollywood for many decades.
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I never heard of him until now but what it appears in the above mentioned datas he is a very good actor & it even shows how good he would've been in The Roles that went to Humprey Bogart.
Glad to know that you got t he chance to know George. We miss him 😭😭
Because Bogart was a true Judas. Geogerge found out about that too late.
When you suggest no one remembers George Raft today, you are just showing Your Own ignorance. He was an iconic actor, who started as a fine song and dance man in New York. As usual he went to Hollywood and they only judged by his looks, so mostly cast him as gangsters. (You show a picture of him next to James Cagney, who was also mostly cast as villains, but was another accomplished song and dance man.) Please don't foist your own lack of knowledge on the rest of us who remember George Raft quite well.
Magical video.
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I remember him : I’ve got several of his movies including If I Had a Million (he plays a forger and no one will believe him) and also, being a French elder woman, I also have the DVD of « Du rififi à Paname » : he faces Jean Gabin.
Fun stuff, thanks for sharing! What other types of video would you like to see on our channel?
I remember (via late night TV) him well. As an Actor and as a Hoofer!
Us too! May George find peace. What other types of video would you like to see on our channel?
i am 73 and remember too he was a great actor and great dancer
❤ grew up watching Geirge Raft as I grew up it was mu Mom and Dad's favorite movie my Dad loved his way of dressing .
He not forgotten in my Family
Raft was from a jewish german family. The story was that he was pretty much illiterate so the scripts had to be read to him. His signature move, flipping a coin during a scene, was created by the director as it was thought Raft couldnt act and this motion would make him memorable to the audience
Well I remember him well! However I didn't know he was such a great dancer..😮😊
Mom told me he was Greek but I see he was born to German parents I love him I am 78 years old and remember him fondly
This May Seem Silly, I Always Liked Ginger Ale, My Father Said Too Me Decades Ago. Ginger Ale Was George Raft's Favorite Drink Favorite Drink. And I Liked His Movies Great Actors.👍
Fun stuff, thanks for sharing! What other types of video would you like to see?
This is the first generation less smart than the previous one. The excuse "Before my time" doesn't cut it anymore. Its just not culture things, but all history in general. Younger people no longer read unless its a text or Twitter. Scary.
Doesn’t help that the old movies are limited to viewing media
Yes i remember him but yes i don't read much of him. Thanks fir his story
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Haven’t heard his name for years but watched him when I was a kid. So you are correct about his name falling into obscurity
I still see him in TCM
Raft also was a boxer for about 15 matches...his best buddy from his youth in Hell's Kitchen was Bugsy Siegel, the gangster, and he stayed friends with him for life.
I remember him very well. He was small n stature but I thought he played his acting rolls to a “T”. 👍🏽👌🏽❤
We absolutely agree! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. Be safe and have a great day!
Yes, I remember him well. Appeared in a number of the noir films of the ‘40’s. Pushed ahead by “The boys,” as Sinatra was, he was heralded as the New Valentino. A lover of Betty Grable, he lost her to Harry James, a band leader. I thought him appealing on screen, tho a little stiff.
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@@FactsVerse Classic horror, noir are faves.
He ended his career behind a desk as a clerk, he never took Hollywood seriously, had gangsters as friends, like Bugsy Siegle, turned down some iconic roles that brought Humphrey Bogart to stardom, but yes he was a star...
TCM pays respect to George Raft. That's how I remember him.
Thanks for sharing! What is your favorite role of George?
Great actor
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His name is familiar, but I don't know his movies. This video has piqued my interest. The 40's are my favorite movie decade. Now those actors/actresses were Movie Stars!!! 😍
Thanks for watching! We're glad to know that you love our video. If we may ask, who is your favorite 40s actor?
I was born in the 50's and grew up on westerns. Once I was on my own, I discovered the wonderful world of 40's movies. One actor, William Powell, was a delight. I'll be checking out your channel again. Thanks!
Not really for us Movie Buffs do Remember the Tough guy Actor..he just had a poor Movie Representation some roles.he would not play the " Guy guy" Loved Drive By Nigjt and his roles with Humphrey and Johnny Angle was a super movie along with some like it hot...he liked roles playing the mobster... GOERGE RAFT is great...have lots of movies of his in my home library...just wish the networks sponsored George Raff movie narathons... his talent would shine. Well lots of prayers George you are remember in my movie Library..
Thank you so much for your beautiful message for George. We're moved. He's smiling right now while reading your message.
Only thing I remember of him is in an episode of The Andy Griffith show Barney mentions wanting to see a George Raft movie on TV. It was from season three Barney mends a broken heart episode.
Grorge Raft...saw a few movies of his and remember some when he was old..surprised on his ruff public imagine and being difficult
I remember George Raft. Always the tough guy, kind of like Bogey.
He was a great actor
I did, liked the gangster
Famous actor for his time...😂😂
I remember George Raft. The only movie I can remember him in was is Some like a Hot and Casino Royale (1967). He had a reputation in Hollywood for being very difficult to work with and a very generous man, but not very good with his money. As I understand it, he lived his remaining years almost completely broke. Even though he earned millions throughout his career. In the end he was penniless. A good actor that unfortunately his ego and is drinking got the better of him.
RIP: George Raft, born George Ranft, September 26, 1901 - November 24, 1980, age 79. ✝️
Glad to know that you remember George. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. If we may ask, who is your all-time favorite actor?
Good stuff, and a nice tribute to, yes, a star not really remembered today (but as time marches on, a lot of classic names from the Hollywood yesteryear are fading if not outright forgotten by those except die-heard film fans . . . but some errors: Raft did dance in many movies, including a scene in the pre-Scarface movie starring Spencer Tracy, Quick Millions, but he never makes a single dance move in Scarface, though Ann Dvorak does a seductive one. Also, Raft never turned down Casablanca; in fact he campaigned for the role but producer Hal Wallis and director Michael Curtiz wanted Bogart - whose career was definitely on the rise thanks to George turning down so many films (both good and bad) that Bogie inherited. Another film that Raft turned down, post-Warners, was Double Indemnity -- because by this point in his career Raft wanted to change his gangster image and be seen as a good guy. After director Billy Wilder finished reading Raft the script of Double Indemnity, George wanted to know when his Walter Neff character would suddenly flash open his badge to reveal he was really an undercover cop out to nab Barbara Stanwyck for the murder of her husband. Huh??!! Totally a different movie under those circumstances, ditto Dead End where the character of Baby Face Martin (if played by Raft under his conditions), was to discourage the Dead End Kids into following a life of crime rather than pursuing it, a la Bogart's interpretation. Oh George -- you took these roles too personally.
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I remember him!
Glad to know that you remember George. What other types of video would you like to see?
I remember him as the gangster flipping the coin. This was parodied on Bugs Bunny cartoons.
He's a very good actor
&, He's 🎬
Keep s him in
Our 💕
😅
& , that's how we will
REMEMBER 🎉🎉🎉
SO NEVER BE FORGOTTEN
BY HIS FANS .
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I remember his name and films. TCM
Glad to know that you remember George. Which of his roles appealed to you the most?
I remember him
Sure your Gen-X, Millennials and Gen-Z, but I being a Boomer remember who he was seeing his movies on TV in the late 1950's and early 60's As far as that goes the generations that came after me don't know who the majority of actors from Hollywood's Golden Age or even the 1960 - 1970's. It's shows how out of step I am with those groups when I mention one of these Stars.
I’m stepping right next to you. If we get another 10 or so of us, we’ll be a formidable gang! We need our own colors though. Maybe red, white and blue? That seems to be abandoned in the the gangs of today.
Actually , I remember his name.
He was born in 1895 get it right.
He was born in 1895.
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Another big obstacle Raft had to overcome was his height. At 5' 6", many producers were reluctant to have him take leading roles, and often times he wore platform shoe inserts.
That didn’t stop Alan Ladd. All the studios cared about was ticket sales. Size, height, breath smell, didn’t matter if they could put them in the movie theater seats.
Well said, we strongly concur! Thank you for watching our content and for sharing your thoughts. What other types of video would you like to see?
@@FactsVerse , Let's have a Q&A session with Tim Blane.
@@magovenor, Ladd and Cagney had various roles in movies, whereas Raft was pretty much type cast to the "ganster" genre; back then in Hollywood "size did matter", but only when the directors and producers said so.
Today, with new technology, such things as height, weight, old, young.., are much easier to adjust.
Speaking of height, Dolly Parton comes to mind; last year I met Dolly at a truck stop outside of Nashville, and was I surprised how short she is!
I'm 6'6", and the little sweetie pie couldn't be over 5 feet tall!🙂😂😁
Didn’t stop Audie Murphy either but limited his leading ladies to short females
He is the closest to Rudolph Valentino, so not forgotten.........
We absolutely agree! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. Be safe and have a great day!
George Raft was a real gangster of the Streets, believe it, or knot... ...Artist, Old Naples Florida🌴🎨
Interesting, thanks for sharing this information about George. Which of his roles appealed to you the most?
@@FactsVerse- Thanks for your reply 😄"Johnny Angel " ( 1945 )
Owney he drove for & f-d socialites. El Fey was his first job w Tex Guinan. Was real Bogey
Nonsense headline...lots of us remember George Raft. What delighted me recently was watching his dancing...ignore this, George. They're idiots.
a great man died i will remember him a great trump voter//
yes
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He was dumb enough to turn down all the roles that made Bogie a star.
VOTE TRUMP 2024// HERO
I remember this ACTOR very well! TCM plays movies of his! He was a very debonaire personification of a gentleman! ❤ watch his movies and revive his accomplishments!🙏🏼🫶🏻🥰
Beautiful words, thank you for your message for George. We miss him.