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Ray Collins
Collins in 1940
Born	Ray Bidwell Collins (1889-12-10)December 10, 1889 Sacramento, California, U.S.
Died	July 11, 1965(1965-07-11) (aged 75) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park,Hollywood Hills, California
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1902–1964
Spouses	Margaret Marriott ​ ​ (m. 1909; div. 1924)​ Joan Uron ​ ​ (m. 1926)​
Children	1

Ray Bidwell Collins (December 10, 1889 – July 11, 1965) was an Americancharacter actor in stock and Broadway theatre, radio, films, and television. With 900 stage roles to his credit, he became one of the most successful actors in the developing field of radio drama. A friend and associate ofOrson Welles for many years, Collins went to Hollywood with theMercury Theatre company and made his feature-film debut inCitizen Kane (1941), as Kane's political rival. Collins appeared in more than 75 films and had one of his best-remembered roles on television, as Los Angeles homicide detective Lieutenant Arthur Tragg in the CBS-TV seriesPerry Mason.

Collins (front row right) at work onCBS Radio'sThe March of Time

PresentingThe March of Time (Collins standing at right)

Collins on the set ofCitizen Kane (1941)

Collins,Dorothy Comingore,Orson Welles, andRuth Warrick inCitizen Kane

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
Richard Bennett,Joseph Cotten,Dolores Costello,Don Dillaway,Agnes Moorehead, and Collins

Collins as Lt. Tragg inPerry Mason (1957)

Ray Bidwell Collins was born December 10, 1889, inSacramento, California, to Lillie Bidwell and William Calderwood Collins.^[1] His father was a newspaper reporter and dramatic editor onThe Sacramento Bee.^[2] His mother was the niece ofJohn Bidwell, pioneer, statesman, and founder of society in theSacramento Valley area of California in the 19th century.^[3] Collins was inspired as a young boy to become an actor after seeing a stage performance by his uncle, Ulric Collins, who had performed the role of Dave Bartlett in the Broadway production ofWay Down East. He began putting on plays with neighborhood children in Sacramento.^[4][5]Collins made his professional stage debut at age 13, at the Liberty Playhouse inOakland.^[6]

In December 1912, Collins and his first wife, Margaret Marriott, were a vaudeville team, who performed at the Alhambra Theatre in Seattle.^[7] In July 1914, the couple and their young son, Junius, moved toVancouver, British Columbia, where Collins worked as an actor.^[8] In 1922, he was part of a stock company, Vancouver's Popular Players, which enacted plays at the originalOrpheum Theatre.^[9] He operated his own stock company for five years at his own theatre, the Empress Theatre, in Vancouver.^[4] Collins toured invaudeville and made his way to New York.^[10]

Collins worked prodigiously in his youth. Between the ages of 17 and 30, he was, it is said, out of work as an actor for a total of five weeks. In 1924, he and Marriott were divorced. That same year, he opened inConscience, and after that, he was almost continually featured inBroadway plays and other theatrical productions until theGreat Depression began. In 1926, he married Joan Uron. At the start of the Great Depression, Collins turned his attention toradio, where he was involved in 18 broadcasts a week, sometimes working as many as 16 hours a day.^[11] He also played parts in short films, starting in 1930, including theVitaphone Varieties series based onBooth Tarkington'sPenrod stories.^[12]: 404

In 1934, Collins began a long association withOrson Welles, which led to some of his most memorable roles. They met when Welles joined the repertory cast ofThe American School of the Air, his first job in radio.^[13]: 331 In 1935, Welles won a place in the prestigious company that presented the news dramatization seriesThe March of Time—an elite corps of actors, including Collins,Agnes Moorehead,Everett Sloane, andPaul Stewart, who would soon form the core of Welles'sMercury Theatre.^{[13]: 332–333}

On radio, Collins was in the distinguished repertory cast of the weekly historical dramaCavalcade of America for six years.^[14] Collins and Welles worked together on that series^[15] and others, including Welles's serial adaptation ofLes Misérables (1937)^[16] andThe Shadow (1937–1938).^[17]

Collins became a member of the repertory company of Welles's CBS Radio seriesThe Mercury Theatre on the Air (1938)^[18] and its sponsored continuation,The Campbell Playhouse (1938–1940).^[19] Through the run of the series, Collins played many roles in literary adaptations, including Squire Livesey in "Treasure Island",Dr. Watson in "Sherlock Holmes", andMr. Pickwick in "The Pickwick Papers". Collins's best-known (albeit uncredited) work on this series, however, was in "The War of the Worlds", the celebrated broadcast in which he played three roles, most notably the rooftop newscaster who describes the destruction of New York.^[20] Additionally, he originated thetitle role in the popularCrime Doctor series.

Along with other Mercury Theatre players, Collins made his feature-film debut inCitizen Kane (1941), in which he portrayed ruthless political bossJim W. Gettys.^[21] He appeared in Welles's original Broadway production ofNative Son (1941)^[6] and played a principal role in Welles's second film,The Magnificent Ambersons (1942).^[22] His ongoing radio work included Welles's wartime series,Ceiling Unlimited andHello Americans (1942), and the variety showThe Orson Welles Almanac (1944).^[13]

Having returned to his native California, Collins appeared in more than 75 major motion pictures,^[23] includingLeave Her to Heaven (1945);The Best Years of Our Lives (1946);Crack-Up (1946);A Double Life (1947); two entries in theMa and Pa Kettle series; and the 1953 version ofThe Desert Song, in which he played the nonsinging role ofKathryn Grayson's father. He displayed comic ability inThe Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) andThe Man from Colorado (1948), and played a supporting role in Welles'sTouch of Evil (1958).^[24]

On television, Collins was a regular inThe Halls of Ivy (1954–1955), starringRonald Colman.^[25] He appeared as Judge Harper in a1955 TV adaptation of the holiday classicMiracle on 34th Street, starringThomas Mitchell,Teresa Wright, andMacDonald Carey.^[26] In 1957, Collins joined the cast of the CBS-TV seriesPerry Mason and gained fame as Los Angeles police homicide detective Lieutenant Arthur Tragg.^[2][23]

By 1960, Collins found his physical health declining and his memory waning, problems that in the next few years brought an end to his career. About the difficulty in remembering his lines, he said: "Years ago, when I was on the Broadway stage, I could memorize 80 pages in eight hours. I had a photographic memory. When I got out on the stage, I could actually — in my mind — see the lines written on top of the page, the middle, or the bottom. But then radio came along, and we read most of our lines, and I got out of the habit of memorizing. I lost my natural gift. Today it's hard for me. My wife works as hard as I do, cueing me at home."^[27]

In October 1963, Collins filmed his lastPerry Mason episode, "The Case of the Capering Camera", broadcast January 16, 1964.^[2] Although clearly Collins would not return to work on the series, his name appeared in the opening title sequence through the eighth season, which ended in May 1965. Executive producerGail Patrick Jackson was aware that Collins watched the show every week and wished not to discourage him.^[28]

On July 11, 1965, Collins died ofemphysema at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, at age 75.^[2]Masonic funeral services were held atForest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills.^[29]

Collins supportedThomas Dewey in the1944 United States presidential election.^[30]

Ray Collins played 900 roles on the legitimate stage.^[31]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRay Collins.

• Ray Collins atIMDb
• Ray Collins at theInternet Broadway Database
• Ray Collins atPlaybill Vault
• Ray Collins at theInternet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
• Ray Collins atFind a Grave

• 1889 births
• 1965 deaths
• American male film actors
• American male stage actors
• American male radio actors
• American male television actors
• Male actors from Sacramento, California
• Deaths from emphysema
• Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
• 20th-century American male actors
• Federal Theatre Project people
• California Republicans

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