Talk:Spalding Gray

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Lover and Wife[edit]

If anyone knows more of his personal biography, they might want to put a little information in the article about his sexuality. He was married at the time of his death, but also had a male long time companion?

  • Never heard about a male long time companion. Don't believe that's true. In "And Everything Is Going Fine" he describes an experience where he had thought of himself as bisexual. Yet when he finally was with a man, he was very uncomfortable with the situation, and upon realising it, his partner put a stop to it. And on "Gray's Anatomy" he also describes having an encounter with another man, and how years after that when he started losing his vision in one eye, he assumed it was AIDS and traced it back to that one encounter. ~~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jdsouza (talk • contribs) 21:47, 16 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Impossible Vacation is NOT an autobiography, and I have corrected this in the main text. It is a novel, though the main characters are strongly based on Spaulding and his mother and his mother's suicide, as discussed in Monster in a Box

-- MJB

I had never heard of this guy til he died. 70.168.32.250 13:59, 11 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]


No, he wasn't in Ilsa: Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks, even though some people seem to think he was. This is confirmed in in this review (search for "urban legend").--Wasabe3543 22:09, 29 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I'm very curious just how autobiographical Impossible Vacation is, but the article here doesn't give me enough about his life. The few facts given match: childhood in Rhode Island to Christian Science parents, small porn film history, driven to monologues by not being satisfied as an actor, etc. I wish Monster in a Box was available on DVD so I could see what he himself says about it, but it is only on VHS. --User:Eli the Bearded

Swimming to Cambodia[edit]

I'm working on an article over at Swimming to Cambodia. Anybopdy wanna poke head in and help? I'm not the best at encyclopedic writing as you will soon find out.

Farmer's Daughter[edit]

The article The Farmer's Daughter is only about the 1947 title and not the 1973 porn that stared Spalding Gray. It needs some disambiguation and the link from Spalding Gray's bio needs to be changed.

  • It would appear this has been done. We should also cite a source for this statement, since there are those who may doubt it. I seem to recall that Gray mentions this in one of his books, possibly Sex and Death to the Age 14, and he is also listed on Rec.Arts.Movies.Erotica's "Dead Porn Stars" list. But if anyone can add a citation, that would be helpful. 23skidoo 04:40, 31 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]
His brief porn career is something he freely acknowledged. In this chat transcript he says it's "pretty well documented" in his book Impossible Vacation. Here's a partial quote:
From NeilActs: You have had a varied career as a monologist, a writer and an actor in mainstream film and Broadway theatre. I once heard that you appeared in porn films as well! Is this true? If so, I'm interested in how you ended up in that industry and what your personal take on it was.
Spalding responds: Yes, I did appear in one in 1976. I did it out of curiosity and fantasy that it would be fun. It was awful. It was the hardest, in quotes hardest, and most difficult work I've ever done. Wouldn't recommend it. But no regrets. Interesting. Once was enough.
But his recollection is a bit faulty, because at least one other title in his filmography (Maraschino Cherry) is also a hardcore porn film. I've seen myself. It's unmistakably him. This particular movie was shot in New York City during the Studio 54 era, so there's no shortage of plausible explanations to explain why he wouldn't remember making it.:-)Reelm (talk) 00:33, 9 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Moved: Cultural references[edit]

Moved from article - unsourced, random, and reads too much like trivia. OK if inserted into article correctly with source.--Wikiwatcher1 (talk) 08:17, 23 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • A film adaptation of Life Interrupted is to be released in 2008 at Toronto Film Festival, and is being directed by Steven Soderbergh.
  • The play Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell was presented by a cast of four and a rotating guest star, at the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City.
  • On his 2007 album Strange Names & New Sensations, Steve Forbert sings a song about Spalding Gray titled "Simply Spalding Gray".
  • An article titled "What It Feels Like to Find Spalding Gray's Body" on page 91 in the August 2007 issue of Esquire, depicts the first hand experiences of the man who discovered Spalding Gray's body.
  • In season one, episode 3 of Family Guy, Brian calls Peter Griffin the "Spalding Gray of crap" after Peter tells an elaborate and unbelievable story.
  • In season 12, episode 9 of The Simpsons, Homer Simpson describes his intellectual experience as being a "Spalding Gray in a Rick Dees world".

Fryeburg Academy[edit]

I am confused about something and hope the scholars here will determine the correct information. Shortly after Gray's death, the Fryeburg Academy's "Scenes" (alumni magazine) ran an alumnus obit in its summer issue. On his biography here he is listed as graduating Barrington High School, and also as an alumnus of Fryeburg Academy on their page. Could you research this, and provide clarification? Many thanks. 71.178.211.219 (talk) 12:53, 25 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Main photo date[edit]

Are you certain that the main photo was taken in 1964? It looks more like a photo of Gray in the mid-1980s. Same hairstyle and everything. Has the image been changed but the captain hasn't? 68.146.81.123 (talk) 15:00, 14 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Link to Reviews of His Journals / Mention His Jouranals[edit]

If y'all want to you could mention his recently published journals. The review of them in the NY Times is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/books/review/the-journals-of-spalding-gray-edited-by-nell-casey-book-review.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.101.130.73 (talk) 02:35, 31 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Pornography[edit]

There is sufficient documentation showing that Spalding Gray appeared in one hardcore pornographic film, The Farmer's Daughters. However, because Gray was a mainstream actor and writer and is best known as such, I think it's highly inappropriate to list Gray as a "pornographic actor" in the lede of this article. It's an indisputable fact that Gray never made a living as a pornographic actor. And for this reason, I removed it from the lede.

If editors want to make mention of or to explicate Gray's appearance in The Farmer's Daughter (aside from its appearance in his filmography), I think that's fine, but it should be in another section (not the lede), and it should not be given undue weight since it's a fairly insignificant part of his career (despite its sensationalist appeal to some editors).

Someone also added Gray to the WikiProject for Pornography, and I removed this because I also think this is inappropriate (since, as previously mentioned, Gray didn't make a living in pornography).Jpcohen (talk) 14:12, 27 June 2012 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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Bisexual[edit]

This is a writing from Gray's journal. Journal entry, 18 March 1972: "Very confused about my bisexual feelings... If I crave a relationship with a man, I am not aware of it. I think the problem is more centered on desirous search for the young... youth! Youth! Youth! The golden boys and girls of my fantasy." Journal entry, 29 May 1973: "Then during this period, I went to a homosexual bath club in Amsterdam and was 'picked up' by this German photographer. He was very aggressive, and he made love to me like I was this beautiful woman... I had never experienced such a complete giving over before." Both entries are quoted by Nell Casey, "Spalding Gray’s Tortured Soul", The New York Times, 18 March 1972. Lmharding (talk) 21:34, 7 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

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