George Raft (real surname Ranft) was born on September 26, , in Clinton, New York City. He grew up in a German immigrant family, with his parents Conrad Ranft and Eva Glockner, and his sister Katie. Raft discovered his dancing abilities at a young age and used his elegance to secure a job as a dancer in New York City nightclubs. He eventually joined a theater project led by Texas Guinan, which brought him to Broadway, where he continued working as a dancer.
Rise to Fame
Raft's breakthrough came with the crime drama "Scarface" in , where he portrayed the character Guino Rinaldo so convincingly that he was mistaken for a real gangster. Due to his association with the notorious gangster Owney Madden, Raft was acquainted with several criminal figures, including Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky. Rumor has it that Raft intervened on behalf of actor Gary Cooper when he fell out of favor with the mafia.
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George Raft Was Hollywood&#;s Golden Age Gangster
George Raft’s life reads like a Hollywood script filled with glamour, danger, and remarkable talent. This story of a dancer who became one of Hollywood’s most iconic gangster stars is as fascinating as any film he starred in. From his humble beginnings in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen to his peak as a leading man in Hollywood, George Raft’s legacy is a captivating chapter in the history of cinema.
George Raft had a difficult childhood
Born George Ranft on September 26, , in New York City, Raft was the son of a delivery driver of German descent. His early years were marked by struggle, and he often had to find unconventional ways to make ends meet. As a result, he learned early on how to survive in a harsh environment. The young George hustled as an errand boy and fish wrapper after school, and by the age of 12, he had left school to work as an apprentice electrician, later switching to professional boxing under the ring name “Dutch Rauft.”
Despite trying his hand at various jobs, including a brief stint in minor league baseball, Raft struggled to find his true calling. It wasn’t until he discovered his passion for dancing that
George Raft (
George Raftwas an American film actor who, in a long career, gave many strong performances in a variety of roles. He started his show business career as a dancer but when he entered movies he became identified with gangster roles in many films such as 'Scarface' in , 'Limehouse Blues' in , and 'Each Dawn I Die' in He had lifelong associations with real gangsters such as Mafia boss, Bugsy Siegel, which led many to believe that he was actually a gangster in real life.
Despite this. during the s and s he was one of Hollywood's leading box office successes, with leading man roles in many quality non-gangster films such as 'Bolero' in , 'They Drive by Night'. In and 'Christmas Eve' in
Biography
He was born George Ranft, in New York on September 26, , the son of a delivery driver of German ancestry. He had one elder sister, Eva. He grew up on 41st Street in Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan and learned at a young age how to fend for himself on the streets.
He worked after school as an errand boy and a fishwrapper and after leaving school aged 12, he worked as an apprentice electrician for a year, then boxed professionally for two years, using the ring name "Dutch Rauft" a
George Raft was born and grew up in a poor family in Hell's Kitchen, at the time one of the roughest, meanest areas of New York City. He was born George Ranft, and was the son of Eva (Glockner) and Conrad Ranft, a department store deliveryman. His parents were both of German descent. In his youth, he showed a great interest in, and aptitude for, dancing. That, combined with his dark good looks and sharp dressing, made him a local favorite at such spots as the El Fey Club with Texas Guinan. In , Raft went to Hollywood to try his luck at acting. His first big role was as the coin-tossing henchman in Scarface (). His career was marked by numerous tough-guy roles, often a gangster or convict. The believability with which he played these, together with his lifelong associations with such real-life gangsters as Owney Madden and Bugsy Siegel, added to persistent rumors that he was also a gangster. The slightly shady reputation may have helped his popularity early on, but it made him somewhat undesirable to movie executives later in his career. He somewhat parodied his gangster reputation in Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot ().
BornSeptember 26,
DiedNovember 24, (79)
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