Rene Ray

British singer and supporting or second lead actress of stage and screen, born Irene Creese in London, England. Her father was the noted automotive and aviation engineer Alfred Edward Creese (1872-1943), inventor of the first operational monoplane and associate of Albert Einstein. In addition to her work as an actress, René authored novels (including the fantasy "Wraxton Marne"), original stories and screenplays. Most notable among these was The Strange World of Planet X (1958) (a novelisation of her later television series), which cast her among the small number of female science fiction writers active at the time. On stage from her late teens, René made her acting debut at the Savoy Theatre as a barmaid in "Wonder Bar" (1930). A frail, wistful-looking lass with expressive eyes, she tended to appear on screen in victimised, careworn or downtrodden roles. She gave possibly her best performances in The Passing of the Third Floor Back (1935) and Man of Affairs (1936). She also acted in several minor musicals, including Born Lucky (1933) and Street Song (1935), capitalising on her good singing voice. René even had a crack at Hollywood, auditioning for the part of the second Mrs. de Winter in Alfred Hitchcock's classic Rebecca (1940) (of course, losing out to Joan Fontaine). On Broadway, she received strong critical notices for her acting in J.B. Priestley's "An Inspector Calls", directed by Cedric Hardwicke. She spent most of her wartime career on stage at London's West End. René eventually gave up acting by the mid-1950's to concentrate on the new challenges of her writing career. In 1975, she married the 2nd Earl of Midleton, which effectively bestowed upon her the title of countess. He died in 1979.