ALLAN RAY

November 23, 1909

Allan Ray was born Andrew Marinko in Swoyerville, Pennsylvania.  His careen in Hollywood lasted thirty years, mostly playing background roles and smaller parts. 

He made his uncredited screen debut in Dixie starring Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. 

He also had an uncredited role in 1950′s A Woman of Distinction in which Lucille Ball had a cameo. 

He made his television debut doing two episodes of “Front Page Detective” in 1951. 

He made two appearances on “Make Room for Daddy” in 1954. The series was filmed by Desilu. In the credits his first name was spelled Alan instead of Allan. 

His first appearance on “I Love Lucy” was in “Ricky’s Screen Test” (ILL S4;E7) in 1954. Ray was the clapstick man who constantly rewrites the chalk board clapper for each new take in Ricky’s “Don Juan” screen test. 

Ray was also in “Hollywood at Last” (ILL S4;E16) where he played a waiter at the Brown Derby. He serves Lucy spaghetti and has the tricky stunt of spilling the tray of cream pies on William Holden!  

He made four appearances on “The Lucy Show” (all in 1963) starting with playing the Emcee in “Lucy’s Barbershop Quartet” (TLS S1;E17). He introduces The Four Alarms, the group comprised of Lucy Carmichael, Vivian Bagley, Dorothy Boyer (Dorothy Konrad) and Thelma Green (Carole Cook). 

Next, Ray plays Harry, a man in the Danfield train station, in “No More Double Dates” (TLS S1;E21). 

He was actually seen on a train in “Lucy Visits The White House” (TLS S1;E25). Frank Nelson repeated his role as the harried train conductor. 

His final role on “The Lucy Show” was as a hunter in “Lucy Goes Duck Hunting” (TLS S2;E6).  In the above screen shot he is standing just behind Sid Gould at the extreme right. 

Also that year (1963) Ray played a hotel doorman in the Lucille Ball / Bob Hope film Critic’s Choice. 

His final screen appearance was in the film The Don is Dead in 1973 in which he played a golf pro. 

He died on May 22, 1998 in Palm Springs, California, at age 89.