GORDON MACRAE BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Gordon MacRae was born on March 12th, 1921 in East Orange, New Jersey with the birth name Albert Gordon MacRae to Scottish immigrant parents. He spent the majority of his youth being raised in Syracuse, New York and during high school, was highly involved in singing and the drama club. He graduated from Deerfield Academy in 1940 and during World War II he served as a navigator in the United States Army Air Forces.
After serving his country, MacRae made his Broadway debut in a production called, "Junior Miss" and soon after was lucky enough to get his first recording contract with Capital Records in 1947.
Soon after, he made his film debut in, "The Big Punch" (1948) and was then signed to a seven year contract with Warner Brothers. This soon followed with a on screen partner ship with another actress, Doris Day and together they appeared in a variety of films together. Some of the films they worked on together were, "Tea For Two" (1950), "On Moonlight Bay" (1951) and "By The Light of the Silvery Moon" (1953).
MacRae then received the lead role in two musicals, "Oklahoma!" (1955) and "Carousel" (1956). Alongside a successful film career, MacRae also appeared on television and as a radio show host and lead actor on, "The Railroad Hour". Even though his career as on an all time high, his personal life was slightly troubled with heavy alcohol addiction.
He did however continue to work and his television appearances included, "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom", "The Bell Telephone Hour" and "The Polly Bergen Show".
MacRae continued to work in the film and television industry but also returned to his love of being a stage actor. He chose to tour summer stock and make a couple nightclub appearances. He returned to Broadway in 1967 for the stage production of, "I Do! I Do!".
Even well into the 70's, he worked on television on the popular television series, "McCloud" and his final film role was on, "The Pilot" (1979). MacRae was also able to treat his alcohol addiction and went on to council others who had the same issue.
MacRae was married twice during his lifetime, first to Sheila MacRae from 1941 through 1967 and together they had four children. He then married his second and final wife Elizabeth Lamberti Schrafft on September 25th, 1967 and they had one more child. They remained together until he passed away on January 24th, 1986 at the age of sixty four in Lincoln, Nebraska from complications for undergoing treatment of cancer of the mouth and jaw as well as pneumonia. Two of his five children, Heather and Meredith also became actresses.
For his contribution to the Motion Picture industry, MacRae was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Filmography
1980 The Pilot
1978 Zero to Sixty
1974 McCloud
1958 Hallmark Hall of Fame
1957 Lux Video Theatre
1954-1957 The Jackie Gleason Show
1956 The Best Things in Life Are Free
1956 The Gordon MacRae Show
1956 Carousel
1955 Oklahoma!
1954 General Foods 25th Anniversary Show: A Salute to Rodgers and Hammerstein
1953 Three Sailors and a Girl
1953 The Desert Song
1953 By the Light of the Silvery Moon
1952 About Face
1951 On Moonlight Bay
1950 The West Point Story
1950 Tea for Two
1950 Return of the Frontiersman
1950 The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
1950 Backfire
1949 Look for the Silver Lining
1948 The Big Punch
