September 15, 2008
Buenos Dias, Crafters!
101 years ago, the then infant Fay Wray was practicing her first blockbuster screams. Her birth on September 15, 1907 gave her years to fine tune her shrieking ability, which would later lead her to become the first Scream Queen in cinema history.
I’m talking, of course, about the 1933 smash hit, King Kong, which has become a household name in popular culture. Would this film have gained such tremendous success if not for the shrieking, fainting, and dashing Fay Wray cast as Ann Darrow? Fay, the doe-eyed seductress who won the heart of a massive prehistoric beast. Fay, in her satin white dress, carted off to the top of the Empire State Building by King Kong. Fay, who set the bar for horror film starlets everywhere. Where would King Kong be today without his lady love of all time, Fay Wray?
Fay died on August 8, 2004, right before the 2005 remake of King Kong was to start filming (so no, she wasn’t able to offer much screaming advice to Naomi Watts). She passed on quietly in her sleep at the ripe old age of 94.
King Kong, like most movies that wriggle their way into our hearts, has inspired a plethora of homemade toys and crafts. From monkey suits to pop art movie posters, King Kong continues to capture our imaginations. Sadly, poor Faye goes unnoticed in these representations. For that reason, I putting a call to all artists, when you craft King Kong memorabilia, remember Fay, and her contributions to movie history!
-Sara
www.artfire.com
