Ray Mala was one of Hollywood's Native American movie actors along with other Native American actors Lillian St. Cyr, Jesse Cornplanter, Chief Yowlachie, William Eagle Shirt, and Will Rogers who had successful careers before Mala. Ray Mala's career had peaked in the 1930s, and in 2009 he was named a "Top Ten Alaskan" by TIME Magazine. He was most prominently known for his lead role in Republic Pictures' 14-part serial Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island followed by his feature role in MGM's Eskimo, directed by Woody Van Dyke.
Early life
Ray Mala was born Ray Wise in the small village of Candle, Alaska to a Russian Jewish immigrant father and a Native Alaskan mother. He was born during a time in which Alaska was still a territory of the United States and a mystery to many Americans. In 1921 an explorer named Captain Frank Kleinschmidt went to Alaska on an expedition to film Primitive Love in which Mala makes his film debut in a small role at age 14. Mala acted in front of the camera in a minor role and served as a cameraman for the film. Mala also accompanied Knud Rasmussen, the Danish Arctic explorer and writer on his trip The Great Sled Journey from 1921 to 1924 to collect and describe Inuit songs and legends as the official cameraman.
Career
In 1925 Mala arrived in Hollywood and got a job as a cameraman with Fox Film Corporation. Not long after Mala landed his first lead role in the silent film Igloo for Universal Pictures. Igloo was a success and led to his being cast as the lead in MGM's Eskimo/Mala the Magnificent. Louis B. Mayer sent director Woody Van Dyke to the Alaska Territory to film with many Alaska Natives in the cast along with Japanese actressLotus Long and Chinese actress Ling Wong. Eskimo was produced by Irving Thalberg and premiered at the Astor Theatre in Times Square, New York City in 1933. The movie was billed as "the biggest picture ever made" by MGM, but after a sluggush opening MGM quickly decided to change the title to the more sexy Eskimo Wife-Traders. Still, the movie suffered an eventual loss of $236,000 at the box office. The movie's editor, Conrad A. Nervig, won the first Oscar for Best Film Editing for his work on the picture. Ray Mala gained praise following Eskimo and as a result MGM cast him as the lead in Last of the Pagans, directed by Richard Thorpe and filmed on location in Tahiti. Mala's next role came in The Jungle Princess, which launched Dorothy Lamour's career. According to the book The Paramount Story, "The Jungle Princess was a success and a money maker for the studio. Mala played the lead in Republic Pictures' Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island which was one of the first serials the studio made. He shared top billing with Herman Brix in Republic's Hawk of the Wilderness. Other notable films include Green Hell starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, Cecil B. DeMille's Union Pacific, Son of Fury starring Tyrone Power, The Tuttles of Tahiti starring Charles Laughton, and many others. Mala also spent time behind the camera. He worked with Academy Award winner Joseph LaShelle on many pictures including Laura starring Gene Tierney, Les Misérables and many other films. He was on location in Santa Rosa as a cameraman on Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. Other films include Meet MeAfter the Show starring Betty Grable and The Fan. In 1952, Mala reappeared in front of the camera to play in Red Snow opposite Guy Madison. According to the American Film Institute, Red Snow is the first film to deal with the cold war and the atomic bomb.
Death
Shortly after the release of Red Snow, Mala died on the set of his last film at the age of 45 from heart problems. His career in Hollywood spanned almost 30 years. Fifty years after his death, his remains were returned to Alaska with a reburial ceremony in 2018 inside Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery.
