Rest in Peace: Farley Granger
Steve Barton
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The world lost another film legend today with the passing of Farley Granger at the age of 85. Granger, who died of natural causes at his Manhattan home, was best known for his roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films, but he also appeared in several Italian horror movies in the early 1970’s.
Hitchcock cast the American actor first in Rope in 1948, following that up with Strangers on a Train in 1951. Granger played the part of tennis star Guy Haines at the mercy of a psychotic socialite (Robert Walker) who is convinced he had struck a murder deal with the athlete. In addition to the Italian genre films Something Is Crawling in the Dark; Amuck; So Sweet, So Dead; and The Coed Murders, he portrayed the sheriff in Joseph Zito’s The Prowler.
Per Yahoo! along with his roles in dozens of films through the 1970s, Granger also entertained a significant acting career on and off Broadway, as well as for live television, an emerging medium at the time. His later TV career included a stint on “Tales from the Darkside.” A self-described bisexual, Granger had relationships with some of the biggest movie idols of his time, of both sexes, including Shelley Winters, Ava Gardner, Aurthur Laurents, and Leonard Bernstein. His long-time partner, Robert Calhoun, with whom Granger co-wrote the book Include Me Out: My Life From Goldwyn to Broadway, preceded him in death in 2008.
In an article on Granger several years ago, The New York Times summed it up best: Mr. Granger, in his star-studded personal life and in his nearly 60 years as an actor, has made an art form of keeping one foot in each of two worlds. Film and theater. American and Italian. Gay and straight. The veteran actor truly defied pigeonholing.
We here at Dread Central would like to take this time to offer our deepest condolences to Farley Granger’s friends, family, and constituents. Thanks for the memories!
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