Gene Raymond, born Raymond Guion, was a multifaceted American artist of the 1930s and 1940s, whose impressive career spanned multiple disciplines, including film, television, and stage acting, as well as composing, writing, directing, producing, and decorated military piloting.
Raymond's screen debut was in the 1931 film Personal Maid, followed by another early appearance in the multi-director film If I Had a Million, alongside W. C. Fields and Charles Laughton. With his striking blond good looks, classic profile, and youthful exuberance, he went on to score in films like the classic Zoo in Budapest, starring alongside Loretta Young, and a series of light RKO musicals, mostly with Ann Sothern. He also wrote a number of songs, including the popular "Will You?", which he sang to Sothern in Smartest Girl in Town.
Raymond's wife, Jeanette MacDonald, was a renowned singer who performed several of his more classical pieces in her concerts and recorded one entitled "Let Me Always Sing". His most notable films, mostly as a second lead actor, include Red Dust, Zoo in Budapest, Ex-Lady, Flying Down to Rio, I Am Suzanne, Sadie McKee, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and The Locket.
After serving in the United States Army Air Forces, Raymond returned to Hollywood and wrote, directed, and starred in the 1949 film Million Dollar Weekend. In later years, he appeared in only a few films, with his last major film being The Best Man in 1964, starring alongside Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson.
In the 1950s, Raymond primarily worked in television, appearing in various shows such as Playhouse of Stars, Fireside Theatre, Hollywood Summer Theater, and TV Reader's Digest. In the 1970s, he had guest roles in several TV series, including Paris 7000, The Outer Limits, Robert Montgomery Presents, Playhouse 90, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Ironside, The Defenders, Mannix, The Name of the Game, Lux Video Theatre, Kraft Television Theatre, and U.S. Steel Hour.
