Fay Wray: The Famous Scream

Vina Fay Wray was born September 15, 1907. Her family lived in Alberta, Canada, at the family ranch, called "Wrayland". Her father was the founder of a successful sawmill. Her mother, a former schoolteacher, stayed home to raise Fay and her three older siblings Vivien, Vaida and Willow.

Life was peaceful at Wrayland until an unfortunate winter accident. Four-year-old Fay had been sledding across an icy pond with her brother Vivien. The ice broke, and while Fay didn't fall in, her brother struggled for a while in the water. The accident drove their mother to a nervous breakdown.

The Wray siblings were sent to live with friends while their father sold the ranch. Then the entire family crossed the border and traveled to Arizona. There her father struggled in vain to run a farm. It was not long before they moved to Salt Lake City in search of better opportunities.

Five-year-old Fay's family was suddenly poor. Her father found work as a night watchman. They rented a house and barely got by on his salary. Fay's mother had another baby boy in 1914.

They moved to Lark for a job that did not satisfy the family's needs much better. When financial stress finally pushed her parents marriage to the breaking point, Fay's mother moved the children back to Salt Lake City and lived on financial assistance from her family.

The influenza epidemic of 1918 changed the course of Fay's life forever. Her sister, Vaida, died and as Fay was a delicate child, her mother worried that a cold winter would also kill her. At age fourteen, she was sent to live the warmer climate of Los Angeles, California.

Fay's chaperone was William Mortenson, a suitor of her older sister Willow. On the train to California, William admitted that he was more attracted to Fay than her sister. Innocent Fay was flattered, but unsure how to react to his confession. He eventually became more guardian than admirer.

When the aunt who was to follow Fay to the coast changed her mind, Mortenson found a series of friends who were willing to take her in. Fay started junior high. She loved school; she was popular and made good grades.

Fay would spend her weekends with Mortenson. He worked in a photography studio and he often took pictures of her.

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