Bio

This is a very short introduction to Spalding Gray so visitors can decide what work of his they might want to pursue.

Spalding was born in Rhode Island on June 5, 1941. His birth data and chart are under the Astrological section. I’ll skip right to his writing and performances. All these are detailed on this site under Appearances and Books. He began in summer theatre, and while he did appear in some, what I regard as awful porno flicks, he also was a major influence in NYC ‘avant-garde’ theatre (Wooster Group). It was here that he began to perform and write monologues. These hilarious, yet often sad, stories of his personal life made him famous. The most famous is Swimming to Cambodia, an absolute must see film. Spalding also appeared in about 50 movies, and occasional TV appearances, all the way from Charlie Rose to Fran’s therapist in The Nanny. He first and foremost thought of himself as an author.

In 2001, he received brain damage in a car accident in Ireland. Previously, Spalding had struggled and spoke openly about depression and suicidal thoughts. It is my opinion that Spalding did not recover from the brain damage. On January 10, 2004, it is presumed that Spalding jumped from the Staten Island ferry. His body was found 2 months later.

To introduce yourself to Spalding:

Films: Swimming to Cambodia and then move onto Monster in a Box. If you do nothing else, watch Swimming to Cambodia. No longer issued in DVD, search Amazon and eBay. Or buy on VHS. Don’t pay too high a price! Also, read the book. Reissued.

Books: if you’re serious, start with Sex and Death to Age 14 (aka SAD), and then read further published monologues in order.

If you ever get a chance to see Stories Left to Tell (put together after his passing), it’s a must see play. It now only plays rarely. Also, the Soderbergh documentary
And Everything is Going Fine is also a MUST SEE - theatrical showings are rare but under 'Fine" on this site. DVD was released in 2012.
And as well don't miss The Journals of Spalding Gray to be published in the Fall of 2011.

Latest news is always on the site under Updates, also on the Spalding Gray Blog, Facebook, and this site's mailing list. The myspace site for Spalding is not associated with this site or the Estate. Some information on the myspace page may be inaccurate. The person who set it up is looking for a volunteer to take it over. For more complete info on Spalding, spaldinggray.com (this site) is very comprehensive as well as the wikipedia page. This site has the most comprehensive information about
Spalding of anywhere - yes, anywhere in the world!

Thank you,
John (jb)
webmaster for Spalding (yes he approved it before his passing), webmaster/webmanager for the Estate of Spalding Gray.