In The News: Spalding Gray Astrology

Birth Data


Birth Date:	June 5, 1941
Birth Time:	1:51 AM EDT (GMT - 4)
Birth Place:	Providence, RI, US
Latitude / Longitude:	41 N 49 / 71 W 24
Rodden Rating / Source:	A / From memory

Biography

Gray, known for writing and starring in one-man theatrical productions about his life and his anxieties, disappeared on January 10, 2004. He was last seen leaving his New York City apartment without his wallet after seeing a movie with his family. Gray was reportedly seen on the Staten Island ferry later that same night, and his wife Kathleen Russo said that she was afraid that he may have tried to jump off the boat. As of this writing, authorities are still searching for him.

[NOTE: After this article was written, the media reported that Gray was confirmed dead on March 8, 2004, after going missing for nearly two months. His body was pulled out of the East River off Brooklyn, New York, the day before.]

Gray has a history of suicide attempts. In September 2002, Gray took his sailboat out to sea and jumping overboard, but then he stopped himself and climbed back aboard the boat. The following month he tried to jump off a bridge, but a passer-by talked him down. In September 2003, Gray left a suicide note for Russo, saying that he planned to jump from the Staten Island Ferry. He was found sitting on the ferry and escorted off the boat. In his monologue "It's a Slippery Slope," Gray tells the audience that he had to overcome a deep depression that he experienced when he turned 52--the age that his mother was when she killed herself.

In his confessional work as a writer and actor, Gray has projected a sense of humor and irony about life. It has been through such work that he has coped and tried to made sense of his most painful life experiences. In the weeks before his disappearance, Gray had been performing a new work, “Life Interrupted,” about a low point in his life. On June 22, 2001, while celebrating his 60th birthday with family in Ireland, Gray suffered a fractured skull, a broken hip and nerve damage when another vehicle ran head-on into his car. Afterwards, Gray, who had enjoyed skiing and hiking in the past, became severely depressed. He was hospitalized twice for the condition. Russo told reporters that, since September 2003, Gray’s outlook had become more hopeful as he returned to the stage and worked on new material. However, Gray told the press that he no longer found the comfort that he once did in his family (a wife, stepdaughter, and two sons).

In 1970, Gray joined The Performance Group, a downtown Manhattan theater troupe, and in 1977 he co-founded the experimental Wooster Theatre Group. Gray made ends meet with traditional stage and movie roles. Then he began monologizing in "Sex and Death at the Age of 14" (1979), which he wrote from his daily journaling about his angst-ridden youth in Rhode Island. Gray toured the U.S., Australia and Europe with his one-man shows. After appearing in a small role in the 1985 film, “The Killing Fields,” Gray wrote about the experience in “Swimming to Cambodia.” First performed as a stage production, “Cambodia” marked a professional breakthrough for Gray. He won a Village Voice OBIE Award for the off-Broadway work, and it was adapted for the big screen in 1987. The next year, he made his "mainstream" Broadway debut in a revival of “Our Town.” As a result of the success of "Swimming to Cambodia", Gray continued to appear in feature films while also writing and performing on stage. Gray’s “Our Town” experience inspired a second movie, “Monster in a Box,” in 1992. He also appeared in "The Pickle" (1993), "The Paper" (1994), "Beyond Rangoon" (1995), "Morning, Noon and Night" (1998), "How High" (2001) and "Revolution #9" (2002).

For More Information

http://www.1stperson.org/words.php?s=209&a=10
An interview about Gray’s creative process

http://indyweek.com/durham/2002-01-30/ae.html
A review from January 2002, including biographical information

Discussion Points

Here are some questions to ponder and discuss on the Proud Phoenix Message Board.

1. Looking at Gray’s birth chart, what seems striking to you about it? In other words, if you were interpreting it briefly, what would you say about it? (Here's a tip: Neptune changed direction on the day that Gray was born.)

2. What potential strengths, reflected in Gray’s chart, does he seem to have developed in his life?

3. If you had interpreted Gray’s transits in, say, December 2000, for the time period of January through December 2001, what might you have told him?

Read/post comments on the Message Board

Return to the list of articles

Newsletter