Douglaston's Own: George Raft

George Raft is remembered primarily for his roles as gangsters in crime dramas of the 1930s and 1940s, but he began his career as a dancer.

Raft, who lived in Douglaston at one point during his career, was born in Hell’s Kitchen in 1901 as George Ranft.

As a boy, he was good friends with Owney Madden, who went on to become a mobster.

Raft’s first brush with show business was as a dancer in New York City nightclubs, where he occasionally worked alongside Rudolph Valentino and eventually became part of an act with speakeasy hostess Texas Guinan. He then went on to perform on Broadway.

In 1929, he relocated to Hollywood, where he nabbed some small roles in films, including “Taxi” with James Cagney.

But his breakout performance was in 1932’s “Scarface: Shame of a Nation,” in which he played a nickel flipping second lead to Paul Muni’s titular character.

Aside from his life-long friendship with Madden, Raft was also an acquaintance of Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky. His convincing portrayals of gangsters on film persuaded some people that he himself was in the mob.

Raft once reportedly stepped in to assist Gary Cooper after the matinee idol's romantic pursuits angered a mobster.

In the early 1930s, he helped launch the career of Mae West by securing a role for the bombshell actress in “Night After Night.”

Some of the other films in which he appeared during the 1930s included “The Bowery,” “Limehouse Blues” and “The Glass Key.”

In the early 1940s, he starred in “They Drive By Night” with Humphrey Bogart and “Each Dawn I Die” with Cagney.

But Raft’s career began to decline after he turned down roles in “The Maltese Falcon” and “High Sierra.”

Bogart took the leads in both films and went from being a supporting actor to a major movie star.

By the 1950s, Raft was working as a greeter at the Capri Casino in Havana, Cuba. He was part owner of the casino with Lansky and Santo Trafficante.

In 1953, he accepted the lead role in the television series police drama “I’m the Law,” which only ran for one season.

He occasionally appeared in films throughout the decade, most notably his satirical portrayal of a mobster in Billy Wilder’s landmark “Some Like It Hot.”

His film work in the 1960s and 1970s was sporadic, appearing as a casino owner in “Ocean’s 11” and starring alongside Mae West in her final film, “Sextette.”

In Barry Levinson’s 1991 film “Bugsy,” Raft was played by Joe Mantegna. Ract has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in movies and television.

He died at age 85 in from leukemia in 1980 in Los Angeles.