Facts About George Raft
He was an early Hollywood tough guy.
As I was growing up, old gangster movies were fairly easy to find on TV. I saw a little bit of Humphrey Bogart’s work and quite a bit of Jimmy Cagney’s but not a loft of George Raft’s.
I was particularly impressed by what I found about Cagney. As for Raft, I knew he played a movie tough guy and may or may not have had ties with the mob. Based on this sketchy information I decided to do a deeper dive into George Raft’s life. Here are some things you probably didn’t know about him.
1: He was born in Hell’s Kitchen apparently in 1895 though some reports indicate he was born in 1901.
It seems like it would have been easier if he had been born in Hell’s Hospital.
2: In his early days he pursued potential careers in sports, displaying an interest in baseball and boxing.
In baseball he couldn’t cut it as a hitter. In boxing he had a fairly good record though his actual record is a matter of dispute. In boxing as in baseball, he just didn’t hit enough to make a go of it.
