Social Entertainment / People

Ray Charles

Acting · Born September 23, 1930 · Albany, Georgia, USA

Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004), better known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records. He also helped racially integrate country and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, most notably with his Modern Sounds albums. While with ABC, Charles became one of the first African-American musicians to be given artistic control by a mainstream record company. Frank Sinatra called Charles “the only true genius in show business.”

Movies with Ray Charles

• The Blues Brothers (1980) — Ray
• Spy Hard (1996) — Busdriver
• Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues (2022) — Self (archive footage)
• Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration (1993) — Self (segment "Monster in the Mirror")
• The Greatest Night in Pop (2024) — Self (archive footage)
• Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music (2025) — Self (archive footage)
• Sesame Street: 20 Years & Still Counting! 1969-1989 (1989) — Self
• Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan (2023) — Self (archive footage)
• Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration (2001) — Self
• Love Affair (1994) — Self
• 50 Years of Country Music (1978) — Self
• We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song (1985) — Self

TV shows with Ray Charles

• Soul Deep: The Story of Black Popular Music (2005) — Self