Oscar-Winning Actress' Sordid Relationship With Her Stepson Is Exposed In New Explosive Memoir — Which Could Only Be Released After Everyone Involved Died
Gloria Grahame was a star in the 40s and 50s.
July 22 2025, Published 7:15 p.m. ET
Oscar winner Gloria Grahame starred in some of the biggest movies of the 1940s and 1950s.
But the drama onscreen was dwarfed by the drama in her personal life – including an illicit relationship with her 13-year-old stepson, RadarOnline.com can report.
She won an Academy Award for her role in 'The Bad and the Beautiful'.
Graham became a star through roles in classic movies like It's a Wonderful Life, The Big Heat and Oklahoma. In 1952, she was named Best Supporting Actress for her work in The Bad and the Beautiful.
However, the beautiful star lived a bad life when her husband, Rebel Without a Cause director Nicholas Ray, was said to have found the then 26-year-old in bed with his teenage son, Tony.
Decades after their affair – which would lead to a relationship, marriage and two children – Tony's story is being posthumously told. Tony shared his sordid tale in a book he wrote in 1958 when he was 21. But the book was shelved under his orders until he and everyone involved were dead.
Nick died in 1979, Gloria in 1981 and Tony in 2018. After discovering the manuscript shortly after Tony's death, the story is now being told in the new book Circle of Lions: Nicholas Ray, Gloria Grahame and Me.
Moving In
Tony Ray, seen here at age 12, had an illicit affair with his stepmom in 1950.
Tony moved in with his dad Nicholas and stepmom Grahame in 1950, and from the start there seemed to be an attraction between himself and the older woman.
According to the book, Grahame encouraged her stepson to smoke and drink alcohol with her, brush her hair every morning and even dry her back after she’d showered.
Their flirtation only grew until the day months later when Grahame offered to teach Tony "how to kiss properly."
Meanwhile, Grahame's marriage to Nicholas was falling apart.
Renewed Relationship
Graham would go on to marry Tony.
Tony and Grahame lost touch after she divorced his dad in 1952, but according to his memoir, Tony's feelings toward her never wavered.
He wrote: "I had had no contact with Gloria since I was 13, but had pined for her throughout my teens. I had kept track of her through her movies … When I got to California, I called her. She wanted to see me immediately. I wanted to see her immediately."
By 1960, the two were married. Tony was 22, while Grahame was 36. The union made Tony the stepfather to his half-brother Timothy, whom Nicholas had fathered with Grahame.
News of the marriage was kept private until 1962, when it was written about in the tabloids. The ensuing scandal damaged Grahame's reputation and affected her career.
Despite the scandal, Grahame's marriage to Tony was the only one of her four to last beyond four years, ending a few days short of their 14th anniversary in May 1974.
Based on a True Story
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The two would be married for 14 years and have two sons together.
Grahame was 57 when she died in New York in 1981 from cancer. In 2017, Annette Benning played her in the biopic Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool.
Benning reflected at the time the role was a personal one.
"Gloria is different from other stars of that era; she doesn’t live on in people’s minds," she said. "There are so many forgotten stories. Gloria represents that for me."
