[3][4] Ray attended the High School of Performing Arts, the inspiration for the film Fame, but was kicked out after just one year.

[1] Much like his Fame character, Ray had little professional training, but he possessed a raw talent that won him his role for the film.

[5] In 1984, USA Today reports: "Ray was axed from the show after his mother was jailed for running a drug ring, and he failed to turn up for work 100 times.

[6] In 1987, he won the role of Billy Nolan in the ill-fated musical adaptation of Carrie by Stephen King.

[7] Ray also appeared in the 1995 film Out-of-Sync, which was directed by his Fame co-star Debbie Allen, in the 1996 Whoopi Goldberg comedy Eddie (for which he was also credited as associate choreographer[8]), as well as in commercials for Dr Pepper and Diet Coke.

As his life fell apart, he slept on park benches, and during a failed attempt to launch a Fame-style dance school in Milan, shared a flat there with a porn actress.