Ray Danton (born Raymond Caplan; September 19, 1931 – February 11, 1992)[1] was an American radio, film, stage, and television actor, director, and producer whose most famous roles were in the screen biographies The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960) and The George Raft Story (1962).

[5] Danton attended Horace Mann School and in 1947 he started at what is now Carnegie Mellon University where he appeared in many stage productions.

[5] Danton's acting career was put on hold when he served in the United States Army infantry during the Korean War from 1951–1953.

Danton starred in Tarawa Beachhead (1958) at Columbia, with co-star Kerwin Mathews, and his off-screen wife Julie Adams.

The studio then cast him in his most famous role The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960) where he played the eponymous gangster for director Budd Boetticher.

He appeared in the drama series Bourbon Street Beat, Hawaiian Eye, Cheyenne, Maverick and The Roaring 20s.

In 1960, Danton and Ron Foster were cast as Kane and Tommy Potts, respectively, in the episode "Bounty List" of the Western series Colt .45.

November 7, 1962 he took on the role of Lt. Steve Hamilton, one of Col. Teddy Roosevelt's "Rough Riders"(It's 1898 and The Spanish American War)in an episode entitled "Riff-Raff" on the first season of "The Virginian."

He returned to the USA to guest star in Honey West and The Man from UNCLE then went back to Europe to make Secret Agent Super Dragon (1966), How to Win a Billion... and Get Away with It (1967), Si muore solo una volta (1967), Lucky, el intrépido (1967), Hello Glen Ward, House Dick (1968), and Die grosse Treibjagd (1969).

He would periodically return to the US to guest star on shows like Ironside, ‘’Hawaii Five-0’’, It Takes a Thief, and Dan August.

He formed a production company in Europe producing films like The Last Mercenary and began directing with Deathmaster (1972) and Psychic Killer (1975).

He began a busy directing career in television, helming episodes of Switch, Baretta, Cagney & Lacey, Fame, T.J. Hooker and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer.