- According to James Cagney's autobiography Cagney By Cagney, (Published by Doubleday and Company Inc 1976), a Mafia plan to murder Cagney by dropping a several hundred pound klieg light on top of him was stopped at the insistence of George Raft. Cagney at that time was President of the Screen Actors Guild and was determined not to let the mob infiltrate the industry. Raft used his 'many' mob connections to cancel the hit.
- Banned from entering Britain in 1966 because of his alleged Mafia connections.
- As a teenager, he was a bat-boy for the New York Highlanders (Yankees), tried out for semi-pro baseball, boxed at the Polo Athletic Club and hustled pool.
- He turned down High Sierra (1940), which gave Humphrey Bogart his big break, The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Double Indemnity (1944).
- A lifelong baseball fan, by 1955 he had attended the World Series for the past 25 years.
- Raft never looked at himself on film. After not watching a clip of his movies on the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson asked why. Raft said he said he would find so much wrong with his performance that he would spend his next film worried about his acting and never get it right. He only wanted to worry if people stopped going to his movies.
- The "Hell's Kitchen" set built for George in 'Invisible Stripes' was an exact replica of Raft's own New York birthplace.
- Was a close friend of notorious gangster Benjamin Bugsy Siegel since their childhood in New York. Siegel actually lived at Raft's home in Hollywood for a time while trying to make inroads for organized crime within the movie colony.
- As previously reported, he turned down the roles of Roy "Mad Dog" Earle in "High Sierra (1941)", Sam Spade and "The Maltese Falcon (1941)", These parts were picked up by Humphrey Bogart, and each one was essential in making Bogart a superstar.
- During the late-1950s, Raft was employed as a celebrity greeter at the Mafia-owned Hotel Capri casino in Havana, a job that played off his image as a movie mobster and tough guy. He was present on January 1, 1959 when rebels stormed Havana, overthrowing dictator Fulgencio Batista. According to Raft, as the rebels began looting the Capri, they recognized him and he was able to convince them not to hurt anyone.
- He played himself in ten films: Broadway (1942), Stage Door Canteen (1943), Nous irons à Paris (1950), The Ladies Man (1961), The Patsy (1964), Casino Royale (1967), Silent Treatment (1968), The Great Sex War (1969), Deadhead Miles (1972) and Sextette (1977).
- Is portrayed by Ray Danton in The George Raft Story (1961), Nicholas Mayer in Mae West (1982) and by Joe Mantegna in Bugsy (1991).
- Appeared with Mae West in both her first (Night After Night (1932)) and last (Sextette (1977)) films. He died two days after West's death.
- The part of Dixie Dwyer played by Richard Gere in The Cotton Club (1984) is partly based on George Raft's real life.
- His father was reported to having two thriving businesses: During the winter, the elder Raft was superintendent of the John Wanamaker department store. In the summer he owned and managed a merry-go-round at a small amusement park at Hasting-on-the-Hudson, New York. That merry-go-round was a family affair, began by George's grandfather. This was at Coney Island, Brooklyn.
- His parents Conrad and Eva Ranft had ten children, nine of them boys, with George the eldest.
- Interred at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, California, USA, in the Court of Remembrance.
- Not much is known about his marriage to Mulrooney except that she was some years his senior. Although separated early, they were never divorced, and he continued to support her faithfully until her death in 1970.
- There has been much debate over when George was born. Although most sources and articles have claimed over the years his birth year as 1895, including his gravestone, New York census reports suggest Mr. Raft was born in 1901. The latter year is also the one on Raft's Social Security Card.
- George's father, Conrad Ranft, was born in Massachusetts, to German parents, Catherine Weil and Christopher Ranft. George's mother, Eva (Glockner), was born in Germany.
- On August 24, 2020, he was honored for the first time with a day of his filmography during the Turner Classic Movies Summer Under the Stars.
- According to both the 1900 and 1910 Censuses for New York City, Raft only had one sibling named Eva "Katie" Ranft, born on April 18, 1896 in Manhattan.
- According to The Lewiston Daily Sun newspaper June 1936, George was 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighed 155 pounds, had an olive complexion, black hair and brown eyes.
- In his autobiography, none other than Fred Astaire attested to the dance talent of George Raft, writing, "...I saw what I consider the neatest, fastest Charleston dancer ever. George Raft. He practically floored me with his footwork." Fred later told the Cafe de Paris in London that Raft would be a great attraction.
- Featured in "Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir" by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (McFarland, 2003).
- July 1939: Signed a long-term contract with Warner Bros. Studios.
- Theft of $3150 worth of jewelry and clothing from Beverly Hills home at 1218 Coldwater Canyon Road reported May 10, 1939.
- Both his parents were of Jewish descent.
- Mother, Eva, died of asthma at her 610 West 174th Street home in 1937, after a long illness, at the age of 62. Mr. Raft was at her bedside.
- Second actor to portray the title role for CBS Radio's "The Adventures of Rocky Jordan" (1951-1953).
- By the end of the 1940s, Raft had been reduced to that of "leading man" status in "Poverty Row" movies.
- Whilst under contract at "Warner Bros," George Raft grew unhappy with the kinds of films he was being offered. In 1942, he left the studio via mutual agreement.
- There were rumors over the years that he had originally been offered the role of "Rick Blaine" in [xxxxx], but those rumors were not true.
- Raft reportedly had a brief amateur boxing career; fighting as Dutch Rauft. His boxing record was 9 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws.
- Caricatured in Hollywood Steps Out (1941).
- He became famous as a dancer.
- He used to be a boxer and won 15 of his 22 bouts.
- Had his biggest chance for super-stardom whilst at "Warner Bros." After this failed to materialize, Raft became a leading man of inferior Poverty Row movies.
- His first film was Quick Millions in 1921 before going into gangster roles.
- For years, Raft's actual height has been disputed. Some sources have his height listed as 5 ft. 7, others claim it's nearer 5 ft. 3.
- Speakeasy dancer.
- Friend and chauffeur of New York gangster Owney Madden.
- Slipped a mickey into Eddie "Big Boy" Peterson's pre-fight champagne the night he was fighting Primo Carnera because he wouldn't take a fall at the behest of Raft's pal gangster Owney Madden.
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