March 9, 2004
Spalding Gray, 1941-2004
Confirmation of Spalding Gray's death has saddened many, but, unfortunately, it seemed that a body would be recovered at some point, given his past history of suicide attempts. While family believes the writer-actor jumped from the Staten Island Ferry, Newsday reports that police believe he jumped from the "Manhattan, Williamsburg or Brooklyn Bridge because of where his body washed up."
Another sad thing is the Gray's wife, Kathleen Russo, found out about the body that had been found near the North 10th Street Pier off Greenpoint only when an AP writer contacted her. Then, she learned that the medical examiner's office confirmed the body was Gray's by watching the news. "It's just horrible," Vass said. "The whole thing is just dreadful. There's just so much upset in all of this and so much sadness."
The Washington Post's theater critic, Peter Marks, writes a lovely essay on Gray's work and hope that his disappearance was just that. Bruce Weber's appreciation of Gray in the Times also covers Gray's career and notes his confessional monologues "opened the stage door for every actor with a penchant for public confession."
Gothamist on Spalding Gray.
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it seems like it would be difficult to jump off the brooklyn or williamsburg bridge, because the pedestrian paths are on the inside, and you'd have to cross two or three lanes of traffic to jump. that would be difficult during the day, or in the early evening, when gray disappeared. so it seems like the manhattan bridge is the winner.
you could also jump off the queensboro bridge, which has a path on the north side that is on the outside, but then your body might end up somewhere else. the pulaski bridge over newtown creek might work- but you'd most likely not die, since it's only like 40 or 50 feet above the ground- and it would be horrible to drown in that putrid water.
The pedestrian pathway along the south side of the Manhattan Bridge has a chain-link suicide barrier, installed just prior to the reopening of that side of the bridge in 2001. The installation of the barrier on the north side is not yet complete, and the pedestrian walk is not yet open. Perhaps Gray breached the construction fence on the north side (before the trains were even running there)?
I wish I had something other than sorrow to add; I was passing familiar with Spaulding Gray's works, and had seen him live a couple of times. It's not like I knew him, or anything. But this feels close, like hearing of a fellow traveler who took a bad step.
Jake at Stiff Little Finger (at the predictable URL) said a nice goodbye: "keep on swimmin'," he wrote. (That's a different Jake, not the Gothamist one.) I'll echo it.