Ray Culley

Ray Culley
Born
Raymond Francis Culley

October 12, 1904
Norwalk, Ohio U.S.
DiedSeptember 18, 1983(1983-09-18) (aged 78)
Cleveland, Ohio U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • Director
  • Producer
  • Studio co-founder
Years active1930–1970
Spouse
  • Betty Buehner
    ​
    (m. 1939)​
Children3

Raymond Francis Culley (October 12, 1904 - September 18, 1983) and his wife, Betty (Buehner) Culley (May 16, 1914 – June 4, 2016), co-founded Cinécraft Productions, Inc., a sponsored film studio, in 1939. Promoting "Sound Business Pictures in Natural Color," Cinécraft specialized in producing films and slide shows for businesses.[1][2]

The Culleys were early users of multiple-camera setups with teleprompters to film the same scene from different angles simultaneously. They called their technique Cinéscope.[3][4][5]

Ray Culley directed the first half-hour TV infomercial. The infomercial featured William Grover “Papa” Barnard selling Vitamix blenders on a show called “Home Miracles of the 1950s.”[6]

Ray Culley also directed early TV sewing, cooking, and craft films featuring Louise Winslow, the "Martha Stewart of early daytime television."[7]

Early Careers

Born in Norwalk, Ohio in 1904, Ray Culley started as an actor in B-movies produced by Tiffany Pictures, a Poverty Row studio, but was soon behind the camera working as a production manager and assistant to M.H. Hoffman, Sr., the studio's president. in 1931, he went with Hoffman as production manager when he organized Allied Pictures and continued as production manager[8] and took on the job of supervising foreign versions when Hoffman started Liberty Pictures. In 1935, he joined Republic Pictures Corporation as production manager and assistant director when the new studio bought the assets of Allied and Liberty Pictures.[9][2]

Culley's transition to industrial filmmaking came in 1937 when he directed a series of films for General Electric (GE) Lighting Division in Cleveland, produced by Tri-State Productions.[2]

Born in Bavaria, Germany in 1914, Elizabeth (Betty) Buehner Culley took her first studio job as a film cutter (editor) at Tri-State Motion Pictures in 1937 where she met Ray.[10] In 1939, Betty took a film editing job in New York, where she gained experience with a new film format—16 mm safety film. She convinced Ray that the new film size, which at the time was primarily used by amateurs and news film crews, would revolutionize the sponsored film industry.

In 1939, Betty and Ray started Cinécraft Productions in rental space in the Card Building at 118 St Clair Ave. in Cleveland. The studio moved in 1947 to the Chamber of Industries Building at 2515 Franklin Blvd. in Cleveland.[11] In 2025, Cinécraft was still operating out of the John Eisenmann-designed building that started as the home of the first Western Branch of the Cleveland Public Library in 1898.[11]

Selected filmography

Year Film Studio Position Notes
1933 One Year Later Allied Pictures Production manager Included on film credits
The Fighting Parson Allied Pictures Production manager Included on film credits
1934 Cheaters Liberty Pictures Production manager Included on film credits
Picture Brides Allied Pictures Production manager Included on film credits
Take the Stand Liberty Pictures Production manager Included on film credits
1937 Bill Howard R.F.D. Tri-State Pictures Production manager Included on film credits. Sponsored by General Electric
From Now On Republic Pictures Production manager Sponsored by General Electric Co.
1938 The Romance of Iron and Steel Tri-State Pictures/Cinécraft Business Film Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by ARMCO.
The World's Largest Electrical Workshop Tri-State Pictures Director Included on film credits Sponsored by General Electric Co.
1939 How to Win a Sales Argument Tri-State Pictures Director
You Bet Your Life Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the Cleveland Safety Council and the Cleveland Railway Co.
1941 Better Roads Ahead Cinécraft Productions Director Sponsored by the Hercules Powder Co.
It Happened in the Kitchen Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the Modern Kitchen Bureau. Preserved with an NFPC grant
1942 A Better Way Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the DuPont Co. (Delsterol)
1943 Hercules Land Cinécraft Productions Director Sponsored by the Hercules Powder Co.
1944 Careers for Cellulose Cinécraft Productions Director Sponsored by the Hercules Powder Co.
The Story of Phenothiazine Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by DuPont Co.
1945 It All Adds Up Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the Westinghouse Electric Company
1946 Crystal Clear Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by Fostoria Glass Co.
1947 Lost Harvest Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the DuPont Co.
Naturally, It's FM Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the General Electric Co.
The Wayward BTU Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Co.
1948 Miracle on Mulberry Street Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by Seiberling Tire and Rubber Co.
Moulders of Progress Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the Eljer Plumbing Co.
Television Televised, filmed TV series Cinécraft Productions Director Sponsored by the Austin Company
The Talking Hoist Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the National Potato Chip Institute
1949 Through the Kitchen Window, filmed TV series (Louise Winslow) Cinécraft Productions Producer Sponsored by the East Ohio Gas Company
1950 Adventures in Sewing, filmed TV series (Louise Winslow) Cinécraft Productions Producer Included on film credits. Sponsored by Domestic Sewing Machine Co.
Food Is Fun (Louise Winslow), filmed TV series Cinécraft Productions Producer Sponsored by the East Ohio Gas Co.
Home Miracles of the 1950s Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the Natural Foods Institute (Vita-Mix)
Let's Explore Ohio. Exploring the highways of Ohio TV series Cinécraft Productions Director Sponsored by Standard Oil of Ohio
1952 Fan Family Album Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the Westinghouse Electric Company
Sadie Ferguson - Postmistress. Pilot for a TV film series. Cinécraft Productions Producer Included on film credits
The Jury Finds Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by Westinghouse Electric Co.
1953 The Ohio Story, filmed TV series 175 episodes Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by Ohio Bell Telephone
Young Mother Hubbard Cinécraft Productions Director Sponsored by Republic Steel Co.
1954 Fan Family Album Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by Westinghouse Electric Co.
Magnificat Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the Blue Nuns (Holy Humility of Mary religious order)
Milestones of Motoring Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by Standard Oil of Ohio
1959 Ohio: The Growth State Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by the State of Ohio Bureau of Unemployment Compensation
1961 Letter to Youngstown Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co.
1962 The Velvet Curtain Cinécraft Productions Director Sponsored by The American Good Government Society
1963 The Key to the City with Chet Huntley Cinécraft Productions Director Sponsored by Haines Publishers: Criss-cross Directory
1964 Bill & Sue Boynton Go Into Politics film series Cinécraft Continental Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by The National Association of Manufacturers
1966 The Extraordinary Big Hunt Cinécraft Productions Producer Sponsored by The White Motor Co.
Why Politics? with Richard Nixon Cinécraft Productions Director Sponsored by The Republic Steel Co.
1967 Ohio Heritage. 11 episode Educational TV (ETV) series Cinécraft Productions Director Included on film credits. Sponsored by Standard Oil of Ohio

Personal life

Betty and Ray Culley are buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brook Park, Ohio. They had three boys: twins John and Jim (1944) and Ray (1946).[2][10]

Archival sources

Ray Culley’s papers, notebooks, and photographs documenting his years working in Hollywood are held by the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills.[12] The Hagley Museum and Library (Hagley.org) is the depository of early Cinécraft films, scripts, and records.[13]

References

  1. ^ Peter Monaghan. "Hagley Library Collection Tells How Industry Works". Moving Image Archive news. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d "Culley, Ray and Betty". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Department of History: Case Western Reserve University. August 24, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  3. ^ "Hagley Library Research News". hagley.org/librarynews. Hagley Museum and Library. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  4. ^ "Sadie Ferguson - Post Mistress". Hagley Library Digital Archive. Hagley Museum and Library. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  5. ^ "Three-Camera Technique Used To Shoot TV Film' by Dodge E. Barnum". Hagley Library Digital Archives. Hagley Museum and LIbrary. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  6. ^ "Vita-Mix Corporation". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University's Department of History. November 7, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  7. ^ "Cinecraft Films Starring The Martha Stewart of Cleveland TV in the 1950s". Hagley Library News. Hagley Museum and Library. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  8. ^ "The 1935 Film Daily Year Book of Motion Pictures, p. 566". Internet Archive. The Film Daily. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  9. ^ "The 1937-38 Motion Picture Almanac. p. 252". Internet Archive. Quigley Publishing Co. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Betty Buehner: A Life Fulfilled". Confluence. Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Dubelko, Jim. "Cinecraft Productions The Historic Film Company Produced by a Love Story". The Center for Public History + Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  12. ^ Ray Culley Papers, Academy Collection. Margaret Herrick Library https://academycollection.org/web/arena/search#/entity/academy/collections%3A3036/ray-culley-papers
  13. ^ Peter, Monaghan. "Hagley Library's Collection Tells How Industry Worked". Moving Image Archive News. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
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