Murkowski Salutes “Mala the Magnificent” on Senate Floor

“From Small Town Village Boy to Silver Screen Leading Man”

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Senator Lisa Murkowski took the occasion of the 105^th anniversary of Ray Mala’s birth to share the memories and the meaning of the nation’s first Native film star. An Alaska Native and the first non-white actor to receive top billing in Hollywood entertainment, Mala was born on December 27^th, 1906 in Candle, Alaska. Over the course of his career, he worked with cinema legends like Alfred Hitchcock and Cecil B. DeMille.

“It is a great honor for me to reflect upon the life of this inspirational Alaska Native icon, and to offer a tribute to his spirited and really very triumphant journey from small town village boy to silver screen leading man. Alaskans look forward to the day when Ray Mala’s magnificent star might be posthumously added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a tribute to the nation’s first ever Native American film star.”