From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Ray, Howard Thomas
(born: August 4, 1958)The following information was submitted by Howard T. Ray, January-April 2026.
Howard Thomas Ray is a professional opera singer, as well as an actor and pianist. He was born in Bowling Green, KY, the son of Rev. Howard Thomas Ray, Sr., and Helen M. Ratcliff Ray. The family later moved to Louisville, KY, where Howard T. Ray spent his formative years. His music training began with piano lessons at the age of 4.
Howard T. Ray now lives in Europe. He is a 1979 graduate of the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Fine Arts; he was a voice major. Ray also did graduate studies at UK. His additional studies were done at Opera Comique in Paris, France, and in Siena, Italy, and with the legendary voice teacher Ettore Campogalliani. Ray has performed internationally across the U.S., Europe, South America, and Africa. He performed with Kentucky native Andrew Smith in Aida at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.
SELECTED NOTABLE OPERATIC AND VOCAL PERFORMANCES:
Howard Thomas Ray is a professional opera singer, as well as an actor and pianist. He was born in Bowling Green, KY, the son of Rev. Howard Thomas Ray, Sr., and Helen M. Ratcliff Ray. The family later moved to Louisville, KY, where Howard T. Ray spent his formative years. His music training began with piano lessons at the age of 4.
Howard T. Ray now lives in Europe. He is a 1979 graduate of the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Fine Arts; he was a voice major. Ray also did graduate studies at UK. His additional studies were done at Opera Comique in Paris, France, and in Siena, Italy, and with the legendary voice teacher Ettore Campogalliani. Ray has performed internationally across the U.S., Europe, South America, and Africa. He performed with Kentucky native Andrew Smith in Aida at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.
SELECTED NOTABLE OPERATIC AND VOCAL PERFORMANCES:
Aida: Performed at the Cairo Opera House in Egypt and the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.
Ivanhoe: Recorded the role in Gioachino Rossini’s opera live at La Settimana Musicale Senese in Italy.
La Messa da Requiem (Giuseppe Verdi): Performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and with the Orquesta Filarmónica de México.
Classical Works: Featured in performances of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, Antonín Leopold Dvořák's Requiem, and Franz Joseph Haydn’s The Creation (Die Schöpfung) in venues across Italy and Spain.
Musical Theater: Toured Italy in the role of Old Deuteronomy in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats.
In addition to his music career, Howard Thomas Ray is an active screen actor, recently appearing in the Netflix series Framed! A Sicilian Murder Mystery (2022–2023) as Inspector Jackson, and in the film In the Hand of Dante (2025).
LEADING ROLES:
In the Hand of Dante(2025): Doctor, film
Gormiti: The New Era (2024): Governor Teridon. TV Series, and in global streaming
Falling is Flying (2024): Priest/Coach, film
Framed : A Sicilian Murder Mystery on Netflix (2022-2023): Inspector Jackson
The Lost Legacy of Tony Gaudio (2024): Detective Donald Davis (reconstruction), film
Space Monkeys (2022): Able, computer, film
2061: An Exceptional Year (2007): Speaker, film
A Family Cyclone (2006): Ambassador, TV Series.
Sources: "Ray always gets the role of the villain." Sunday Herald-Leader, 15 January 1978, p.F3; see Howard Ray in "UK students to present operas with wide appeal." Sunday Herald-Leader, 29 July 1979, section H, p.H1; see Howard Ray in "Opening tonight for delightful UK operas," The Kentucky Kernel, 02 August 1979, Summer Scene section, p.8; see Howard Ray in "Foss' Swan Song at B'klyn Philharmonic." Newsday (New York), 08 May 1990, Part II, p.137; "This man has something to sing about." The Courier-Journal, 27 April 1994, Neighborhood/City section, p.2.; see Howard Ray in "Requiem expected to stir emotions." Lexington Herald-Leader, 29 March 1998, section H, p.H.3; Howard Thomas Ray at IMBd; see Howard Thomas Ray in clip from Falling is Flying on YouTube.
Framed : A Sicilian Murder Mystery on Netflix (2022-2023): Inspector Jackson
The Lost Legacy of Tony Gaudio (2024): Detective Donald Davis (reconstruction), film
Space Monkeys (2022): Able, computer, film
2061: An Exceptional Year (2007): Speaker, film
A Family Cyclone (2006): Ambassador, TV Series.
Sources: "Ray always gets the role of the villain." Sunday Herald-Leader, 15 January 1978, p.F3; see Howard Ray in "UK students to present operas with wide appeal." Sunday Herald-Leader, 29 July 1979, section H, p.H1; see Howard Ray in "Opening tonight for delightful UK operas," The Kentucky Kernel, 02 August 1979, Summer Scene section, p.8; see Howard Ray in "Foss' Swan Song at B'klyn Philharmonic." Newsday (New York), 08 May 1990, Part II, p.137; "This man has something to sing about." The Courier-Journal, 27 April 1994, Neighborhood/City section, p.2.; see Howard Ray in "Requiem expected to stir emotions." Lexington Herald-Leader, 29 March 1998, section H, p.H.3; Howard Thomas Ray at IMBd; see Howard Thomas Ray in clip from Falling is Flying on YouTube.