Ray Lawrence (record industry)

Ray Lawrence
Lawrence in the early 2000s
Born	Ray Skrepich (1927-08-19) August 19, 1927 (age 89) Lorain, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	bandleader, record company executive, record producer, personal manager
Years active	1950s - present

Ray Lawrence (born August 19, 1927) is a former bandleader, record company executive, record producer and personal manager.

Ray's father was born in Wickhaven, Pennsylvania and his mother was born in Uzhorod, Bohemia. Ray's grandfather died in the Darr Mine Disaster of 1907 in Wickhaven. After the disaster Ray's grandmother moved her children back to Uzhorod. While in Uzhorod and during World War I, Ray's father, although he was a United States citizen, was drafted at the age of 16 into the Austrian Army. He served as a runner in the trenches. After his service he met his wife in Uzhorod, married and moved to Lorain, Ohio, an industrial city 30 miles west of Cleveland, Ohio on the shore of Lake Erie settled by many Eastern European immigrants. Two of the largest employers in Lorain during the early to mid 1900s were the American Ship Building Company and U.S. Steel.

Ray was born the middle of three children in Lorain, Ohio. He was in elementary school during the Great Depression. When he was 8 or 9 years old he'd work at the carnival, carrying water. During summer vacations to visit his cousin's in Lyndora, Pennsylvania, he'd play together with Andy Warhol. While in high school on weekends and during the summer Ray worked in the fields picking beans and strawberries, washing cars, delivering women's clothing and at the Lorain Works of U.S. Steel, a large steel mill on the shore of Lake Erie, as a laborer, burner and clerk. He would listen to his favorite big bands on the radio, from records and by attending live performances at the many ballrooms (including the Cedar Point Grand Ballroom, Crystal Beach Ballroom and others) that lined the Lake Erie shoreline.