Farley Granger, the Hollywood actor who collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock on two of his most popular films, has passed away in New York, at the age of 85.

While still in high school in California, Granger was noticed as a promising actor by Samuel Goldwyn, who immediately gave him his film debut in ‘The North Star’ in 1943.

After Nicolas Ray cast him in ‘The Twisted Road’, released in 1949, Goldwyn gave Granger a five year contract, which led to his being cast in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller, ‘Rope’, as a young man who murders a fellow student, in order to prove the “perfect” crime could be committed.

Granger teamed up with Hitchcock again in 1951, for ‘Strangers on a Train’, in which he played a tennis pro who is likewise drawn into a plan to try and get away with the perfect murder.

In 2007, Granger published a frank memoir, “Include Me Out: My Life from Goldwyn to Broadway” in which he discussed his bisexual affairs with stars including Shelley Winters, Ava Gardner, Leonard Bernstein and playwright Arthur Laurents.

Since the 1960s he had been living with his long-term partner, television producer Robert Calhoun, until Calhoun’s death three years ago.

As well as a successful screen career, Granger was an accomplished and popular stage performer, with many credits on Broadway, as well as making many television appearances.

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