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It has been suggested that this article be merged into References to Oscar Wilde in popular culture. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2006.

Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) has inspired many cinematic, literary, artistic, and pop culture adaptations and references. Some examples are listed below.

Film

Listed in chronological order of release.

• Dorian Grays Portræt (1910)

  Directed by Axel Strøm

  Starring Valdemar Psilander as Dorian Gray

• The Picture of Dorian Gray (1913)

  Directed by Phillips Smalley

  Starring Wallace Reid as Dorian Gray

• The Picture of Dorian Gray (1916)

  Directed by Fred W Durrant; screenplay by Rowland Talbot

  Starring Henry Victor as Dorian Gray; Sydney Bland as Basil Hallward; Jack Jordan as Henry Wotton; Pat O'Malley as Sybil Vane

• Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray (1917)

  Directed by Richard Oswald; screenplay by Richard Oswald

  Starring Bernd Aldor as Dorian Gray; Ernst Ludwig as Basil Hallward; Ernst Pittschau as Henry Wotton; Lea Lara as Sibyl Vane

• Az Élet királya (1918)

  Directed by Alfréd Deésy; screenplay by József Pakots

  Starring Norbert Dán as Dorian Gray; Gusztáv Turán as Basil Hallward; Bela Lugosi (credited as Arisztid Olt) as Henry Wotton; Ila Lóth as Sibyl Vane

• The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

  Directed by Albert Lewin; screenplay by Albert Lewin

  Starring Hurd Hatfield as Dorian Gray; Lowell Gilmore as Basil Hallward; George Sanders as Henry Wotton; Angela Lansbury as Sibyl Vane. Lansbury was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Considered by many to be the best version, although a love interest not found in the novel appears; Basil Hallward's niece played by Donna Reed .The film won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, and is remarkable for its crisp black-and-white photography, and a handful of technicolor shots of the portrait, which was painted by Ivan le Lorraine Albright. The picture took Albright a year to paint and currently hangs at the Art Institute of Chicago.

• Dorian Gray, also known as The Evils of Dorian Gray or The Secret of Dorian Gray (1970)

  Directed by Massimo Dallamano; screenplay by Marcello Coscia; Massimo Dallamano and Günter Ebert

  Starring Helmut Berger as Dorian Gray; Richard Todd as Basil Hallward; Herbert Lom as Henry Wotton; Marie Liljedahl as Sybil Vane

• The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973) (made-for-television)

  Directed by Glenn Jordan; screenplay by John Tomerlin

  Starring Shane Briant as Dorian Gray; Charles Aidman as Basil Hallward; Nigel Davenport as Henry Wotton; Vanessa Howard as Sybil Vane

• The Picture of Dorian Gray (1976) (made-for-television)

  Directed by John Gorrie; screenplay by John Osborne

  Starring Peter Firth as Dorian Gray; Jeremy Brett as Basil Hallward; John Gielgud as Henry Wotton; Judi Bowker as Sibyl Vane

• Le Portrait de Dorian Gray (1977)

  Directed by Pierre Boutron; screenplay by Pierre Boutron

  Starring Patrice Alexsandre as Dorian Gray; Denis Manuel as Basil Hallward; Raymond Gérôme as Henry Wotton; Marie-Hélène Breillat as Sybil

• The Sins of Dorian Gray (1983) (made-for-television)

  Directed by Tony Maylam; screenplay by Ken August and Peter Lawrence

  Starring Belinda Bauer as Dorian Gray; Anthony Perkins as Henry Lord

• Dorian, also known as Pact with the Devil (2001)

  Directed by Allan A Goldstein; screenplay by Peter Jobin and Ron Raley

  Starring Ethan Erickson as Louis/Dorian; Malcolm McDowell as Henry Wotton; Amy Sloan as Sybil

• The Picture of Dorian Gray (2002)

  Directed by David Rosenbaum; screenplay by David Rosenbaum

  Starring Josh Duhamel as Dorian Gray; Rainer Judd as Basil Ward; Branden Waugh as Harry Wotton (changed from Henry for unknown reasons); Darby Stanchfield as Sybil Vane; Brian Durkin as James Vane

• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

  Directed by Steven Norrington; screenplay by James Robinson

  Starring Sean Connery as Allen Quartermain; Shane West as Tom Sawyer; Stuart Townsend as Dorian Gray; Peta Wilson as Mina Harker; Tony Curran as Rodney Skinner

• Dorian (2004)

  Written and Directed by Brendan Dougherty Russo

  Starring Andrew Vanette as Dorian Gray; Stephen Fontana as Basil Hallward; Michael Multari as Henry; Danielle Matarese as Sibyl Vane

• The Picture of Dorian Gray (2005)

  Directed by Duncan Roy; screenplay by Duncan Roy

  Starring David Gallagher as Dorian Gray

• Dorian Gray (2005)

  Directed by Mick Davis; screenplay by Mick Davis

  Starring Ryan Phillippe as Dorian Gray

Literature

"The Fourth Bear" by Jasper Fforde includes a character named Dorian Gray from whom the main protagonist buys an Austin Allegro. The car is in perfect condition; in the back, however, is a picture of an identical, but wrecked, car.

The Detritus of Dorian Gray appeared in a book of poems with the same title written by Kevin Max.

Plays and musicals

A theatrical production of The Picture of Dorian Gray was staged by John Osborne in the mid 1970s. It was a musical version and many believed it to be a terrible mistake. Although it contained many talented actors such as Mike Turner, the play could not create the same impressive experience that readers felt when they read the book. Some attributed the commercial failure of the show to Mike Turner who was an awful singer.

The Hungarian playwright Matyas Varkonyi wrote the first musical of the book. It was premiered in 1990 and it is still considered as one of the most exciting musicals of the Hungarian musical theatre. Website.

The Canadian playwright Ted Dykstra, along with lyricist Steven Mayoff, wrote a musical titled Dorian based upon the book. The musical was released in 2002 and is set in the late 1900s, with the character of Dorian transformed from a member of the idle rich to an aspiring young model. Sample songs are available on the musical's website.

In 2006 a Czech musical based on the novel premiered in Prague. The complete show is available on CD. The website features images and a video clip. Website.

Music

Dorian
A song by power metal band Demons and Wizards.

Dorian Gray
A band from the small village of Hälleforsnäs in Sweden.

Dorian Gray
An instrumental song by heavy metal band Stormwitch, on their 1986 album Stronger than heaven.

Dorian Grey
A Metalcore band hailing from Plano, Texas.

H.W.C.
A Liz Phair song in which she references herself as a potential Dorian Gray.

Murder of Dorian Gray
A song by Farewell Flight, presumably about Dorian Gray.

Narcissist
A song by the Libertines mentioning Dorian Gray.

Tonight he grins again
A song by Savatage that mentions Dorian Gray, on their 1991 album Streets: A Rock Opera.

The Portrait Of Dorian Gray
Opening track by English rock band 'Fude' from their EP 'Secrets'.

The Face Of Dorian Gray
A single by synthpop singer Robert Marlow inspired by the novel.

Tears and Rain
A song by James Blunt mentioning Dorian Gray.

You lost my memory
A song by British heavy metal band Skyclad where Dorian Gray is mentioned; "We quest for a grail of illusive perfection, each hoping we'll find it some glorious day. Yet gaze with remorse at our jaded reflection, that looks like The Picture Of Dorian Gray."

The Ocean
An early song by U2 with the line "A picture in grey, Dorian Grey Just me, by the sea"

Uncategorized references

• "Age Before Duty", episode of Get Smart (1969) - Story 123

  Featuring John Fiedler as "Felix".

  The premise of this episode is that Felix, a CONTROL scientist who defected to KAOS after being shrugged off by CONTROL, develops a new weapon: A special form of paint that, when applied to a photo of a person, the person ages and dies.

• "Rescue", episode of Blake's 7 (1981)

  Starring Geoffrey Burridge as Dorian

  Dorian, a fictitious individual inspired by Dorian Gray, is a central figure in this episode of the science fiction series Blake's 7. As in Oscar Wilde's novel, Dorian enjoys perpetual youth. The premise of the episode is that in order to sustain his youth, Dorian requires others to absorb his physical and mental defects.

• "Man of the People", episode #129 of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1992)

  Guest starring Chip Lucia as Vel Alkar

  This time the picture is replaced by living women. Ambassador Vel Alkar channels all his negative aspects into them until they burn out and die. Deanna Troi becomes a near victium and Vel Alkar rapidly ages and dies from his own emotions.

• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

  Directed by Stephen Norrington; screenplay by James Robinson

  Starring Stuart Townsend as Dorian Gray

  Dorian Gray appears in this film alongside several other individuals from 19th century fiction. The film is based upon a comic book series - The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill - in which individuals from 19th century fiction also feature prominently. Dorian Gray, however, does not figure in the comic book, and his role in the film is an invention of the filmmakers. In this incarnation, Dorian's portrait not only takes the ravages of age and sin for him, but also any physical harm he sustains, as well, making him virtually immortal. However, to keep this ability, Dorian is unable to look upon the portrait; to do so will break the spell that created his situation, and all the accumulated sin, aging, and physical punishment would be forced back upon him. Because of this, he becomes in league with the movie's villain and gives the villain the portrait for safe-keeping, only to be killed by it after League member Mina Harker realizes his treachery.

• Dorian by Will Self transposes Oscar Wilde's original characters one hundred years in the future; the book follows our recognisable aristocratic heroes through the 1980s and 1990s, and explores many cultural and societal issues.
• Dorian Gray was also re-done in a modern setting in a novel by Rick R. Reed titled "A Face Without a Heart" (Design Image Group Inc., 2000). The plot takes place in and amidst the gay club scene and a sophisticated hologram stands in for the painting.
• The Picture of Dorian Gray is an opera by Lowell Liebermann.
• The book was parodied in The Green Carnation by Robert S. Hichens.
• Dorian Gray is referenced in The Libertines song "Narcissist" on The Libertines (album).
• In James Robinson's Starman comic book series, the Shade knew Oscar Wilde, who based Gray's story on a "true story" involving a man named Merritt who made a deal with a demon. The demon is present in a person-snatching poster that eventually shows up in Opal City, carried by Merritt. Jack (Starman) Knight is able to defeat the evil being.
• Themes of delaying aging bear similarities to a Japanese fairytale Urashima Tarō
• The term Dorian Gray syndrome, referring to a mental disorder featuring intolerance of the effects of aging, is inspired by the novel.
• "Dorian" is the name of a song, based on the novel, by the power metal group Demons and Wizards and appears on their sophomore album Touched by the Crimson King.
• Dorian's Gray is the name of an industrial electronica group, whose name was inspired by the novel. They can be found on acidplanet.com at http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?songs=441506&T=1120
• Many passages of the book are used in the movie Velvet Goldmine (1998), which includes "The world is changed because you are made from ivory and gold. The curves of your lips re-write history", a line from a love letter sent to Dorian Gray in the novel.
• "A Picture of Dorian Gray" is a song on "...And Don't The Kids Just Love It" by The Television Personalities" and has been covered by The Futureheads.
• The theme of a painting aging while the subject remains unchanged was the framework for "Take Off," a 1978 porn film starring Leslie Bovee, Georgina Spelvin and Wade Nichols--substituting a home movie for the oil painting. The Spelvin character's name was Henrietta Wilde and the Nichols' character's name was Darrin Blue in further winks to the novel and its author.
• The original Quentin Collins, a character from the 1960s daytime television soap opera Dark Shadows was a pastiche of Dorian Gray. He gained immortality due to a portrait of himself painted by his artist friend, Charles Delaware Tate.
• The American cartoonist Gary Larson published a one-frame illustration depicting "A Portrait of Dorian Gray and his dog" in his acclaimed strip The Far Side. The single pane displays a view of a living room wall and window. Hanging on the wall are two portraits: one of an old withered man, the other of an old withered dog. Through the window in the other wall, the reader views a young man and his dog playing outside on the lawn.

• Articles to be merged from November 2006