Ray Charles In An American Pageant Of The Arts (1962)

"President and Mrs. Kennedy are shown as they film a
nationwide closed circuit television show, "An American
Pageant of the Arts," to boost a National Culture
Center [at] the National Guard Armory."

On 29 November 1962 Ray Charles contributed to An American Pageant Of The Arts, a closed-circuit TV show from Carnegie Hall, staged to raise funds for the National Cultural Center. It was "beamed into ballrooms, music halls and theaters coast to coast". Tickets were sold at $2 to $100. The show featured "an eclectic mix of musical and comedy acts from the 'serious' conductor (and host) Leonard Bernstein, the poet Robert Frost, and 'legitamate' actors like Colleen Dewherst to the likes of popular entertainers like Danny Kaye, Gene Kelly, Tammy Grimes, Benny Goodman and Harry Belefonte".
President John F. Kennedy had designated the week of November 26 to 2 December 1962 as National Cultural Center Week. The television gala was the highlight of the week. But the effort netted a measly $500,000. "By June 1963, three months before the deadline, only one-third of the money needed had been raised, and that compelled Kennedy [...] to extend the deadline. Three months later, he was assassinated, and the name of the proposed center was then changed to create a living memorial to the slain president." As a - belated - consequence, since 1978 the yearly Kennedy Center Honors are organized. Also cf. this article.

The Many Worlds Of Ray Charles (1983)

On 19 September 1983 ABC aired The Many Worlds Of Ray Charles.
"The winner of ten Grammy Awards is joined by a star-studded cast", the Kentucky New Era announced in its tv guide section.

Who knows more?

Ray Charles - Music That Matters To Him

Ray Charles - Music That Matters To Him was an album in Hear's Artist's Choice series, where he made a selection of the artists and songs that influenced and inspired him. It's always hard to assess to what degree rights clearing has been a restriction in a selection like this, but the result really seems consistent with Charles' known preferences (also cf. this review).
Hear Music [= Rhino Special Products, distributed by Starbucks], 1 January 2003, ASIN: B000282OJA.

1. Boo woo (Harry James with The Boogie Woogie Trio)
2. Solitude (Duke Ellington)
3. Stardust (Artie Shaw)
4. Sweet Lorraine (Nat King Cole)
5. How High The Moon [live] (Art Tatum)
6. Driftin' Blues (Charles Brown)
7. My Melancholy Baby (Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie)
8. Sent For You Yesterday And Here You Come Today (Jimmy Rushing)
9. We're All Together (Hank Jones)  
10. My Funny Valentine (Miles Davis)
11. Mack The Knife (Ella Fitzgerald)
12. Moanin' (Quincy Jones)
13. Brotherhood Of Man (Oscar Peterson)
14. Mary, Don't You Weep (Swan Silvertones)
15. Respect (Aretha Franklin)
16. Always On My Mind (Willie Nelson)

Below I've linked to clips that are identical with or come closest to Ray's selection. Only missing track #9, and offering a documentary clip about #14, YouTube once again proofs what an incredible resource it has become.

Boo woo (Harry James, Pete Johnson; The Boogie Woogie Trio):

Solitude (Duke Ellington):

Stardust (Artie Shaw):

Sweet Lorraine (Nat King Cole):

How Hight The Moon (Art Tatum, 3 versions!):

Driftin' Blues (Charles Brown):

My Melancholy Baby (Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie):

Sent For You Yesterday And Here You Come Today (Jimmy Rushing with Count Basie Orchestra):

My Funny Valentine (Miles Davis):

Mack The Knife (Ella Fitzgerald):

Moanin' (Quincy Jones, with Clark Terry):

Brotherhood Of Man (Oscar Peterson, with Clark Terry):

[About] Mary, Don't You Weep (Swan Silvertones):

Respect (Aretha Franklin, live 1968):

Always On My Mind (Willie Nelson):

Ray Charles Memorial Library Opens Doors (2010)

The Ray Charles Memorial Library, in the studio and office building Charles built in South LA in the early 1960s, officially opened its doors in 2010. The library features interactive exhibits about Charles' life and career. Read article (for the first time revealing that Ray not only left all of his intellectual property but also $50 million in cash to continue the Ray Charles Foundation's efforts) and photo slideshow here.
The Ray Charles Memorial Library's website was launched in January 2011. It's here. Demos of multimedia exhibits are on this site.

Ray Charles On The Pop Chronicles (1969)

The radio rockumentary The Pop Chronicles was conceptualized by John Gilliland in 1967. It traces the history of popular music from the 1950’s through the 1960’s. Gilliland wrote, narrated and produced 55 hours of radio broadcasting, first airing at KRLA in Pasadena in February 1969. He interviewed Ray Charles on 3 August 1968, in Los Angeles.
All these 55 hours are available through the website of the UNT (University of North Texas) Digital Library.
Two shows, numbers 15 and 16, were especially dedicated to Charles' contributions to pop history: The Soul Reformation: More On The Evolution Of Rhythm And Blues, Part 1 and Part 2.
Nothing really new was added to Ray's biography, but in this documentary his statements still sounded fresh, not yet following the more sentimental (born poor - brother drowned - lost sight etc.) mantras we know so well since his Brother Ray autobiography.
Totally unique are the precious comments and testimonials by the people directly involved in the music scene of the day: Lou Rawls, Johnny Mathis, Bo Diddley, Bill Medley, Buck Ram, Howlin' Wolf, Count Basie, George Shearing, Stevie Wonder, Steve Winwood, Eric Burdon, Little Richard, Martha Reeves, Janis Joplin, Diana Ross, Marvin Gay, Bill Matlin, Hank Williams Jr., Johnny Cash, and Ernie Ford.
Ray also featured in shows #3 and #4, The Tribal Drum: The Rise Of Rhythm And Blues, Part 1 and Part 2, and in show #55, Crammer: A Lively Cram Course On The History Of Rock And Some Other Things (listen here).
For the index of all Pop Chronicles episodes, watch this. A clickable list of all shows starts here.

Ray Charles America (2010)

Ray Charles America is a 90-minute documentary, directed by Alexis Manya Spraic, "examining the social and political context of Ray Charles' work, and how he changed the cultural landscape". It contains rare and never-before released music and footage (the recording of It Hurts To Be In Love; the performance of Ring Of Fire on The Johnny Cash Show; a tour of Ray's private recording studio in LA, "and an interview at his studio just years before his death"). Featured interviewees are Quincy Jones, Mable John, Susaye Greene, Bill Cosby, Clint Eastwood, BB King, Tom Waits, and Fran Drescher.

The official World Premiere was at the Woodstock Film Festival, on 3 October 2010 in the Bearsville Theater; the first broadcast was on 20 October 2010 on the BIO Channel. The trailer can be watched here.

The quality of the documentary is disappointing. The story line has nothing new or surprising, the interviewees have nothing memorable to add to it (WTF are Waits and Drescher doing here?!), and the video and picture research hasn't lead to anything really new.

My conjecture is that this production is largely based on a shelved project from 1999; it was probably revived after Joe Adams stepped back from the daily management of the Ray Charles Foundation*.
Michael Lydon in his extended Ray Charles biography (Ray Charles: Man And Music, Updated Commemorative Edition; Routledge, 2004) revealed that in early 1999 cable network Arts and Entertainment had decided to produce a biography on Ray Charles, to be edited by Morgan Neville. Several interviews were filmed at RPM, and Neville found "rare photos and footage", and traveled to Greenfield and St. Augustine for fresh footage on Ray's childhood. But when Joe Adams returned from hospital after a heart surgery, he shut down everything he hadn't improved. A & E shelved the film, "although a final cut was edited for a legally allowed onetime broadcast as Ray's obituary."
The ingredients are about the same, BIO Channel is an A & E company, and the new documentary was produced by... Morgan Neville.

* Adams is currently back on the board (Aug. 2014).

Anti-AIDS Campaign With Ray Charles Rejected (1992)

In April 1992 a series of proposed anti-AIDS ads starring Whoopi Goldberg, George Burns and Ray Charles was rejected by the Centers for Disease Control as "the wrong approach". In the ads, the stars urged condom use with such pleas as: "I wouldn't be seen without one" (Charles), and "Ain't no making Whoopi without one" (Goldberg).

Someone must have kept the tapes. Who knows more?

Ray Charles On Telethon For Arthritis Foundation (1995)

On 2 or 9 April 1995 Ray Charles participated in the yearly Arthritis Foundation Telethon, in Fiesta, Texas, the first national telethon ever to originate from San Antonio. The event was produced by KENS-TV. Crystal Gayle was the telethon's national host; she was assisted by John Davidson and Fred Travalena. The other stars were a.o. Lee Greenwood, B.J. Thomas, Amy Grant, Gladys Knight and the Righteous Brothers.

Who knows more about the content of Ray's contribution to the show?

Ray Charles Live In Transylvania (1994)

On 5 September 1994 Ray Charles performed at the 7th Golden Stag International Music Festival, on Sfatului Square in the Transylvanian town of Brasov, Romania. The festival was broadcast by the Canadian, Spanish, and Japanese television. The live audience of more than 7,000 people and more than 18 million viewers were served  every night with a two and a half hour live broadcast. Other stars were Paul Young, David Palmer, Boy George, The Commodores, James Brown, as well as Romanian artists like Silvia Dumitrescu, Loredana Groza, and Monica Anghel.

Who knows more about the precise contents of Ray's performance?

 

Ray Charles In 5 for $5 Arby's Commercial (1997)

In 1997 Ray made a commercial for the fast-food chain Arby's. The few traces that still can be found on the web indicate that the TV commercial with Charles was highly irritating. The commercial also ran in 1999. In 2000 "Guy Incognito" remembered:

"I believe I've seen the first sign of the apocalypse. It's in the form of a commercial for Arby's, the fast-food chain. The voice of Ray Charles is going on about his love for their roast beef sandwich and his passion for horsey sauce. This is the one where Ray Charles talks about his tremendous sense of smell and raves about the smell of Arby's roast beef sandwiches.
Two or three times during the commercial he sniffs loudly and says what kind of sauce is on the sandwiches based on their smell. I swear, they must have jammed the microphone halfway up his sinus passages when he sniffs. You can almost hear the wind whistling through his nostril hairs."

Advertising Age (Nov. 10, 1997) had the whole story. The Arby's fast-food chain was banking on a new $50 million TV campaign spotlighting taste and quality to set it apart from bigger-spending competitors such as McDonald's Corp. and Burger King Corp. The campaign featured celebrity voices over luscious close-ups of sandwiches being assembled, and a new tagline, "Love food? Think Arby's."
The celebrity lineup included Ray Charles, Barry White and Dr. Ruth Westheimer. W.B. Doner & Co., Baltimore, created the campaign, which included 14 spots.
It was a calculated move to use celebrity voices only, noted Scott Lippitt, exec VP-group account director at Doner, and not one of economy. "If we used the on-camera celebrity, it would overwhelm the food and the superior taste message. By only using the voice and the name, the food is center stage," he said. "There are probably 21 or 22 seconds on food photography in these spots."

Also read this.

Here, at 6:43 is a 10-second sample of Ray's contribution to the campaign (not a whole lot of sniffin' going on):