NEW YORK - The body of actor and writer Spalding Gray was discovered in New York's East River on the weekend, almost two months after he was declared missing by his family. He was 62.

Gray, who walked out of his Manhattan apartment Jan. 10 and disappeared, was best known for his monologues, including "Swimming to Cambodia," which recounted in part his role opposite Sam Waterston in the film The Killing Fields .

Gray created more than a dozen monologues since 1979, self-deprecatingly telling audiences about every stage of his life: from stories about his childhood to his adventures as a young man to life as an actor to his mid-life crisis. Many of these monologues were published as books and others, like "Swimming to Cambodia" and "Gray's Anatomy," were adapted for film.

His resumé also included roles in the movies Beaches , Beyond Rangoon and The Paper , as well as several acting turns on Broadway and the co-founding of the experimental Wooster Group theatre in Manhattan.

New York medical examiners identified Gray Monday through dental records and X-rays. Though the cause of his death is still under investigation, Gray had a history of depression and had attempted suicide before.

Gray's mother had committed suicide in 1967 and, ever since, Gray has suffered from depression and spoke openly about sharing her fate. More recently, suffering from poor health after a head-on car crash in 2001 and hospitalized twice for depression, he attempted suicide in Oct. 2002.

He is survived by his wife, Kathleen Russo, three children and his brother.