James Whitmore
(1921 - 2009)He was one of the most well-known and popular character actors of his day and was "on the cusp" between character and lead roles. Short, very stocky and solid with wavy hair, a kindly looking face and intense but pensive eyes. He was born on October 1, 1921 in White Plains, New York and grew up there. He attended Yale University on a football scholarsip, where he joined the Yale Drama School Players. Stung by the acting bug, he performed in many school dramas and even helped found the Yale radio station. After graduation he served with the marines in World War II in the South Pacific. He worked in various stock theatre companies after the war and made his Broadway debut in 1937 and his film debut came 12 years later in the film "Undercover Man" (1949) as George Pappas. His other film credits include: the film classic "Battleground" (1949) with Van Johnson and a stellar cast, as Kinnie, for which he received an Oscar nomination; "Please Believe Me" (1950) as Vincent Marian; "The Outriders" (1950) as Clint Priest; "The Next Voice You Hear" (1950) with Nancy Davis [Reagan], as Joe Smith; "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950) as Gus Minissi; "Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone" (1950) as John J. Malone; "The Red Badge of Courage" (1951) uncredited as the Narrator; "It's A Big Country" (1951) as Mr. Stacey; "Shadow in the Sky" (1951) as Lou Hopke; "Above and Beyond" (1952) as Maj. William Uanna; "Because You're Mine" (1952) as Sgt. Batterson; "The Girl Who Had Everything" (1953) as Charles 'Chico' Menlow; "All the Brothers Were Valiant" (1953) as Fetcher; "Kiss Me Kate" (1953) as Slug; "The Great Diamond Robbery" (1953) as Remlick; "The Command" (1954) as Sgt. Elliott; the classic science fiction film "Them!" (1954) as Police Sgt. Ben Peterson; "Battle Cry" (1955) as Master Sgt. Mac/Narrator; "The McConnell Story" (1955) as Staff Sgt./Major/Colonel/Ty 'Dad' Whitman; "Oklahoma!" (1955) as Carnes; "The Last Frontier" (1955) as Gus; "Crime in the Streets" (1956) as Ben Wagner; "The Eddy Duchin Story" (1956) as Lou Sherwood; "The Young Don't Cry" (1957) as Rudy Krist; "The Deep Six" (1957) as Commander Meredith; "The Restless Years" (1958) as Ed Henderson; "Face of Fire" (1959) as Monk Johnson; "Who Was That Lady?" (1960) as Harry Powell; "Black Like Me" (1964) as John Finley Horton; "Chuka" (1967) as Trent; "Waterhole # 3" (1967) as Capt. Shipley; "Nobody's Perfect" (1968) as Capt. Mike Riley; "Planet of the Apes" (1968) as President of the Assembly; "Madigan" (1968) as Chief Inspector Charles Kane; "The Split" (1968) as Herb Sutro; "Guns of the Magnificent Seven" (1969) as Levi Morgan; "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (1970) as Adm. William F. Halsey; "Chato's Land" (1971) as Joshua Everette; "The Harrad Experiment" (1973) as Philip Tenhausen; "Where the Red Ferns Grow" (1974) as Grandpa; "Give 'em Hell, Harry!" (1975) as Harry S. Truman, in a terrific one-man performance; "The Serpent's Egg" (1977) as The Priest; "The First Deadly Sin" (1980) as Dr. Sanford Ferguson; "Hail Columbia!" (1982) as Narrator; "Nuts" (1987) as Judge Stanley Murdoch; "Old Explorers" (1990) as Leinen Roth; "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) an awesome film and one of his best roles as Brooks Hatlen; "The Relic" (1997) as Dr. Albert Frock; "Here's to Life!" (1999) as Gus Corley and "The Majestic" (2001) with Jim Carrey, as Stan Keller. On TV he was a regular on the series: "The Law and Mr. Jones" (1960-62) as Abraham Lincoln Jones; "Survival" (1964) as Narrator; "My Friend Tony" (1969) as Prof. John Woodruff; "Temperatures Rising" (1972-73) as Dr. Vincent Campanelli; "The Word" (1978) a mini-series as George Wheeler; "Comeback" (1979) as Host and "Celebrity" (1984) a mini-series as Clifford Casey. He also appeared in TV movies including: "The Challenge" (1970); "I Will Fight No More Forever" (1975); "Rage!" (1980) and "A Ring of Endless Light" (2002). He also guest starred on such series as: "Wagon Train"; "Rawhide"; "Ben Casey"; "Combat"; "Gunsmoke"; "The White Shadow" and "The Practice." He was married to the late actress Audra Lindley from 1972-79 and later was divorced, he then married Noreen Nash. His son James Jr. is also and actor. Of late he has appeared in commercials for plant products. He died of lung cancer on February 6, 2009 at his home in Malibu, California.
From Great Character Actors, Page 5.
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