James Griffith
| James Griffith | |
|---|---|
|
James Griffith in The Amazing Transparent Man (1960) | |
| Born |
February 13, 1916 Los Angeles, California, US |
| Died |
September 17, 1993 (aged 77) Avila Beach, San Luis Obispo County California, U.S. |
| Other names |
Jim Griffith James J. Griffith |
| Occupation | Actor, musician, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1948–1982 |
| Spouse(s) |
Margaret (Sally) Griffith (1943–1975; her death) Betsy Griffith (1983–1993; his death) |
| Children | 1 |
James Griffith (February 13, 1916 – September 17, 1993) was an American character actor, musician and screenwriter.
Career
Born in Los Angeles, Griffith aspired to be a musician rather than an actor. Instead, he managed to find work in little theatres around Los Angeles, where the budding musician eased into a dual career of acting. He found success in the production They Can't Get You Down in 1939, but put his career on hold during World War II to serve with the United States Marine Corps. Following the war, Griffith switched from the stage to films when he appeared in the 1948 film noir picture Blonde Ice. From then on, he enjoyed a lengthy career of supporting and bit roles (sometimes uncredited) in westerns and detective films.
Though Griffith was generally cast as the outlaw in Western pictures, he managed to garner a few memorable "good guy" roles over his many years in Hollywood – Abraham Lincoln in both 1950's Stage to Tucson and 1955's Apache Ambush, sheriff Pat Garrett in 1954's The Law vs. Billy the Kid, John Wesley Hardin in a 1959 television episode of Maverick entitled "Duel at Sundown" featuring Clint Eastwood, and Davy Crockett in 1956's The First Texan.
In the role of Aaron Adams, the town barber, Griffith appeared in 1958 in twelve episodes of the CBS western series, Trackdown, starring Robert Culp as Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman. Secondary roles on the series were also filled by Peter Leeds as gambler/saloon owner Tenner Smith, Ellen Corby as newspaper publisher Henrietta Porter, Addison Richards as the town doctor, Jay Calhoun, and Gail Kobe as Penny Adams, the sister of Aaron Adams, who in several episodes shows a romantic interest in the Gilman character.[1]
Griffith also had recurring roles in the syndicated series, Sheriff of Cochise, starring John Bromfield, and U.S. Marshal.
Griffith made more than seventy guest appearances on television shows, including eight episodes of Wagon Train, seven episodes of The Range Rider, seven episodes of The Lone Ranger, two episodes of Annie Oakley, four episodes of Cheyenne, three episodes of Buffalo Bill, Jr., six episodes of Gunsmoke, four episodes of Perry Mason, four episodes of Dragnet, three episodes (42, 43 and 108) of Batman, and two segments of Little House on the Prairie.
Throughout his acting career, Griffith continued to practice his original love of music, having performed in the Spike Jones band. he composed music for the 1958 film Bullwhip and the 1964 picture, Lorna, in which he also had a role and served as screenwriter. Griffith played the Reverend in Black in the opening, closing, and a few in the middle scenes of Lorna, starring Lorna Maitland in one of director Russ Meyer's black-and-white 'skin' movies before the height of Meyer's career in 1968 with Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.
Griffith made his last onscreen appearance in a 1982 episode of CBS' Dallas.
Death
Griffith died of cancer in Avila Beach, California, on September 17, 1993.
Selected filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1948 | Every Girl Should Be Married | Insurance salesman | Uncredited |
| Appointment with Murder | Detective | ||
| 1949 | Holiday Affair | Crowley's floorwalker | Uncredited |
| Fighting Man of the Plains | a Quantrill raider | uncredited | |
| Search for Danger | Lt. Cooper | ||
| 1950 | Young Man with a Horn | Walt | Uncredited |
| 1951 | As Young as You Feel | Cashier | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Red Skies of Montana | Boise Peterson | Alternative title: Smoke Jumpers |
| 1953 | Kansas Pacific | Joe Farley, Railroad guard | |
| 1954 | The Boy from Oklahoma | Joe Downey, Alderman | |
| The Law vs. Billy the Kid | Pat Garrett, Sheriff | ||
| 1955 | Count Three and Pray | Swallow | Alternative title: The Calico Pony |
| Apache Ambush | President Abraham Lincoln | ||
| 1956 | Tribute to a Bad Man | Barjak | |
| 1956 | Anything Goes | Paul Holiday | |
| 1957 | Raintree County | Mr. Gray's searching companion | Uncredited |
| 1958 | Bullwhip | 'Slow' Karp | |
| 1958 | Seven Guns to Mesa | Papa Clellan | |
| 1959 | The Big Fisherman | Beggar | |
| 1960 | The Amazing Transparent Man | Maj. Paul Krenner | |
| 1961 | Pocketful of Miracles | Briscoe | Uncredited |
| 1962 | How the West Was Won | Poker player with Cleve | Uncredited |
| 1964 | Advance to the Rear | Hugo Zattig | Alternative title: Company of Cowards? |
| 1966 | A Big Hand for the Little Lady | Mr. Stribling | |
| 1968 | Day of the Evil Gun | Storekeeper – Hazenville | |
| 1969 | Heaven with a Gun | Abraham Murdock (sheepherder) | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1952 | Hopalog Cassidy | Roscoe Hicks | 1 episode |
| 1953 | Cavalcade of America | Abraham Lincoln | 1 episode |
| 1954 | City Detective | Harry | 1 episode |
| Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Raymond Andrews | 1 episode | |
| 1955 | Buffalo Bill, Jr. | Kelso Dodge | 3 episodes |
| 1957 | The Gray Ghost | Buddy | 1 episode |
| The Adventures of Jim Bowie | Jud Cameron | 1 episode | |
| 1957–1962 | Cheyenne | Assorted roles | 5 episodes |
| 1958 | Frontier Justice | Taggert | 1 episode |
| Jefferson Drum | Troy Bendick | Episode: "Return" | |
| 1959–1962 | Laramie | Assorted roles | 3 episodes |
| 1959 | Rescue 8 | Ramases | 1 episode |
| Wichita Town | Vic Parker | 1 episode | |
| Sheriff of Cochise | Deputy Tom Ferguson | series regular 1959–1960 | |
| 1961 | The Tall Man | Clint Latimer | "A Kind of Courage" |
| Two Faces West | Les Hardy | 1 episode | |
| The Lawless Years | Jonathan Willis | 1 episode | |
| 1962 | Empire | Pete Stroud | "A Place to Put a Life" |
| Tales of Wells Fargo | Roland Jensen | 1 episode | |
| The Tall Man | James Cutter | "Trial by Fury" | |
| Lawman | Heracles Snead | 1 episode | |
| 1963 | GE True | "The Moonshiners" | Stan Woolman |
| Ben Casey | John Randall | "Suffer the Little Children" | |
| The Untouchables | Monk Lyselle | 1 episode | |
| 1964 | The Great Adventure | Harry Young | 1 episode |
| Slattery's People | Emmett Logan | "Question, Is Laura the Name of the Game?" | |
| The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters | Gambler, Bagsley, and Snake | "The Day of the Toll Takers", "The Day of the Picnic", and "The Day of the Pretenders", respectively | |
| 1965 | The Rouges | Bert | 1 episode |
| Laredo | Deke Pryor | 1 episode | |
| 1966 | F Troop | Sergeant Crawford | 1 episode |
| The Monroes | Henri "Fox" Bonnard | 1 episode | |
| 1966 | Batman | Trusty | 2 episodes (43 and 44) |
| 1967 | Batman | Manx | 1 episode (108) |
| 1967 | The Iron Horse | Howley | 1 episode |
| The Monkees | Marshall | 1 episode | |
| 1969 | The Guns of Will Sonnett | Major Cross | 1 episode |
| The Mod Squad | Bubba Johnson | 1 episode | |
| 1971 | The Bold Ones: The Senator | Channing | 1 episode |
| 1972 | Kung Fu | Purdy | 1 episode |
| 1974 | Kolchak: The Night Stalker | George M. Schwartz | 1 episode |
| 1975 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Will Long | 1 episode |
| Barbary Coast | Eikel | 1 episode | |
| 1976 | The Quest | Donkin | 1 episode |
| 1977 | Police Story | Travis Caulder | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Fantasy Island | Hezekiah Pugh | 1 episode |
| 1979 | B. J. and the Bear | Uncle Moss | 2 episodes |
| 1981 | Hart to Hart | Prospector | 1 episode |
| 1982 | Dallas | (Griffith's final role) | 1 episode |
References
- ↑ Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", West Texas Historical Review, Vol. 89 (2013), p. 104
- Tim Brooks; Earle Marsh (2003). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–present (8th ed.). Random House Digital, Inc. ISBN 0-345-45542-8. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Griffith. |
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