James Whitmore

James Whitmore
Born	James Allen Whitmore, Jr. October 1, 1921(1921-10-01) White Plains, New York, U.S.
Died	February 6, 2009(2009-02-06) (aged 87) Malibu, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1949–2007
Spouse	Nancy Mygatt (1947–1971) (divorced) Audra Lindley (1972–1979) (divorced) Nancy Mygatt (1979–1981) (divorced) Noreen Nash (2001–2009) (his death)
Children	Three sons from first marriage, including James Whitmore, Jr.

James Allen Whitmore, Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American film and stage actor.

Early life

Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle (née Crane) and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official,^[1] Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) in Wallingford, Connecticut. He went on to study at Yale University, where he was a member of Skull and Bones.^[2] He later was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and served in the United States Marine Corps in the Panama Canal Zone during World War II.

Career

Following World War II, Whitmore appeared on Broadway in the role of the Sergeant in Command Decision. MGM hired Whitmore on contract, but his role in the film adaptation was played by Van Johnson. Whitmore's first major picture was Battleground, in a role that was turned down by Spencer Tracy, and for which Whitmore was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Other major films included The Asphalt Jungle, The Next Voice You Hear,^[3][4] Above and Beyond, Kiss Me, Kate, Them!, Oklahoma!, Black Like Me, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, Tora! Tora! Tora!, and Give 'em Hell, Harry!, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of former U.S. President Harry S Truman. In the film Tora! Tora! Tora! he played the part of Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey.

In the 1960-1961 television season, Whitmore starred in his own crime drama on ABC entitled The Law and Mr. Jones, in the title role, with Conlan Carter as legal assistant C.E. Carruthers and Janet De Gore as his secretary. The program ran at the 10:30 Eastern half-hour slot on Friday. It was cancelled after one year but returned in April 1962 for thirteen additional episodes on Thursday to fill the half-hour vacated by the cancellation of the ABC sitcom Margie.

In 1963, Whitmore played Captain William Benteen in The Twilight Zone episode "On Thursday We Leave for Home". In 1965 he guest-starred as Col. Paul J. Hartley in episode 32, "The Hero" of 12 O-Clock High (TV series). In 1967 he guest starred as a security guard in The Invaders episode, Quantity: Unknown. That same year, he appeared on an episode of ABC's Custer starring Wayne Maunder in the title role. In 1969, Whitmore played the leading character of Professor Woodruff in the TV series My Friend Tony, produced by NBC. Whitmore also made several memorable appearances on the classic ABC western The Big Valley starring Barbara Stanwyck and the classic NBC western The Virginian starring James Drury during the second half of the 1960s. From 1972-1973, he played Dr. Vincent Campanelli in the short-lived ABC medical sitcom Temperatures Rising. He also appeared in Planet of the Apes.

Whitmore appeared as General Oliver O. Howard in the 1975 television film I Will Fight No More Forever, based on the 1877 conflict between the United States Army and the Nez Percé tribe, led by Chief Joseph. In 1979, Whitmore hosted a talk show of twenty-two episodes called simply Comeback. One of those segments focuses on the helicopter inventor Igor Sikorsky.^[5]

In 1986, Whitmore voiced Mark Twain in the first claymation film The Adventures of Mark Twain. Whitmore's last major film role was that of librarian Brooks Hatlen in the critically acclaimed and Academy award-nominated 1994 Frank Darabont film starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, The Shawshank Redemption. Two years later, he co-starred in the 1996 horror/sci-fi film The Relic.

In 2002 Whitmore played a supporting role in The Majestic, a film that starred Jim Carrey. To a younger generation, he was probably best known, in addition to his role in Shawshank, as the commercial spokesman for Miracle-Gro plant food for many years.

In 2003 Whitmore appeared as Josh Brolin's father on the short-lived NBC drama series Mister Sterling.

Whitmore did extensive theatre work. He won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Newcomer in the Broadway production of Command Decision (1948). He later won the title "King of the One Man Show" after appearing in the solo vehicles Will Rogers' USA (1970) (repeating the role for TV in 1972), Give 'em Hell, Harry! (1975) (repeating the role in the film version, for which he was nominated for an Oscar) and as Theodore Roosevelt in Bully (1977) although the latter production did not repeat the success of the first two.

In 1999, he played Raymond Oz in two episodes of The Practice, earning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. In 2002, Whitmore got the role of the Grandfather in the Disney Channel original film A Ring of Endless Light. Whitmore has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6611 Hollywood Blvd. In April 2007, he also appeared in C.S.I. in an episode titled "Ending Happy" as Milton, an elderly man who provides a clue of dubious utility.

Personal life

Whitmore was twice married to Nancy Mygatt. They first married in 1947 and the couple had three sons before their divorce in 1971. One of those sons, James III, has gone on to find success as a television actor and director, under the name James Whitmore, Jr. Another son, Steve Whitmore, went on to be public spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. His youngest son, Daniel, was a Forest Service Snow Ranger and firefighter before starting his own construction company.

Following the divorce from Mygatt, Whitmore was married to actress Audra Lindley (died 1997) from 1972 until 1979. He later remarried Mygatt, but they divorced again after two years.

In 2001, he married actress and author Noreen Nash, who is the grandmother of film actor Sebastian Siegel.

Whitmore is the grandfather of Survivor: Gabon contestant Matty Whitmore. In his later years, Whitmore spent most of his summers in Peterborough, New Hampshire, performing with the Peterborough Players.

Although not always politically active, in 2007, Whitmore generated some publicity with his endorsement of Barack Obama for U.S. President. In January 2008, Whitmore appeared in television commercials for the First Freedom First campaign, which advocates preserving "the separation of church and state" and protecting religious liberty.^[6]

Death

Whitmore was diagnosed with lung cancer in November 2008, from which he died at his Malibu, California, home on February 6, 2009. He was 87. His ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.^[7]

Partial filmography

• The Undercover Man (1949)
• Battleground (1949)
• Please Believe Me (1950)
• The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
• The Next Voice You Hear... (1950)
• Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950)
• The Red Badge of Courage (1951) (uncredited narrator)
• Across the Wide Missouri (1951) (uncredited)
• Angels in the Outfield (1951) (uncredited voice)
• Because You're Mine (1952)
• Above and Beyond (1952)
• The Girl Who Had Everything (1953)
• Kiss Me Kate (1953)
• All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953)
• Them! (1954)
• The Last Frontier (1955 Film) (1955)
• Battle Cry (1955)
• The McConnell Story (1955)
• Oklahoma! (1955)
• Crime in the Streets (1956)
• The Eddy Duchin Story (1956)
• Who Was That Lady? (1960)
• Where The Red Fern Grows (1961)
• Black Like Me (1964)
• The Tenderfoot (1964), Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
• Chuka (1967)
• Waterhole #3 (1967)
• Nobody's Perfect (1968)
• Planet of the Apes (1968)
• Madigan (1968)
• The Split (1968)
• Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969)
• The Challenge (1970) (TV)
• Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
• Chato's Land (1972)
• La polizia incrimina la legge assolve (aka High Crime) (1973)
• The Harrad Experiment (1973)
• Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) (TV)
• I Will Fight No More Forever (1975) (TV)
• Give 'em Hell, Harry! (1975)
• The Serpent's Egg (1977)
• The First Deadly Sin (1980)
• The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) (voice)
• All My Sons (1987) (TV)
• Nuts (1987)
• The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
• The Relic (1997)
• Swing Vote (1999)
• The Majestic (2001)
• A Ring of Endless Light (2002)
• Fun with Dick and Jane (2005, with Jim Carrey - only on excluded scene 'Toyshop Fight' where he plays an enraged ex-marine security guard

See also

	World War II portal
	United States Marine Corps portal
	Biography portal

References

1. ^ "James Whitmore Biography". FilmReference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/77/James-Whitmogdgre.html. Retrieved April 7, 2011. 
2. ^ Robbins, Alexandra (July 2004). "Powerful Secrets". Vanity Fair: pp. 116. 
3. ^ The Next Voice You Hear... (1950)
4. ^ The Next Voice You Hear Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes
5. ^ "Comeback". tvguide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=200596&more=ucepisodelist&episodeid=651282. Retrieved April 29, 2011. 
6. ^ First Freedom First Launches First-Ever Ads in a Presidential Campaign to Protect Religious Liberty
7. ^ McLean, Denna. (February 6, 2009) "James Whitmore dies at 87; Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor was familiar to many as pitchman for Miracle-Gro", Los Angeles Times

External links

• James Whitmore at Find a Grave
• James Whitmore at the Internet Movie Database
• James Whitmore at the Internet Broadway Database
• Actors Master Class: James Whitmore in How To Steal A Scene
• James Whitmore filmed interview
• AP Obituary in the LA Times
• Steven Ameche: Remembering James Whitmore At The Market

Persondata
Name	Whitmore, James
Alternative names	Whitmore, James Allen, Jr.
Short description	Actor
Date of birth	October 1, 1921
Place of birth	White Plains, New York
Date of death	February 6, 2009
Place of death	Malibu, California