James Brown (actor)
James E. Brown (born March 22, 1920 in Desdemona , Texas , † April 11, 1992 in Woodland Hills , California ) was an American actor.
life and career
James Brown was born in 1920 in the Texan oil boom town Desdemona. As a teenager he attended Baylor University in Waco and was a successful tennis player. James Brown made his film debut in 1941 with a small role in Ride, Kelly, Ride , directed by Norman Foster . Just two years later, he received the second leading role in the war film Korvette K 225 . In 1944 he had a bigger role alongside Bing Crosby in The Road to Happiness , the financially most successful film of that year, which also won the Oscar for Best Picture. The athletic Brown was used particularly often in war films, for example The Hero of Burma (1945) and You Were Our Comrade (1949).
His film roles in the 1950s tended to become less significant, but television brought him his perhaps best-known role from 1954: In the western series Rin Tin Tin , he played the role of Lieutenant Ripley "Rip" Masters for five years in 164 episodes . He performed here alongside a German Shepherd and child star Lee Aaker . In 1956, Rin Tin Tin was the first American series to be shown on German television. After the end of Rin Tin Tin , the role offers for Brown decreased noticeably, which is why he founded a successful company for bodybuilding equipment in the late 1960s . He later worked in an important position for the Faberge cosmetics group. Nevertheless, he continued to work as an actor in the 1970s and 1980s. Of his late roles, he might also be known to many television viewers for his portrayal of the corrupt cop Harry McSween on the soap opera Dallas . Between 1979 and 1988 he played this character in a total of 39 episodes.
James Brown died of lung cancer in 1992 at the age of 72. He left behind his wife Betty and three daughters.
Filmography (selection)
- 1941: Ride, Kelly, Ride
- 1942: Wake Island
- 1943: Into the Japanese Sun (Air Force)
- 1943: Corvette K 225 (Corvette K-225)
- 1944: The Road to Happiness (Going My Way)
- 1945: The Hero of Burma (Objective, Burma!)
- 1948: The Rough Horsemen (The Gallant Legion)
- 1949: You were our comrade (Sands of Two Iwa)
- 1950: The Devil's Pilot (Chain Lightning)
- 1950: Montana
- 1950: Between Midnight and Dawn
- 1952: Counter Espionage (Springfield Rifle)
- 1953: On the death over (Woman They Almost Lynched)
- 1953: Thunder Over the Plains
- 1953: The Charge at Feather River
- 1954: A new star in the sky (A Star Is Born)
- 1954–1959: Rin Tin Tin (TV series, 164 episodes)
- 1957: Jet Fighter ( Jet Pilot ; shot 1949–1953)
- 1959: The Black Hand of the Mafia (Inside the Mafia)
- 1963: The girl Irma la Douce (Irma la Douce)
- 1963: Smoking Colts ( Gunsmoke ; TV series, 1 episode)
- 1963: Lassie (TV series, 3 episodes)
- 1965: Revolvers don't discuss (Town Tamer)
- 1965: Black spores (Black Spurs)
- 1968: Movable Targets
- 1975: Cash - The unstoppable career of Private Ass (Whiffs)
- 1976: I want, I want ... maybe? (I Will ... I Will ... For Now)
- 1977: Starsky & Hutch (TV series, 1 episode)
- 1979–1988: Dallas (TV series, 39 episodes)
- 1982: CHiPs (TV series, 1 episode)
- 1988: Murder is Her Hobby ( Murder, She Wrote ; TV series, 1 episode)
Web links
- James Brown in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Brown, James |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Brown, James E. |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | US-American actor |
DATE OF BIRTH | March 22, 1920 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Desdemona , Texas |
DATE OF DEATH | April 11, 1992 |
Place of death | Woodland Hills , Los Angeles , California |