James Westerfield

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James Westerfield (born March 22, 1913 in Nashville , Tennessee , † September 20, 1971 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actor.

life and career

James Westerfield made his film debut in 1940 with a small role as the hillbilly in the historical drama The Howards of Virginia , after having previously gained experience as a stage actor at the Pasadena Playhouse . Although he was mentioned in the credits for Highway West for the first time the following year , the roles for the heavyweight character actor, who tended to be bald at an early age, initially remained small. A high point of his early film career was the portrayal of the butler in the film noir The Chase (1946). In December 1944, Westerfield made his Broadway debut in the musical comedy Sing Out, Sweet Land ; in the following ten years he worked mainly at the theater in New York and gained recognition, partly with self-written and self-produced pieces. He has twice received the prestigious New York Drama Critics Award .

He made a successful return to Hollywood in 1954 with the portrayal of the beefy dockworker Big Mac in Elia Kazan's classic film The Fist in the Neck . Six years later he was to play again in Wilder Strom , directed by Kazan . Until his death, numerous supporting roles for Westerfield followed, especially in westerns or crime films, in which he played mostly down-to-earth workers or rough criminals. In the Disney comedies The Unheimliche Zotti (1959), The Flying Pauker (1961) and The Pauker Can't Keep It (1962) he appeared as a police officer. He had other appearances in addition to Rock Hudson in Howard Hawks ' comedy A Goldfish on a Leash (1964) and in a historical role as judge Isaac Charles Parker in Henry Hathaway's western The Marshal (1969) opposite John Wayne . Westerfield has also made regular guest appearances on television series such as Bonanza , Smoking Colts , The People at Shiloh Ranch, and In Love with a Witch .

Westerfield died of a heart attack in September 1971 at the age of 58, leaving behind his wife Alice G. Fay, who had been married since 1962. His last film, Lucky Johnny , was not released posthumously until 1975.

Filmography (selection)

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personal data
SURNAME Westerfield, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH March 22, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Nashville , Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH 20th September 1971
Place of death Los Angeles , California