Actor James Whitmore Dies At Age 87 (1 October 1921 - 6 February 2009)

I learned via Fred's article that James Whitmore was dead. I have loved James Whitmore as an actor since the first time I saw the 1954 B Sci-Fi film Them!. There is a story that Disney was thinking of hiring him for a series of shows on The Wonderful World of Disney about Davy Crockett. They watched Them! to see if they wanted to hire him. They instead went with a lesser known actor Fess Parker who had a small part in Them!. Whitmore did end up playing in Disney's The Tenderfoot series in 1964.

"He cared about acting; his whole life was dedicated to the theater and to movies," said actor David Huddleston, a longtime friend who appeared in Whitmore's 1964 movie "Black Like Me" and did a couple of plays with him. "I asked James Cagney one time to tell me the best thing you can about acting. He said never to get caught at it. That's kind of how I'd sum up Jim Whitmore."

James Arness, who appeared with Whitmore in the movies "Battleground" and "Them!," said Whitmore was "an actor's actor," adding that "it was always a treat to work with him."

Arness also remembered the "great intensity" Whitmore could bring to a role.

"When we wanted to get an actor to play a character who had that quality, Jimmy was the guy you'd think of," said Arness, who starred in "Gunsmoke," a TV series that Whitmore appeared on a number of times.

Whether he was playing a general, a president or everyman (Will Rogers, Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt) Whitmore gave an outstanding performance. You may remember him as the librarian in The Shawshank Redemption. He won at least one Tony and Emmy for his acting. But, to me as well as being an outstanding actor he will be that police officer in Them!. What would have happened if he was chosen for Davy Crockett instead of Fess Parker? We will never know. We will miss you James Whitmore.

Trivia

Sometimes people confuse Whitmore and Spencer Tracy. The two sometimes look as if they could have been brothers.

Father of James Whitmore Jr..

Youngest of four children, his father was an Executive Secretary for a local Park Commission in White Plains, NY.

Earned a football scholarship at Yale University but extensive knee injuries led him to give the sport up.

First job in the entertainment field was as a radio director for the Yale University station.

Met and married first wife Nancy Mygatt while studying at the American Theatre Wing. She was their press agent at the time.

Won a Tony Award and a Theatre World Award in 1948 for his performance as Harold Evans in the stage production of "Command Decision". His role was played by Van Johnson in the film version.

Well known for his role as Capt. Benteen in the "On Thursday We Leave for Home" episode of "The Twilight Zone" (1959), considered by many fans to be the best hour-long episode in the show's history.

Won Broadway's 1948 Tony Award for Outstanding Performance by a Newcomer for "Command Decision."

Is a member of Yale University's exclusive Skull & Bones club, an undergraduate secret society famous for the post-graduation accomplishments of its members. Other living members include President George W. Bush and his father, former President George Bush, Sen. John Kerry, political commentator William F. Buckley and Pulitzer-Prize winning historian David McCullough. Deceased members include President William Howard Taft and President Bush's own grandfather, Prescott Bush, a U.S. Senator and partner in the Wall St. white shoe brokerage firm of Brown Bros., Harriman.

Is a United States Marine. Served in the United States Marine Corps during World War Two.

Grandfather of James Whitmore III.

Whitmore appeared at the Peterborough Players Theater in Peterborough, New Hampshire in the play "Tuesdays With Morrie" with his son, James Whitmore Jr. in June and July, 2006. Whitmore has been appearing in summer theatrical productions in Peterborough, which is known for its arts community, for half-a-century.

In the early 1950s Whitmore conducted an acting workshop in Hollywood; one of his pupils was a struggling young actor, then unknown, James Dean. Whitmore helped Dean get some jobs in LA but encouraged Dean to go to New York to audition for the Actors Studio. Dean was one of the few accepted the year he auditioned.

Is married to Noreen Nash, the grandmother of film actor Sebastian Siegel.

Personal Quotes

"I have no regrets, real regrets about any darn thing...I think second-guessing one's self and your life is the most futile thing in the world."

"I certainly wasn't the idol of millions. I just happened to get good parts. And so I wasn't worried...because I could see these character parts stretching on into the, you know, dim days of the future."

L.A. Times

IMdb

All About Film, Movies And Actors on Gather