| James Griffith | |
| Birth Date: | February 13, 1916 |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S |
| Death Place: | Avila Beach, California, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1948–1982 |
James Jeffrey Griffith (February 13, 1916 – September 17, 1993) was an American character actor, musician and screenwriter.[1]
Born in Los Angeles, California and raised in San Pedro, Griffith was the eldest of two born to Albert James Griffith and Ruth Elizabeth Jeffrey.[1] [2] They later moved to Balboa, where he attended Newport Beach Grammar School. Following his parents' divorce in 1931, Griffith lived in Santa Monica with his mother, sister and grandmother, attending Huntington Beach High School and, later, Santa Monica High School,[1] where he befriended a young Glenn Ford.[3] [4] Although his extracurricular activity at Santa Monica High appears to have been primarily musical (he played clarinet), Griffith's devotion to the theater outside of school hours, as reported by the San Luis Obispo Tribune, mirrored that of Ford.
During that time he and his boyhood friend, Gwyllyn Ford, went around town trying out for all the plays. On occasion they spread their territory beyond Santa Monica and would hitchhike over to Pasadena and audition at the Pasadena Playhouse. By the time he was 17, Mr. Griffith had acted in 70 plays and graduated from high school.[5]
After graduating from University of California, Los Angeles, 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,[6] 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 (as well as episodes of Cavalcade of America and—as a Lincoln lookalike—The Lone Ranger), Doc Holliday in 1954's Masterson of Kansas, sheriff Pat Garrett in 1954's The Law vs. Billy the Kid, and Davy Crockett in 1956's The First Texan.[7] In 1951's Apache Drums, Griffith portrayed a cavalry officer sensitive to Native-American concerns, and in 1957, he co-starred on Gunsmoke, playing a simple farmer involved in a feud in S3E16's "Twelfth Night".[8] [9] He was also featured in the season one episode, "Pike's Reward," and several others.[10] [11]
In 1959, Griffith appeared as John Wesley Hardin on the TV western Maverick in the episode titled "Duel at Sundown" featuring James Garner and Clint Eastwood.[12]
In the role of Aaron Adams, the town barber, Griffith appeared in 1958 in twelve episodes of the CBS western series, Trackdown.[13]
Griffith also portrayed deputy Tom Ferguson 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, beginning with an early stint as vocalist/reed man with Spike Jones,[14] Griffith frequently found ways to combine his two passions. Collaborating with former Pied Piper Hal Hopper, he co-wrote title tunes for several films.[3] 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 1984 episode of CBS's Trapper John MD.
Griffith was married twice: to Margaret Ellen Fluke from 1943 until her death in 1975,[2] [15] and, from 1984 until his own death, to Elizabeth Thorpe (née Jackson).[1] [16] [17] He had one child, a daughter, by his first marriage.[5]
On September 17, 1993, Griffith died of cancer in Avila Beach, California,[1] survived by his wife, daughter and two granddaughters.[5]
| Film | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
| 1948 | Blonde Ice | Al Herrick | ||
| Appointment with Murder | Detective | Uncredited | ||
| Every Girl Should Be Married | Insurance salesman | Uncredited | ||
| 1949 | Life of St. Paul Series | Tertullus | ||
| Alaska Patrol | Operative Dale | |||
| Daughter of the West | Jed Morgan | |||
| Search for Danger | Lt. Cooper | |||
| Special Agent | Candy Vendor on Train | Uncredited | ||
| Fighting Man of the Plains | Quantrell | |||
| Oh, You Beautiful Doll | Joe - Reporter | Uncredited | ||
| Holiday Affair | Crowley's Floorwalker | Uncredited | ||
| 1950 | Young Man with a Horn | Walt | Uncredited | |
| Bright Leaf | Ellery | Uncredited | ||
| The Cariboo Trail | Higgins | |||
| The Petty Girl | Royal Roof Orchestra Leader | Uncredited | ||
| Indian Territory | Apache Kid aka Johnny Corday | |||
| The Breaking Point | Charlie, Bartender | Uncredited | ||
| Stage to Tucson | Abraham Lincoln | Voice, Uncredited | ||
| Double Deal | Walter Karnes | |||
| 1951 | Al Jennings of Oklahoma | Slim Harris | ||
| The Great Missouri Raid | Jack Ladd | |||
| Payment on Demand | Arthur | Uncredited | ||
| Apache Drums | Lt. Glidden | |||
| Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison | Carl Gebhardt | Uncredited | ||
| Goodbye, My Fancy | Somers | (scenes deleted) | ||
| As Young as You Feel | Cashier | Uncredited | ||
| Chain of Circumstance | Sid | |||
| Rhubarb | Ogelthorpe 'Oggie' Meadows | |||
| Drums in the Deep South | Union Officer Reporting to Denning | Uncredited | ||
| The Lady Pays Off | Ronald | |||
| The Blue Veil | Joplin's Agent | Uncredited | ||
| 1952 | Red Skies of Montana | Boise Peterson | Alternative title: Smoke Jumpers | |
| Wait till the Sun Shines, Nellie | Ollie | Uncredited | ||
| Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair | Medicine Man | Uncredited | ||
| Eight Iron Men | Pvt. Ferguson | |||
| 1953 | Kansas Pacific | Joe Farley, Railroad guard | ||
| Powder River | Mac - Hotel Clerk | Uncredited | ||
| The Kid from Left Field | Newsstand Proprietor | |||
| No Escape | Peter Hayden | |||
| A Lion Is in the Streets | Mayor's Clerk | Uncredited | ||
| 1954 | Ride Clear of Diablo | Henry - Train Conductor | Uncredited | |
| The Boy from Oklahoma | Joe Downey, Alderman | |||
| Jesse James vs. the Daltons | Bob Dalton | |||
| Rails Into Laramie | Marshal Orrie Sommers | |||
| The Law vs. Billy the Kid | Pat Garrett, Sheriff | |||
| Dragnet | Jesse Quinn | |||
| The Shanghai Story | Carl Hoyt | |||
| The Black Dakotas | Warren | |||
| Drum Beat | Veteran One-Legged Soldier at White House gate | Uncredited | ||
| Masterson of Kansas | Doc Holliday | |||
| Day of Triumph | Judas Iscariot | |||
| Manhunt in Space | Ken | |||
| 1955 | I Cover the Underworld | Smiley Di Angelo | ||
| Son of Sinbad | Arab Guide | Uncredited | ||
| The Kentuckian | Riverboat Gambler | Uncredited | ||
| The Night of the Hunter | District Attorney | Uncredited | ||
| Apache Ambush | President Abraham Lincoln | |||
| Count Three and Pray | Swallow | Alternative title: The Calico Pony | ||
| At Gunpoint | The Stranger (Bob Alexander) | |||
| 1956 | Tribute to a Bad Man | Barjak | ||
| Anything Goes | Paul Holiday | |||
| The Killing | Mr. Grimes | |||
| The First Texan | Davy Crockett | |||
| Rebel in Town | Marshal Adam Russell | |||
| 1957 | The Guns of Fort Petticoat | Kipper | ||
| The Vampire | Henry Winston | |||
| Omar Khayyam | Buzorg | |||
| Domino Kid | Sam Beal | Uncredited | ||
| Raintree County | Mr. Gray's searching companion | Uncredited | ||
| 1958 | Return to Warbow | Frank Hollister | ||
| Man from God's Country | Mark Faber | |||
| Seven Guns to Mesa | Papa Clellan | |||
| Bullwhip | 'Slow' Karp | |||
| Frontier Gun | Cash Skelton | |||
| 1959 | The Big Fisherman | Beggar | ||
| 1960 | The Amazing Transparent Man | Maj. Paul Krenner | ||
| Spartacus | Otho | Uncredited | ||
| North to Alaska | Salvation Army Leader | Uncredited | ||
| 1961 | Morgan keibu to nazô no otoko | |||
| 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? | |
| Lorna | The Man of God | |||
| 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) | ||
| Seven in Darkness | Harlan Cabot | TV movie | ||
| Hail, Hero! | Painter #2 | |||
| 1970 | Like It Is | Father | ||
| 1974 | Seven Alone | Billy Shaw | ||
| 1976 | Flood! | Charlie Davis | TV movie | |
| 1977 | Speedtrap | Wino | ||
| 1980 | The Legend of Sleepy Hollow | Squire Van Tassel | TV movie | |
| Television | ||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
| 1952 | Hopalog Cassidy | Roscoe Hicks | 1 episode | |
| 1953 | Cavalcade of America | Abraham Lincoln | 1 episode | |
| Death Valley Days | Solomon Murtrey | 1 episode | ||
| 1954 | City Detective | Harry | 1 episode | |
| Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Raymond Andrews | 1 episode | ||
| 1955 | Buffalo Bill, Jr. | Kelso Dodge | 3 episodes | |
| 1955-1968 | Gunsmoke | Joe Kite / Joth Monger / Tillman / Bettis / Harford / Wade Lester | 6 episodes | |
| 1957 | The Gray Ghost | Buddy | 1 episode | |
| The Adventures of Jim Bowie | Jud Cameron | 1 episode | ||
| 1957–1962 | Cheyenne | Assorted roles | 4 episodes | |
| 1957 | Cheyenne | Joe Epic | Episode: "Land Beyond the Law" | |
| 1958 | Frontier Justice | Taggert | 1 episode | |
| Jefferson Drum | Troy Bendick | Episode: "Return" | ||
| 1958 | Official Detective | Det Fred Ball | Episode: "Body In The Trunk" | |
| 1958 | The Walter Winchell File | Don Gue Watson | Episode: "A Thing of Beauty" | |
| 1959–1962 | Laramie | Assorted roles | 3 episodes | |
| 1959 | Rescue 8 | Ramases | 1 episode | |
| Wichita Town | Vic Parker | 1 episode | ||
| U.S. Marshal | Deputy Tom Ferguson | series regular 1959–1960 | ||
| Maverick | John Wesley Hardin | Episode: "Duel at Sundown" | ||
| 1959 | Steve Cayyon | Bean N. Zook | Episode: "The Muller Story" | |
| 1960 | Rawhide | Maury | Episode: Incident of the Devil and His Due | |
| 1961 | The Tall Man | Clint Latimer | "A Kind of Courage" | |
| Two Faces West | Les Hardy | 1 episode | ||
| The Lawless Years | Jonathan Willis | 1 episode | ||
| Perry Mason | Walter Hutchings | "The Case of the Posthumous Painter" | ||
| Thriller | Victor Harrod | "Parasite Mansion" | ||
| Rawhide | Tyree | S3:E22, "Incident in the Middle of Nowhere" | ||
| 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" | ||
| Have Gun Will Travel | Marauder | "The Predators" episode. | ||
| Have Gun, Will Travel | Dave Wilder, prisoner | (Episode: The Waiting Room) | ||
| 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 | |
| Daniel Boone | Coll | S2/E2 "The Tortoise and the Hare" (1965) | ||
| 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 | S2:E13, "Monkees in Texas" | ||
| 1969 | The Guns of Will Sonnett | Major Cross | 1 episode | |
| The Mod Squad | Bubba Johnson | 1 episode | ||
| 1971 | Channing | 1 episode | ||
| 1972 | Kung Fu | Purdy | 1 episode | |
| 1974 | 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 | 1 episode | ||