| Jim Davis | |
| Birth Name: | Marlin Davis |
| Birth Date: | 26 August 1909 |
| Birth Place: | Edgerton, Missouri, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Yearsactive: | 1942–1981 |
| Children: | 1 |
Jim Davis (born Marlin Davis; August 26, 1909 – April 26, 1981) was an American actor, best known for his roles in television Westerns. In his later career, he became famous as Jock Ewing in the CBS primetime soap opera Dallas, a role he continued until he was too ill from multiple myeloma to perform.
Born in Edgerton in Platte County in northwestern Missouri, Davis attended high school in Dearborn, and the Baptist-affiliated William Jewell College in Liberty. At WJC, he played tight end on the football team and graduated with a degree in political science. He served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II.[1]
He was known as Jim Davis by the time of his first major screen role, which was opposite Bette Davis in the 1948 melodrama Winter Meeting.[2] His subsequent film career consisted of mostly B movies, many of them Westerns, although he made an impression as a U.S. Senator in the Warren Beatty conspiracy thriller The Parallax View.
Davis appeared 13 times on Death Valley Days. In 1954–1955, Davis starred and narrated Stories of the Century. He portrayed Matt Clark, a detective for the Southwest Railroad. In 1957 he played an outlaw with scruples in the 16th episode of Tales of Wells Fargo, entitled "Two Cartridges", with Dale Robertson.
From 1958-1960, Davis starred as Wes Cameron opposite Lang Jeffries in the role of Skip Johnson in the syndicated adventure series Rescue 8. About this time, he guest-starred on the syndicated crime drama, U.S. Marshal, starring John Bromfield.
Davis made two guest appearances on Perry Mason, as George Tabor in the season-six episode of "The Case of the Fickle Filly", and as murder victim Joe Farrell in the 1964, season-eight episode of "The Case of a Place Called Midnight". He also appeared on the Jack Lord adventure series, Stoney Burke. In 1964, Davis played Wyatt Earp in the episode "After the OK Corral" on Death Valley Days; William Tannen played the part of rancher and gunfighter Ike Clanton in the same episode.
Davis appeared 11 times on Gunsmoke and four times each on Daniel Boone, Wagon Train, and Laramie. In the next-to-the-last Laramie episode, entitled "Trapped" (May 14, 1963), he guest-starred with Tommy Sands, Claude Akins, and Mona Freeman. In the story line, Slim Sherman (John Smith) finds an injured female kidnap victim in the woods (Freeman). Dennis Holmes, as series-regular Mike Williams, rides away to seek help, but the kidnappers reclaim the hostage. Slim pursues the kidnappers, but is mistaken as a third kidnapper by the girl's father (Barton MacLane). Sands plays the girl's boyfriend, who had been ordered by her father to stop seeing her. Davis also appeared in an episode of The High Chaparral and in small roles in the 1971 John Wayne vehicles Rio Lobo (1970) and Big Jake (1971). In 1974, he starred as Marshal Bill Winter in a short-lived ABC Western series The Cowboys, based on a 1972 film of the same name starring John Wayne.
After years of relatively low-profile roles, Davis was cast as family patriarch Jock Ewing on Dallas, which debuted in 1978.
The decision had already been made prior to Davis' death not to recast the character with another actor.[3] Furthermore, after he died the producers strongly considered leaving his name and photos in the opening credits for the duration of the series.[4]
The fifth-season episode "The Search", which confirmed the character's death in a helicopter crash on his way home to Dallas from South America, was broadcast on January 8, 1982, and contained flashback scenes of the character.[5] [6]
In 1949, after two short failed marriages, he met Blanche Hammerer at the club "Mocambo" on the Sunset Strip. They later married and remained together for more than 30 years, until Davis's death in 1981.[7]
Their only child, daughter Tara Diane Davis, was killed in an automobile accident at the age of 17. Davis later became close to his Dallas co-star Victoria Principal, who had a physical resemblance to his late daughter.[8]
Davis died at his home in Northridge, California, on April 26, 1981, aged 71.[9] He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.[10]
In February 1960, having already appeared as a guest star on 50 episodes across 20 different television series and having been the series lead of both Stories of the Century and Rescue 8, Davis received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6290 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, California.[11]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Cairo | Sergeant | Uncredited |
| 1942 | Northwest Rangers | Mountie | Uncredited |
| 1942 | Keep 'Em Sailing | Joseph Cummins | Short film |
| 1942 | White Cargo | Seaplane Pilot | Uncredited |
| 1942 | Tennessee Johnson | Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1942 | Stand By for Action | Talker | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Three Hearts for Julia | Daily Globe Staff Member | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Pilot #5 | Military Policeman | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Salute to the Marines | Private Saunders | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Swing Shift Maisie | Investigator | Uncredited |
| 1945 | What Next, Corporal Hargrove? | Sgt. Hill | |
| 1946 | Up Goes Maisie | Matthews | Uncredited |
| 1946 | Gallant Bess | Harry | |
| 1947 | The Beginning or the End | Pilot at Tinian | |
| 1947 | The Romance of Rosy Ridge | Badge Dessark | |
| 1947 | Merton of the Movies | Von Strutt's Assistant | Uncredited |
| 1947 | The Fabulous Texan | Sam Bass | |
| 1948 | Winter Meeting | Slick Novak | |
| 1949 | Red Stallion in the Rockies | Dave Ryder | |
| 1949 | Hellfire | Gyp Stoner | |
| 1949 | Yes Sir, That's My Baby | Joe Tascarelli | |
| 1949 | Brimstone | Nick Courteen | |
| 1950 | The Savage Horde | Lt. Mike Baker | |
| 1950 | Hi-Jacked | Joe Harper | |
| 1950 | The Cariboo Trail | Bill Miller | |
| 1950 | The Showdown | Cochran | |
| 1950 | California Passage | Lincoln Corey | |
| 1951 | Three Desperate Men | Fred Denton | |
| 1951 | Oh! Susanna | Ira Jordan | |
| 1951 | Cavalry Scout | Lt. Spaulding | |
| 1951 | Little Big Horn | Cpl. Doan Moylan | |
| 1951 | Silver Canyon | Wade McQuarrie | |
| 1951 | The Sea Hornet | Tony Sullivan | |
| 1952 | Rose of Cimarron | Willie Whitewater | |
| 1952 | Woman of the North Country | Steve Powell | |
| 1952 | The Big Sky | Streak | |
| 1952 | Ride the Man Down | Red Courteen | |
| 1953 | Bandit Island | Brad Bellows | Short film |
| 1953 | Woman They Almost Lynched | Cole Younger | |
| 1953 | The President's Lady | Jason Robards | Uncredited |
| 1954 | Jubilee Trail | Silky | |
| 1954 | The Big Chase | Brad Bellows | |
| 1954 | The Outcast | Major Linton Cosgrave | |
| 1954 | The Outlaw's Daughter | Marshal Dan Porter | |
| 1954 | Hell's Outpost | Sam Horne | |
| 1955 | Timberjack | Poole | |
| 1955 | The Last Command | Ben Evans | |
| 1955 | The Vanishing American | Glendon | |
| 1955 | Last of the Desperados | Chief Deputy John Poe | |
| 1956 | The Bottom of the Bottle | George Cady | |
| 1956 | The Wild Dakotas | Aaron Baring | |
| 1956 | The Maverick Queen | The Stranger / Jeff Younger | |
| 1956 | Blonde Bait | Nick Randall | Uncredited (USA version) |
| 1956 | Frontier Gambler | Tony Burton | |
| 1957 | Duel at Apache Wells | Dean Cannary | |
| 1957 | The Quiet Gun | Ralph Carpenter | |
| 1957 | The Badge of Marshal Brennan | Jeff Harlan / The Stranger | |
| 1957 | Monster from Green Hell | Dr. Quent Brady | |
| 1957 | The Restless Breed | Newton | |
| 1957 | The Last Stagecoach West | Bill Cameron | |
| 1957 | Apache Warrior | Ben Ziegler | |
| 1957 | Raiders of Old California | Captain Angus Clyde McKane | |
| 1958 | The Toughest Gun in Tombstone | Johnny Ringo | |
| 1958 | Wolf Dog | Jim Hughes | |
| 1958 | Flaming Frontier | Col. Hugh Carver | |
| 1958 | A Lust to Kill | Marshal Matt Gordon | |
| 1959 | Alias Jesse James | Frank James | |
| 1960 | Noose for a Gunman | Case Britton | |
| 1960 | The Magnificent Seven | Gunman | Uncredited |
| 1961 | Frontier Uprising | Jim Stockton | |
| 1961 | The Gambler Wore a Gun | Case Silverthorne | |
| 1964 | Iron Angel | Sgt. Walsh | |
| 1965 | Zebra in the Kitchen | Adam Carlyle | |
| 1966 | Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter | Marshal MacPhee | |
| 1966 | El Dorado | Jim Purvis (Bart Jason's foreman) | |
| 1967 | Fort Utah | Scarecrow | |
| 1967 | Border Lust | ||
| 1968 | The Road Hustlers | Noah Reedy | |
| 1968 | They Ran for Their Lives | Vince Ballard | |
| 1969 | The Ice House | Jake | |
| 1970 | Five Bloody Graves | Clay Bates | |
| 1970 | Monte Walsh | Cal Brennan | |
| 1970 | Rio Lobo | Riley | |
| 1971 | Vanished | Capt. Cooledge | TV movie |
| 1971 | Big Jake | Head of the Lynching Party | |
| 1971 | Dracula vs. Frankenstein | Sgt. Martin | |
| 1971 | The Trackers | Sheriff Naylor | TV movie |
| 1972 | The Honkers | Sheriff Potter | |
| 1972 | Bad Company | Marshal | |
| 1973 | One Little Indian | Trail Boss | |
| 1973 | Deliver Us from Evil | Dixie | TV movie |
| 1974 | The Parallax View | George Hammond | |
| 1974 | Inferno in Paradise | Rocky Stratton | |
| 1975 | Satan's Triangle | Hal Bancroft | TV movie |
| 1975 | The Runaway Barge | Capt. Buckshot Bates | TV movie |
| 1976 | Law of the Land | Sheriff Pat Lambrose | TV movie |
| 1977 | The Legend of Frank Woods | Deputy | |
| 1977 | Enigma | Colonel Valentine | TV movie |
| 1977 | Just a Little Inconvenience | Dave Erickson | TV movie |
| 1977 | The Choirboys | Capt. Drobeck | |
| 1978 | Killing Stone | Sen. Barry Tyler | TV movie |
| 1978 | Comes a Horseman | Julie Blocker | |
| 1980 | The Day Time Ended | Grant Williams | |
| 1981 | Mr. Wilkenson | TV movie (final film role) | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951–1954 | Fireside Theatre | Col. Streeter Luther Wesley Dean | 9 episodes |
| 1952 | Dangerous Assignment | Bill Norton Walter Norton Lt. Makam Holcomb Guard | 5 episodes |
| 1952 | Gang Busters | Capt. Bob Stewart | Episode: "The Barrow Gang" |
| 1952 | The Unexpected | Detective | Episode: "Leopards in Lighting" |
| 1952–1953 | Cowboy G-Men | Tom Owens Sheriff Jack Wardlow Wilson Dance / Shafer Henchman | Episode: "Running Iron" Episode: "Silver Shotgun" Episode: "Stolen Dynamite" Episode: "Double Crossed" |
| 1953 | Death Valley Days | Congressman Mark Tabor | Season 2, Episode 2, "Little Washington" |
| 1953–1969 | Death Valley Days | Pony Cragin Luke Campbell Manly The Sheriff Col. William Butler | 9 other episodes |
| 1954–1955 | Stories of the Century | Matt Clark | 39 episodes |
| 1955 | Cavalcade of America | J. L. Armstrong | Episode: "The Texas Rangers" |
| 1957 | The Millionaire | Jim Driskill | Episode: "The Jim Driskill Story" |
| 1957 | Playhouse 90 | Sheriff | Episode: "Four Women in Black" |
| 1957–1958 | The Silent Service | Walter Ruhe | Episode: "Boomerang" Episode: "Cargo for Crevalle" Episode: "The Sea Devil Attacks Puget Sound" |
| 1957 1961 1962 | Tales of Wells Fargo | Al Porter Sam Horne Jonus Sawyer | Episode: "Two Cartridges" Episode: "The Lobo" Episode: "Don't Wake a Tiger" |
| 1958 | 26 Men | Father Diego | Episode: "The Bells of St. Thomas" |
| 1958 | M Squad | Harry Evans / Mickey Seville | Episode: "The Case of the Double Face" |
| 1958–1960 | Rescue 8 | Wes Cameron | 78 episodes |
| 1958 1960 | General Electric Theater | Fitz Cole Treuitt | Episode: "The Castaway" Episode: "Journey to a Wedding" |
| 1959 | U.S. Marshal | Harvey Granger | Episode: "Federal Agent" |
| 1959 | Yancy Derringer | Bullet Pike | Episode: "Two Tickets to Promontory" |
| 1960 | Markham | Neal Holland | Episode: "The Snowman" |
| 1960 | The Tall Man | Bob Orringer | Episode: "Forty-Dollar Boots" Episode: "The Lonely Star" |
| 1960 1962–1963 | Laramie | Hake Ballard Ben McKittrick Joe Jim Genoway | Episode: "Trail Drive" Episode: "Shadow of the Past" Episode: "The Dispossessed" Episode: "Trapped" |
| 1960 1962 1963 1964 | Wagon Train | Gabe Henry Dan Ryan Clyde Hubble Rudd Basham | Episode: "The Candy O'Hara Story" Episode: "The Eve Newhope Story" Episode: "The Jim Whitlow Story" Episode: "The Melanie Craig Story" |
| 1961 | Manhunt | Catlin Otto | Episode: "Kidnapped" Episode: "The Guest of Honor |
| 1961 | The Deputy | Trace Phelan | Episode: "The Lonely Road" |
| 1961 | Coronado 9 | Barton Kincaid | Episode: "Gone Goose" |
| 1961 | Outlaws | Steed | Episode: "The Brothers" |
| 1961 | Gunslinger | Jeb Crane | Episode: "New Savannah" |
| 1961 | The Aquanauts | Sam Hogarth | Episode: "The Diana Adventure" |
| 1961 | Whispering Smith | Sam Chandler | Episode: "The Homeless Wind" |
| 1961 1965 1968 | Bonanza | Sam Wolfe Johnny Sam Butler | Episode: "The Gift" Episode: "Lothario Larkin" Episode: "The Arrival of Eddie" |
| 1962 | Thriller | The Marshal | Episode: "'Til Death Do Us Part" |
| 1962 | Lassie | Ed Bates | Episode: "Quick Brown Fox" |
| 1962 | Stoney Burke | Shep Winters | Episode: "Cousin Eunice" |
| 1962 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Al Long | Episode: "The Treasure" |
| 1962 1964 | Perry Mason | George Tabor Joe Farrell | Episode: "The Case of the Fickle Filly" Episode: "The Case of a Place Called Midnight" |
| 1962 1965 | Rawhide | Sheriff Sam Jason | Episode: "The Greedy Town" Episode: "The Pursuit" |
| 1963 | The Donna Reed Show | Red | Episode: "Pioneer Woman" |
| 1963 | Alcoa Premiere | Tim | Episode: "Jenny Ray" |
| 1964 | The Littlest Hobo | Danny Kilgarren | Episode: "Double-Cross" |
| 1965 | The Lucy Show | Cardenas | Episode: "Lucy Goes to Vegas" |
| 1965 | Laredo | Sheriff Wes Cottrell | Episode: "The Golden Trail" |
| 1965 1966 | Branded | Malachi Murdock Wheeler James Swaney | Episode: "One Way Out" Episode: "Salute the Soldier Briefly" Episodes: "The Assassins: Part 1 & 2" |
| 1966 | The Time Tunnel | Col. Jim Bowie | Episode: "The Alamo" |
| 1966 1967 1969 | Daniel Boone | Carpenter Sam Ralston Scud Tumbrill Rafe Carson | Episode: "River Passage" Episode: "The Ordeal of Israel Boone" Episode: "A Pinch of Salt" Episode: "The Road to Freedom" |
| 1967 | Hondo | Krantz | Episode: "Hondo and the Eagle Claw" Episode: "Hondo and the War Cry" Episode: "Hondo and the War Hawks" |
| 1966–1974 | Gunsmoke | Wes Cameron Sheriff Shackwood Amos Carver Dave Carpenter Luke Rumbaugh Ciell Williams | 11 episodes |
| 1967 | Cimarron Strip | Clo Vardeman | Episode: "The Search" |
| 1968 | The Guns of Will Sonnett | Sheriff Hawks | Episode: "The Warriors" |
| 1968 | The Virginian | McKinley | Episode: "The Heritage" |
| 1970 | The High Chaparral | Robbins | Episode: "New Hostess in Town" |
| 1971 | The Men from Shiloh | Roper | Episode: "The Politician" |
| 1972 | Night Gallery | Abe Bennett | Episode: "The Waiting Room" |
| 1972 | Peter Merlino | Episode: "Discovery at Fourteen" | |
| 1972 | The Sixth Sense | Anson Beige | Episode: "Echo of a Distant Scream" |
| 1972 | The F.B.I. | Ellis Bengston | Episode: "The Runner" |
| 1972 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Col. Porter | Episode: "The High Flying Spy" Part 1 |
| 1973 | Cannon | Henry Rawdon | Episode: "The Seventh Grave" |
| 1973 | Kung Fu | Joe Walker Sheriff Grogan | Episode: "The Soul is the Warrior" Episode: "The Well" |
| 1973 | Banacek | Ed McKay | Episode: "If Max is So Smart, Why Doesn't He Tell Us Where He Is?" |
| 1973 1974 | The Streets of San Francisco | Reid Bradshaw Roy Johnson | Episode: "Shattered Image" Episode: "The Hard Breed" |
| 1974 | The Cowboys | Marshal Bill Winter | 12 episodes |
| 1975 | Caribe | David Mayfield | Episode: "Lady Killer" |
| 1976 | The Blue Knight | Daniels | Episode: "Death Echo" |
| 1976 | The Quest | Marshal Pulman | Episode: "Prairie Woman" |
| 1977 | The Oregon Trail | J. D. Price | Episode: "Evan's Vendetta" |
| 1977 | Hunter | Raymond Spencer | Episode: "The Hit" |
| 1978 | Project U.F.O. | Earl Clay | Episode: "Sighting 4002: The Joshua Flats Incident" |
| 1979 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Pop Apling | Episode: "Trail of Danger" Parts 1 & 2 |
| 1978–1981 | Dallas | Jock Ewing | 77 episodes (final TV role) |
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