James Craig (actor)
For other people named James Craig, see James Craig (disambiguation).
| James Craig | |
|---|---|
|
Craig in Boys' Ranch (1946) | |
| Born |
James Henry Meador February 4, 1912 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died |
June 28, 1985 (aged 73) Santa Ana, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Film actor |
| Years active | 1937–1972 |
| Spouse(s) |
Sumie Jassi (1969-1980) Jill Jarmyn (1959-1962) (divorced) Mary June Ray (?-?) |
James Craig (February 4, 1912 – June 28, 1985), born James Henry Meador, was an American actor.
Biography
After graduating from the Rice Institute, Craig began appearing in films in 1937, most often in B-movies and serials. In 1939, he appeared in the Three Stooges film Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise.
Craig received critical praise (and a step up to A-movies) when he played a New Hampshire farmer who sells his soul in All That Money Can Buy, also titled The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941). He also appeared in the films Kitty Foyle (1940), The Human Comedy (1943), Lost Angel (1943), and Kismet (1944).
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Louis B. Mayer thought Craig resembled the studio's most popular male star Clark Gable that led him to sign Craig to a seven-year contract to potentially fill in for Gable when he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces.[1] In 1944, he co-starred with William Powell and Hedy Lamarr in The Heavenly Body. That year exhibitors voted him the second most likely to be a "star of tomorrow".[2]
Personal life
Craig was married three times and had two sons and a daughter. After retiring from acting in 1972, Craig became a successful real estate agent. He died of lung cancer in 1985.
Partial filmography
- Sophie Lang Goes West (1937) - Waiter (uncredited)
- This Way Please (1937) - Soldier (uncredited)
- Thunder Trail (1937) - Bob Tate
- Born to the West (1937) - Brady (uncredited)
- The Buccaneer (1938) - Victory Ball Creole Guest (uncredited)
- The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) - Steward (uncredited)
- College Swing (1938) - Student (uncredited)
- Pride of the West (1938) - Nixon
- North of Shanghai (1939) - Jed Howard
- The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939) - Party Guest (uncredited)
- Flying G-Men (1939 serial) - John Cummings
- Blondie Meets the Boss (1939) - (uncredited)
- Romance of the Redwoods (1939) - Logger (uncredited)
- Blind Alley (1939) - Party Guest (uncredited)
- Outside These Walls (1939) - Reporter (uncredited)
- Missing Daughters (1939) - 1st Attendant (uncredited)
- Good Girls Go to Paris (1939) - Party Guest (uncredited)
- Overland with Kit Carson (1939) - Trapper Tennessee
- Behind Prison Gates (1939) - Jenkins (uncredited)
- The Man They Could Not Hang (1939) - Juror Watkins
- Konga, the Wild Stallion (1939) - Ed (uncredited)
- A Woman Is the Judge (1939) - Detective (uncredited)
- Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise (1939 The Three Stooges) - Swindler Driving Car (uncredited)
- Taming of the West (1939) - Handy Clem - Henchman
- Scandal Sheet (1939) - Mann
- Two-Fisted Rangers (1939) - Saloon Gambler (uncredited)
- Cafe Hostess (1940) - Rocky (uncredited)
- Black Friday (1940) - Reporter Ernst Gives Notes To (uncredited)
- The House Across the Bay (1940) - Brenda's Friend (uncredited)
- Zanzibar (1940) - Steve Marland
- Enemy Agent (1940) - Federal Agent Posing as Drunk (uncredited)
- Winners of the West (1940) - Jim Jackson
- South to Karanga (1940) - Steve Hawley
- I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now (1940) - Ray
- Seven Sinners (1940) - Ensign #1
- Law and Order (1940) - Brant
- Kitty Foyle (1940) - Mark Eisen
- Unexpected Uncle (1941) - Johnny Kerrigan
- The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) - Jabez Stone
- Valley of the Sun (1942) - Jonathan Ware
- Friendly Enemies (1942) - Bill Pfeiffer
- The Omaha Trail (1942) - Pat Candel
- Northwest Rangers (1942) - Frank 'Blackie' Marshall
- Seven Miles from Alcatraz (1942) - Champ Larkin
- The Human Comedy (1943) - Tom Spangler
- Swing Shift Maisie (1943) - 'Breezy' McLaughlin
- Lost Angel (1943) - Mike Regan
- The Heavenly Body (1944) - Lloyd X. Hunter
- Kismet (1944) - Caliph
- Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944) - Capt. Miles Lancing
- Gentle Annie (1944) - Lloyd Richland aka Rich Williams
- Dangerous Partners (1945) - Jeff Caighn
- Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945) - Nels Halverson
- She Went to the Races (1945) - Steve Canfield
- Boys' Ranch (1946) - Dan Walker
- Little Mister Jim (1947) - Capt. Big Jim Tukker
- Dark Delusion (1947) - Dr. Tommy Coalt
- Man from Texas (1948) - Tobias Simms, alias Toby Heath
- Northwest Stampede (1948) - Dan Bennett
- Side Street (1949) - Georgie Garsell
- A Lady Without Passport (1950) - Chief Frank Westlake, INS
- The Strip (1951) - Delwyn 'Sonny' Johnson
- Drums in the Deep South (1951) - Maj. Clay Clayburn
- Hurricane Smith (1952) - Gorvahlsen
- Fort Vengeance (1953) - Dick Ross
- Code Two (1953) - Police Lt. Redmon
- Last of the Desperados (1955) - Sheriff Pat Garrett
- Massacre (1956) - Teniente Ezparza
- While the City Sleeps (1956) - 'Honest' Harry Kritzer
- The Women of Pitcairn Island (1956) - Capt. Jeb Page
- Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend (1957) - Ep Clark
- The Persuader (1957) - Bick Justin
- The Cyclops (1957) - Russ Bradford
- Naked in the Sun (1957) - Chief Osceola
- Ghost Diver (1957) - Roger Bristol
- Man or Gun (1958) - Pinch Corley
- Four Fast Guns (1960) - Tom Sabin
- Hostile Guns (1967) - Ned Cooper
- Fort Utah (1967) - Bo Greer
- Arizona Bushwhackers (1968) - Ike Clanton
- The Devil's Brigade (1968) - Major General Knapp
- If He Hollers, Let Him Go! (1968) - Police Chief
- Bigfoot (1970) - Cyrus
- The Revenge of Dr. X (1970) - Dr. Bragan
- The Tormentors (1971)
- Doomsday Machine (1972) - Dr. Haines
Radio appearances
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1943 | Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre | Men in White[3] |
References
- ↑ Services, From Times Wire (9 July 1985). "James Craig, Once Billed as 2nd Gable, Dies". Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via LA Times.
- ↑ "SAGA OF THE HIGH SEAS.". The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954). Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 11 November 1944. p. 9. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ↑ "Allbritton, Louise". radioGOLDINdex. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
External links
- "James Craig, Once Billed as 2nd Gable, Dies", Los Angeles Times obituary, July 9, 1985.
- "James Craig, Actor, 74, Dies; Once Called Gable Successor", New York Times obituary, July 10, 1985.
- "James Craig; Actor Had Clark Gable-type Roles", Chicago Tribune obituary, July 10, 1985.
- James Craig at the Internet Movie Database
- James Craig at the Internet Broadway Database
- James Craig at AllMovie
- James Craig at Find a Grave
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