James Dunn
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James Dunn worked on the stage, in vaudeville and as an extra in silent movies before he was signed by Fox in 1931. His first movie with Fox was 1931's Sob Sister (1931). While at Fox, he appeared with Shirley Temple in her first three features: Baby Take a Bow (1934), Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) and Bright Eyes (1934). Dunn's screen character was usually the boy next door or the nice guy. In 1935 musicals at the new 20th Century-Fox were out and Dunn would move to the "B" list, from which he would never return. In The Payoff (1935) he plays the nice guy newspaper columnist whose wife ruins his career. By the late 1930s he was drinking heavily and become unemployable. He would appear in small roles in films during the early 1940s, but those parts were few. In 1945 he was able to make a comeback and win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), but his rejuvenated career would not continue. By 1951 he would again be unemployed and bankrupt. Television would later supply some work and he would be a regular on the series It's a Great Life (1954). Dunn was born 2 November 1901, New York City, New York, USA, and he died 1 September 1967, Santa Monica, California, USA (following abdominal surgery)
Known for
Credits
The Oscar (1966)
as TV executive
Bad Girl (1931)
as Eddie Collins
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
as Johnny Nolan
Government Girl (1943)
as Sergeant Joe Blake
Deliverance (1919)
as Life Saver
Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
as Telegrapher
Sob Sister (1931)
as Garry Webster
Society Girl (1932)
as Johnny Malone
That Brennan Girl (1946)
as Denny Reagan
Hello, Sister! (1933)
as Jimmy
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1975)
as Self (archive footage)
Stand Up and Cheer! (1934)
as Jimmy Dugan
Baby Take a Bow (1934)
as Eddie Ellison
Living on Love (1937)
as Gary Martin
Bright Eyes (1934)
as Loop Merritt
We Have Our Moments (1937)
as John Wade
The Bramble Bush (1960)
as Stew Schaffer
Hollywood’s Children (1982)
as Self (archive footage)
Killer McCoy (1947)
as Brian McCoy
Mercy Plane (1939)
as 'Speed' Leslie
The Daring Young Man (1935)
as Don McLane
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948)
as Mike
The Ninth Day (1957)
Actor
Take a Chance (1933)
as Duke Stanley
Bad Boy (1935)
as Eddie Nolan
Hearts in Bondage (1936)
as Lt. Kenneth Reynolds
Son of the Navy (1940)
as Chief Gunners Mate Mike Malone
Shadow Over Elveron (1968)
as Luke Travers
Take It or Leave It (1944)
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Don’t Get Personal (1936)
as Bob McDonald
The Girl in 419 (1933)
as Dr. Daniel French
Shadows Over Shanghai (1938)
as Johnny McGinty
Leave It to the Irish (1944)
as Terry Moran
Have a Heart (1934)
as James 'Jimmie' Flaherty
Hold That Girl (1934)
as Barney Sullivan
365 Nights in Hollywood (1934)
as James 'Jimmy' Dale
The Song Plugger (1930)
as Man in Record Shop
The Living Ghost (1942)
as Nick Trayne
Mr. Broadway (1957)
Actor
Come Closer, Folks (1936)
as Jim Keene
The Ghost and the Guest (1943)
as Webster Frye
Mysterious Crossing (1936)
as Addison Francis Murphy
Change of Heart (1934)
as Mark McGowan
A Wonderful Life (1950)
as Henry Wood
The Payoff (1935)
as Joe McCoy
Pride of the Navy (1939)
as Speed Brennan
George White's 1935 Scandals (1935)
as Eddie
Over the Hill (1931)
as Johnny Shelby as an Adult
Welcome Home (1935)
as Richard Foster
The Caribbean Mystery (1945)
as Mr. Smith
Hold That Woman! (1940)
as Jimmy Parker
Journey to the Day (1960)
as Melville Cooper
Handle with Care (1932)
as Bill Gordon
Dance Team (1932)
as Jimmy Mulligan
Sailor's Luck (1933)
as Jimmy Fenimore Harrigan
Arizona to Broadway (1933)
as Smiley Wells
Venus Makes Trouble (1937)
as Buzz Martin
Hold Me Tight (1933)
as Chuck Evans
Jimmy and Sally (1933)
as Jimmy O'Connor
The Last Stop (1956)
as Yigal
Two-Fisted Gentleman (1936)
as Mickey
In the Nick of Time (1929)
Actor
The Golden Gloves Story (1950)
as Joe Riley
The Biggest Little Star of the 30's (1976)
as Self(archive footage)