James Ellison
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. James Ellison (May 4, 1910 - December 23, 1993) was an American actor, born James Ellison Smith in Guthrie Center, Iowa, son of Edward James Smith and Ona Mary Ellis. Ellison appeared in nearly seventy films between 1932 and 1962. Ellison worked for a time in a film laboratory and while there was offered a screen test. He developed it himself and when he saw it, decided it was not satisfactory so he would not show it to the director. But he saw it anyway and Ellison got a contract. Despite his rugged good looks and height of 6 feet 3 inches, Ellison's limited range and somewhat wooden screen presence kept him from the first (or even second) ranks of stardom. He spent much of his career in Westerns, including a stint in the mid-thirties as the sidekick of Hopalong Cassidy in Paramount's successful series. In 1938, he played a charming, romantic character opposite 26 year old Lucille Ball in the comedy, "Next Time I Marry", a film where Ball had her first top billing on screen credits. Before that, in 1936, he played his highest-profile role, as Buffalo Bill in Cecil B. DeMille's The Plainsman, which also starred Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. Despite that film's success, Ellison spent most of the remainder of his career shuttling between cowboy pictures and more varied roles, primarily in B movies with titles like Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case and The Undying Monster. He had a supporting role in 1941's Charley's Aunt (which starred Jack Benny) and played the romantic lead in 1943's The Gang's All Here, a Twentieth Century Fox musical in which he seemed somewhat lost among the vivid antics of Carmen Miranda, Charlotte Greenwood, and Edward Everett Horton (and was the only principal not to sing a note). He also co-starred with Tom Conway and Frances Dee in Val Lewton's production of I Walked with a Zombie, directed by Jacques Tourneur. Ellison landed another romantic lead role as 'Jerry Gibson' in the musical film Lady, Let's Dance (1944) which starred ice skating sensation 'Belita'. In the early 1950s, Ellison moved from acting to real estate. Joining fellow veteran Jackie Coogan, Ellison returned to the screen only once to play Axel 'Longhorn' Gates in a picture called When the Girls Take Over (1962). James Ellison died at age 83 in Monterey, California after suffering a broken neck as the result of a fall. Description above from the Wikipedia article James Ellison (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Credits
Vivacious Lady (1938)
as Keith
Annapolis Salute (1937)
as William J. "Bill" Martin
I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
as Wesley Rand
The Plainsman (1936)
as William "Buffalo Bill" Cody
Zenobia (1939)
as Jeff Carter
Charley's Aunt (1941)
as Jack Chesney
Anne of Windy Poplars (1940)
as Tony Pringle
The Gang's All Here (1943)
as Andy Mason
They Met in Argentina (1941)
as Tim Kelly
Reckless (1935)
as Dale Every
Next Time I Marry (1938)
as Anthony J. Anthony
Fifth Avenue Girl (1939)
as Mike
The Leathernecks Have Landed (1936)
as Mac MacDonald
You Can't Fool Your Wife (1940)
as Andrew Hinklin
Hop-a-long Cassidy (1935)
as Johnny Nelson
Oklahoma Justice (1951)
as Clancy
The Undying Monster (1942)
as Robert Curtis
Trail Dust (1936)
as Johnny Nelson
Dixie Dugan (1943)
as Roger Hudson
Best Foot Forward (1943)
as Cadet
Sorority House (1939)
as Bill Loomis
Army Surgeon (1942)
as Capt. James Mason
The Barrier (1937)
as Lt. Burrell
Crooked River (1950)
as Shamrock Ellison
Hotel for Women (1939)
as Jeff Buchanan
G.I. War Brides (1946)
as Steve Giles
The Winning Ticket (1935)
as Jimmy
The Texan Meets Calamity Jane (1950)
as Gordon Hastings
The Famous Ferguson Case (1932)
as Reporter Lane (uncredited)
Kentucky Jubilee (1951)
as Jeff Benson
Last of the Wild Horses (1948)
as Duke Barnum
Ice-Capades (1941)
as Bob Clemens
Borderland (1937)
as Johnny Nelson
Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1944)
as Mike Burke
Buried Loot (1935)
as Detective (uncredited)
Everybody's Dancin' (1950)
as Jimmy Ellison
The Ghost Goes Wild (1947)
as Monte Crandall
Hitch Hike Lady (1935)
as Jimmy Peyton
Fast on the Draw (1950)
as Shamrock Ellison
Texas City (1952)
as Jim Kirby (as Jimmy Ellison)
When the Girls Take Over (1962)
as Alex 'Longhorn' Gates (as Jimmy Ellison)
Man from the Black Hills (1952)
as Jim Fallon (as Jimmy Ellison)
Mother Carey's Chickens (1938)
as Ralph Thurston
Bar 20 Rides Again (1935)
as Johnny Nelson
Hostile Country (1950)
as Shamrock Ellison
Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case (1941)
as P. Cadwallader Jones
West of the Brazos (1950)
as Shamrock Ellison
That Other Woman (1942)
as Henry Summers
Call of the Prairie (1936)
as Johnny Nelson
The Eagle's Brood (1935)
as Johnny Nelson
Marshal of Heldorado (1950)
as Shamrock Ellison
Whistling Hills (1951)
as Sheriff Dave Holland
Dead Man's Trail (1952)
as Dan Winslow
23 1/2 Hours Leave (1937)
as Sgt. Robert Gray
Lady, Let's Dance (1944)
as Jerry Gibson
Hollywood and Vine (1945)
as Larry Winters
Play Girl (1941)
as Thomas Elwood Dice
Careful, Soft Shoulders (1942)
as Thomas Aldrich
Three on the Trail (1936)
as Johnny Nelson
Texas Lawmen (1951)
as Sheriff Tod Merrick
I Killed Geronimo (1950)
as Capt. Jeff Packard
Almost a Gentleman (1939)
as Dan Preston
Calendar Girl (1947)
as Steve Adams
Heart of the West (1936)
as Johnny Nelson
Play Girl (1932)
as Elmer
Colorado Ranger (1950)
as Shamrock Kid