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
I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
as Wesley Rand
Vivacious Lady (1938)
as Keith
The Plainsman (1936)
as William "Buffalo Bill" Cody
The Gang's All Here (1943)
as Andy Mason
Fifth Avenue Girl (1939)
as Mike
Careful, Soft Shoulders (1942)
as Thomas Aldrich
Zenobia (1939)
as Jeff Carter
Reckless (1935)
as Dale Every
The Undying Monster (1942)
as Robert Curtis
Heart of the West (1936)
as Johnny Nelson
The Barrier (1937)
as Lt. Burrell
They Met in Argentina (1941)
as Tim Kelly
Buried Loot (1935)
as Detective (uncredited)
Oklahoma Justice (1951)
as Clancy
Hop-a-long Cassidy (1935)
as Johnny Nelson
Mother Carey's Chickens (1938)
as Ralph Thurston
Calendar Girl (1947)
as Steve Adams
Charley's Aunt (1941)
as Jack Chesney
I Killed Geronimo (1950)
as Capt. Jeff Packard
Dixie Dugan (1943)
as Roger Hudson
Annapolis Salute (1937)
as William J. "Bill" Martin
The Winning Ticket (1935)
as Jimmy
Everybody's Dancin' (1950)
as Jimmy Ellison
Almost a Gentleman (1939)
as Dan Preston
Next Time I Marry (1938)
as Anthony J. Anthony
Anne of Windy Poplars (1940)
as Tony Pringle
Call of the Prairie (1936)
as Johnny Nelson
Last of the Wild Horses (1948)
as Duke Barnum
Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case (1941)
as P. Cadwallader Jones
The Famous Ferguson Case (1932)
as Reporter Lane (uncredited)
Borderland (1937)
as Johnny Nelson
The Eagle's Brood (1935)
as Johnny Nelson
The Leathernecks Have Landed (1936)
as Mac MacDonald
23 1/2 Hours Leave (1937)
as Sgt. Robert Gray
Best Foot Forward (1943)
as Cadet
The Texan Meets Calamity Jane (1950)
as Gordon Hastings
Crooked River (1950)
as Shamrock Ellison
G.I. War Brides (1946)
as Steve Giles
Hitch Hike Lady (1935)
as Jimmy Peyton
Ice-Capades (1941)
as Bob Clemens
Sorority House (1939)
as Bill Loomis
The Ghost Goes Wild (1947)
as Monte Crandall
Kentucky Jubilee (1951)
as Jeff Benson
Bar 20 Rides Again (1935)
as Johnny Nelson
Texas City (1952)
as Jim Kirby (as Jimmy Ellison)
Play Girl (1941)
as Thomas Elwood Dice
Play Girl (1932)
as Elmer
Hotel for Women (1939)
as Jeff Buchanan
Dead Man's Trail (1952)
as Dan Winslow
Three on the Trail (1936)
as Johnny Nelson
Hostile Country (1950)
as Shamrock Ellison
Trail Dust (1936)
as Johnny Nelson
You Can't Fool Your Wife (1940)
as Andrew Hinklin
That Other Woman (1942)
as Henry Summers
West of the Brazos (1950)
as Shamrock Ellison
Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1944)
as Mike Burke
Whistling Hills (1951)
as Sheriff Dave Holland
Army Surgeon (1942)
as Capt. James Mason
When the Girls Take Over (1962)
as Alex 'Longhorn' Gates (as Jimmy Ellison)
Lady, Let's Dance (1944)
as Jerry Gibson
Marshal of Heldorado (1950)
as Shamrock Ellison
Fast on the Draw (1950)
as Shamrock Ellison
Hollywood and Vine (1945)
as Larry Winters
Colorado Ranger (1950)
as Shamrock Kid
Man from the Black Hills (1952)
as Jim Fallon (as Jimmy Ellison)
Texas Lawmen (1951)
as Sheriff Tod Merrick