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