James Firman Daly (October 23, 1918 – July 3, 1978) was an American theater, film, and television actor, who is perhaps best known for his role as Paul Lochner in the hospital drama series '' Medical Center'', in which he played Chad Everett's superior.

Early life

Daly was born in

Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Wisconsin. The population was 18,877 at the 2020 census. The city also forms one of the core areas of the United States Census Bureau's Marshfield-Wisconsin Rapids Micropolit ...

in Wood County in central

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, to Dorothy Ethelbert (Hogan) Mullen, who later worked for the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

, and Percifer Charles Daly, a fuel merchant. During the 1930s, Daly studied drama and acted in shows before he worked for the armed services, and served with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

ended. Daly attended the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

State University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

, and Carroll College before receiving a degree from

Cornell College Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...

in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Cornell College later presented him with an honorary

Doctor of Fine Arts Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) is a doctoral degree in fine arts, may be given as an honorary degree (a degree ''honoris causa'') or an earned professional degree (in the UK). Description Doctoral programmes leading to DFAs are of equivalent leve ...

degree.

Career

Daly was an accomplished stage actor, starting out in 1946 as

Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television actor whose credits included more than 50 feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances. He starr ...

's understudy in '' Born Yesterday''. His starring roles on Broadway included Archibald MacLeish's

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

- winning '' J.B.'' and

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

' ''

Period of Adjustment ''Period of Adjustment'' is a 1960 play by Tennessee Williams that was adapted in the film version of 1962. Both the stage and film versions are set on Christmas Eve and tell the gentle, light-hearted story of two couples, one newlywed and the ...

''. Between 1953 and 1955, Daly appeared in the TV series ''

Foreign Intrigue ''Foreign Intrigue'' (also known as ''Foreign Assignment'') is a syndicated espionage drama television series produced in Europe by Sheldon Reynolds. The 30-minute series ran for four seasons from 1951 to 1955, producing 156 episodes. It was th ...

''. He guest-starred on many television series, including ''Appointment with Adventure'' (two episodes), '' Breaking Point'', '' Mission: Impossible'' ("Shock"), DuPont Cavalcade Theater ("One Day at a Time" 1955) portraying Bill Wilson the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'' ("

A Stop at Willoughby "A Stop at Willoughby" is episode 30 of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone''. Rod Serling cited this as his favorite story from the first season of the series. Opening narration Plot Gart Williams is a contemporary New ...

"), '' The Tenderfoot'' (1964) for

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's '' Wonderful World of Color'', ''The Road West'' (1966 episode "The Gunfighter"), ''

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

'', '' Gunsmoke'' (1968 episode "The Favor"), ''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama series that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American so ...

'', '' The Fugitive'', '' The Virginian'', and ''

Twelve O'Clock High ''Twelve O'Clock High'' is a 1949 American war film about aircrews in the United States Army's Eighth Air Force, who flew daylight bombing missions against Germany and Occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II ...

''. He portrayed Mr. Flint (an apparently immortal human) in the '' Star Trek'' episode "

Requiem for Methuselah "Requiem for Methuselah" is the nineteenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek''. Written by Jerome Bixby and directed by Murray Golden, it was first broadcast on February 14, 1969. In th ...

" (1969). In 1958, Daly signed a contract with the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to do television commercials for

Camel cigarettes Camel is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the United States and by Japan Tobacco outside the U.S. Most current Camel cigarettes contain a blend of Turkish tobacco and Virg ...

. He served as the Camel representative for seven years, being flown by Reynolds throughout the United States to be filmed smoking a Camel cigarette at various locations.See, Carolyn. (1970, February 21–27). "Nothing Personal: James Daly will talk about anything – except himself". ''TV Guide''. pp 26–30. In addition to his acting career, Daly was one of the hosts on NBC Radio's weekend ''

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

'' program in 1963–1964. Daly's last screen role was as Mr. Boyce in the mini-series '' Roots: The Next Generations''.

Personal life

According to his son Tim Daly during an interview on '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', James Daly came out to Tim as gay a decade after divorcing his wife Hope. His struggle to come to terms with his sexual orientation nearly put a rift between him and his family. As homosexuality was still considered a mental illness until the early 1970s, he and his wife tried and failed at "curing" him. After their divorce, Daly decided to limit his contact with his children out of fear that they would end up mentally ill themselves.Interview with Tim Daly
. ''CBS News Sunday Morning''. (June 19, 2016). Via YouTube. Two of Daly's children,

Tyne Daly Ellen Tyne Daly (; born February 21, 1946) is an American actress. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work, a Tony Award and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee. Daly began her career on stage in summer stock in New York, ...

and

Tim Daly James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom ''Wings'' and his voice role as Clark Kent/Superman in '' Superman: The Animated Series'', as well as his recurring role as ...

, and his granddaughter, Kathryne Dora Brown, and grandson,

Sam Daly Samuel Pierce Daly (born March 24, 1984) is an American actor. He is the son of actor Tim Daly and actress Amy Van Nostrand, and grandson of actor James Daly. His aunt is actress Tyne Daly. Daly attended Moses Brown School where he started to s ...

, are actors. Tyne appeared on Daly's TV series, ''

'', as a child. She also played Jennifer Lochner, Paul Lochner's adult daughter, on ''Medical Center'' in the 1970 season 1 episod
Moment of Decision
The elder Daly and his daughter both guest-starred separately in the original '' Mission: Impossible'' TV series. Tim appeared as a child with his father in

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

's play, '' An Enemy of the People''. Daly had two other children: daughters Mary Glynn and Pegeen Michael.

Death

Daly died on July 3, 1978, of heart failure in

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a village located primarily in the town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, it retains a very small western section in Clarkstown. It is a suburb of New York City lying approximately no ...

, two years after ''Medical Center'' ended, and while he was preparing to star in the play '' Equus'' in Tarrytown, New York. His ashes were sprinkled into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Filmography

Theatre

Awards

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, James 1918 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Carroll University alumni Cornell College alumni American gay actors Iowa State University alumni LGBT people from Wisconsin Male actors from Wisconsin Male Spaghetti Western actors Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners People from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Military personnel from Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century LGBT people