James Richard Gammon (April 20, 1940 – July 16, 2010) was an American actor, known for playing grizzled " good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series. Gammon portrayed Lou Brown, the manager in the movies '' Major League'' and ''

Major League II ''Major League II'' is a 1994 American sports comedy film and sequel to the 1989 film '' Major League'' and it is the second installment in the ''Major League'' film series. The film stars most of the same cast from the original, including Charl ...

'', fictionalized versions of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

. He was also known for his role as the retired longshoreman Nick Bridges on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television crime drama '' Nash Bridges''.

Biography

Early life

Gammon was born in

Newman, Illinois Newman is a city in Douglas County, Illinois, United States. The population was 865 at the 2010 census. Newman has two restaurants: Pizza Man and the Corn Crib. It also has a Library District, a BP gas station and a bank. The main street is Broad ...

, the son of Doris Latimer ( née Toppe), a farm girl, and Donald Gammon, a musician. After his parents divorced, he made his way to Orlando, Florida. He worked at Orlando's ABC TV affiliate WLOF-TV (Channel 9), as a cameraman and director. In his 20s, he packed up and moved to Hollywood to find work.

Acting career

In the 1970s, Gammon helped found the Met Theatre in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. While performing there, a rep from

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

saw him and had him cast as Weston in

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

's ''

Curse of the Starving Class ''Curse of the Starving Class'' is a play by Sam Shepard, considered the first of a series on family tragedies. Some critics consider it part of a Family Trilogy that includes '' Buried Child'' (1979) and '' True West'' (1980).Simard, Rodney. “A ...

'' in 1978. The two became friends afterward. He made his sole Broadway appearance as "Dodge" in a revival of

's ''

Buried Child ''Buried Child'' is a play written by Sam Shepard that was first presented in 1978. It won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and launched Shepard to national fame as a playwright. The play depicts the fragmentation of the American nuclear family ...

''. He was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for his performance. He appeared on stage in Sam Shepard's San Francisco debut of '' The Late Henry Moss'' along with

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

, Cheech Marin (both of '' Nash Bridges'') and Woody Harrelson in 2000. Gammon may be best-remembered for his characters Lou Brown, manager of the

in the ''Major League'' films; and Nick Bridges, the father of

Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...

's title character in the television series '' Nash Bridges''. He appeared in the films '' Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''

Urban Cowboy ''Urban Cowboy'' is a 1980 American romantic Western film directed by James Bridges. The plot concerns the love-hate relationship between Buford Uan "Bud" Davis (John Travolta) and Sissy (Debra Winger). The film's success was credited for spur ...

'' (1980), ''

Any Which Way You Can ''Any Which Way You Can'' is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Buddy Van Horn and starring Clint Eastwood, with Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, William Smith, and Ruth Gordon in supporting roles. The film is the sequel to the 1978 hi ...

'' (1980), '' Silverado'' (1985), ''

Noon Wine ''Noon Wine'' is a 1937 short novel by American author Katherine Anne Porter. It initially appeared in a limited numbered edition of 250, all signed by the author and published by Shuman's. It later appeared in 1939 as part of ''Pale Horse, Pale ...

'' (1985), ''

The Milagro Beanfield War ''The Milagro Beanfield War'' is a 1988 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Redford from a screenplay written by John Nichols and David S. Ward based on Nichols's novel of the same name. The ensemble cast includes Ruben Blades, Richar ...

'' (1988), '' Major League'' (1989), '' Revenge'' (1990), '' The Adventures of Huck Finn'' (1993), ''

'' (1994), ''

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which l ...

'' (1994), ''Wild Bill'' (1995), '' Truman'' (1995), ''The'' ''Hi-Lo Country'' (1998), '' Cold Mountain'' (2003), and more recently ''

Appaloosa The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's colo ...

'' (2008). He also had an uncredited role in '' Natural Born Killers'' (1994). Gammon portrayed a

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

veteran on the hit ABC series ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

''. He played Charles Goodnight in '' Streets of Laredo''. In 2006, he played the stern grandfather, Sam, brother of notorious outlaw Butch Cassidy, in the film '' Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy''. Gammon also plays a supporting role in ''

'' (2008). Gammon provided the voices of the animated characters Marv Loach and Floyd Turbeaux in the 1999

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

feature film '' The Iron Giant''.

Personal life

His first marriage ended in divorce. He has a brother, Philip, and a sister, Sandra (Glaudell). He was married to Nancy Jane Kapusta from 1972 until his death. He has two daughters, Allison Mann and Amy Gammon.

Death and legacy

Gammon died of

adrenal gland The adrenal glands (also known as suprarenal glands) are endocrine glands that produce a variety of hormones including adrenaline and the steroids aldosterone and cortisol. They are found above the kidneys. Each gland has an outer cortex whic ...

and

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in Costa Mesa, California, at the age of 70.Notice of Gammon's death
/ref> His friend,

, paid tribute to Gammon, saying: "You're probably aware of the notorious father figures in my plays, alcoholic Midwesterners who leave their families and get lost in the Southwestern desert. Jimmy had that familiarity about him with the way I grew up, the guys with the voice and the face and the whiskey. He definitely rang a bell with me."

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
James Gammon
Aveleyman) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gammon, James 1940 births 2010 deaths Male actors from Illinois American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from liver cancer 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors People from Douglas County, Illinois People from Costa Mesa, California Deaths from adrenocortical cancer