Anthony James (actor)
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Anthony James (born James Anthony; July 22, 1942 – May 26, 2020) was an American
character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...
who specialized in playing villains in films and television, many of them Westerns.


Early life

Anthony James was born James Anthony in
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...
, on July 22, 1942, as the only child of
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
immigrants George Anthony (1893–1951) and Marika Palla (1913–2008). He later reversed the order of his given name and surname for his acting career.


Career

James made several guest appearances on the Western series ''
Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
'' during the series' run, appearing in different roles, most often playing the character of Elbert Moses. Other shows he guest-starred on include '' Hawaii Five-O''; '' The High Chaparral''; ''
Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
''; ''
The Rookies ''The Rookies'' is an American police procedural series created by Rita Lakin that originally aired on ABC from September 11, 1972, to March 30, 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for ...
''; ''
Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...
''; '' Starsky and Hutch;'' '' S.W.A.T.''; '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century''; '' Holmes & Yoyo''; '' The Fall Guy''; ''
The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...
''; '' Hunter (1984)''; '' Quincy, M.E.''; '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''; ''
Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...
''; and '' Married... with Children''. James also appeared in a number of major feature films. His first major role was as Ralph, the diner counterman in 1967's '' In the Heat of the Night''. His subsequent film appearances included '' P.J.'' (1968) and '' ...tick...tick...tick...'' (1970). He played one of the lynch mobsters in ''
High Plains Drifter ''High Plains Drifter'' is a 1973 American Western film directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Ernest Tidyman, and produced by Robert Daley for The Malpaso Company and Universal Pictures. The film stars Eastwood as a mysterious stranger who ...
'' (1973), he had his first costar role as the stalker murderer obsessed with '' The Teacher'' (1974) starring Golden Globe Nominee, Angel Tompkins, and Jay North. He also appeared as the evil chauffeur in the horror film '' Burnt Offerings'' (1976). He had roles in '' Blue Thunder'' (1983), ''
Nightmares A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety, disgust or sadness. The dream may contain situations o ...
'' (1983), and '' The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear'' (1991). James also appeared in
Poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...
's 1988 music video for their song "
Fallen Angel Fallen angels are angels who were expelled from Heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" does not appear in any Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven. Such angels are often described ...
". He retired from acting in the early 1990s, with his last film role in
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...
's 1992 ''
Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...
'', the Academy Award-winning film for Best Picture of 1992. It is notable that Anthony James's first and last major film appearances were each in Academy Award-winning films for Best Picture. After retirement to
Arlington, Massachusetts Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, and its population was 46,308 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Europe ...
, he concentrated on painting. In 1994, he published a book of art and poetry, ''Language of the Heart''. His autobiography, ''Acting My Face'', was published in 2014.


Death

James died from cancer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 26, 2020, at the age of 77.


Selected filmography

*'' The Home-Made Car'' (1963) Boyfriend *'' In the Heat of the Night'' (1967) — Ralph *'' P.J.'' (1968) — Bartender-Assailant (uncredited) *''
Sam Whiskey ''Sam Whiskey'' is a 1969 American Western comedy film shot in DeLuxe Color and directed by Arnold Laven, starring Burt Reynolds, Angie Dickinson, Clint Walker and Ossie Davis. "Way ahead of its time," said Reynolds of the film. "I was playing ...
'' (1969) — Cousin Leroy *'' ...tick...tick...tick...'' (1970) — H.C. Tolbert *''
Vanishing Point A vanishing point is a point (geometry), point on the projection plane, image plane of a graphical perspective, perspective rendering where the two-dimensional perspective projections of parallel (geometry), parallel lines in three-dimensional ...
'' (1971) — First Male Hitchhiker *'' The Culpepper Cattle Co.'' (1972) — Nathaniel *''
High Plains Drifter ''High Plains Drifter'' is a 1973 American Western film directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Ernest Tidyman, and produced by Robert Daley for The Malpaso Company and Universal Pictures. The film stars Eastwood as a mysterious stranger who ...
'' (1973) — Cole Carlin *'' The Teacher'' (1974) — Ralph Gordon *'' Hearts of the West'' (1975) — Lean Crook *'' Burnt Offerings'' (1976) — The Chauffeur *'' Victory at Entebbe'' (1976) — Gamal Fahmy *''
Return from Witch Mountain ''Return from Witch Mountain'' is a 1978 American science fiction–adventure film and a sequel to '' Escape to Witch Mountain'' (1975) and the second film in the ''Witch Mountain'' franchise. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was ...
'' (1978) — Sickle *''Texas Detour'' (1978) — Beau Hunter *''
The Fifth Floor ''The Fifth Floor'' is a 1978 American thriller film about a sane woman who gets sent to an asylum. It stars Dianne Hull, Bo Hopkins and Mel Ferrer. Plot The film focuses on Kelly McIntyre, a disco dancer played by Dianne Hull who through no fau ...
'' (1978) — Derrick *'' Ravagers'' (1979) — Ravager Leader *''Soggy Bottom, U.S.A.'' (1981) — Raymond *'' Wacko'' (1982) — Zeke *'' Blue Thunder'' (1983) — Grundelius *''
Nightmares A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety, disgust or sadness. The dream may contain situations o ...
'' (1983) — Store Clerk (segment "Terror in Topanga") *''
The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...
'' (1985) — Connor *'' World Gone Wild'' (1987) — Ten Watt *'' Mortuary Academy'' (1988) — Abbott Smith *'' Slow Burn'' (1989) — Renzetti *'' The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear'' (1991) — Hector Savage *''
Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...
'' (1992) — Skinny Dubois (final film role)


References


External links

*
Interview with Anthony James
– The Spectrum, March, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Anthony 1942 births 2020 deaths American male film actors American male television actors American painters American people of Greek descent Male actors from South Carolina People from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina