James Bush (October 4, 1907 – April 9, 1987) was an American actor from the 1930s until the early 1950s. He appeared in more than 100 television shows and films, more than 80 of them being feature films.

Early years

The son of an actress, Bush moved to California with his mother and studied in a theatrical school and graduated from Los Angeles High School.

Stage

Bush first appeared on stage at age four. When he finished high school he began acting with the Morosco stock theater company. He also acted at the

Pasadena Playhouse Pasadena Playhouse is a Tony Award-winning historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engag ...

for four seasons, spent one season in St. Louis, and performed with the Henry Duffy Players at the Hollywood Playhouse.

Film

As a child, Bush appeared in some Paramount films that starred Mary Pickford. While the Internet Movie Database has him appearing as a child actor in 1917's ''Jack and the Beanstalk'', the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

has his first film role as Bent Weymer in 1932's '' Wild Horse Mesa'', directed by

Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Western (genre), Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven f ...

, which was a featured part. During his career, Bush appeared in more than 80 feature films. Although he appeared in many films in small, un-credited roles, he also appeared in featured roles in many notable films, including: as the adult Andrew Horn in '' The Great Jasper'' (1933); as Bill Radford in the 1933 drama, '' One Man's Journey''; as Dick in the romantic comedy '' Young and Beautiful'' (1934); as Byron Coates/John Meseraux in the 1935 mystery, '' A Shot in the Dark''; as Orin Tallant in the 1935 western, '' The Arizonian''; as Arthur Pennyward in '' The Lady in Scarlet'' (1935); as Don Adams in the 1937 war film, '' I Cover the War!''; as Johnny Eaton in the adventure film, '' Outlaws of the Orient'' (1937); as Henry Crusper in the 1939 comedy '' Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President''; as Ken Morgan in '' West of Cimarron'', a Three Mesquiteers western (1940); as Joe Morgan in the

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

comedy, '' A-Haunting We Will Go''; and as Hartman in another Laurel and Hardy film, '' The Big Noise'' (1944). Occasionally, Bush would appear in a starring role: as Ralph Nelson in ''House of Danger'' (1934); and as Mark Twain in the 1937 western, ''

Battle of Greed A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

''. Other notable films in which he appeared include: '' Ceiling Zero'', a 1935 drama starring

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

and Pat O'Brien; '' M'liss'' (1936), starring Anne Shirley and John Beal; the 1937 drama, '' Internes Can't Take Money'', starring

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career, she was known for her strong, realistic screen p ...

and

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

; '' The Good Old Soak'' (1937), starring

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' (1 ...

; the 1937 mystery '' Night of Mystery''; '' Sky Giant'' (1938), a drama starring

Richard Dix Richard Dix (born Ernst Carlton Brimmer; July 18, 1893 – September 20, 1949) was an American motion picture actor who achieved popularity in both silent film, silent and sound film. His standard on-screen image was that of the rugged and sta ...

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and Joan Fontaine; the W. C. Fields' comedy, '' You Can't Cheat an Honest Man''; as one of the party guests at Twelve Oaks in the 1939 classic, ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

''; the 1940 fantasy '' Beyond Tomorrow''; the Academy Award-winning war drama, ''

Sergeant York Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known by his rank as Sergeant York, was an American soldier who was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor fo ...

'', starring

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; the 1943

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...

war drama, '' Hangmen Also Die!''; the 1944 biopic about

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, '' Wilson'', starring Charles Coburn,

Alexander Knox Alexander Knox (16 January 1907 – 25 April 1995) was a Canadian actor and writer. He appeared in over 100 film, television, and theatrical productions over a career spanning from the 1920s until the late 1980s. He was nominated for an Oscar ...

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, Thomas Mitchell and Sir

Cedric Hardwicke Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned over 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and hi ...

; the 1947 docu-drama about the creation of the atom bomb, '' The Beginning or the End'', starring

Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, who was noted for playing dangerous and tough characters. Usually appearing in supporting roles, among his best-known films are '' Beau Geste'' (1939), '' The Great ...

, Robert Walker and

Hume Cronyn Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor, screenwriter and playwright. He appeared in many stage productions, television and film roles throughout his career, and garnered numerous accolades, includ ...

; and the 1950 film noir, ''

The Lawless ''The Lawless'' is a 1950 American film noir directed by Joseph Losey and featuring Macdonald Carey, Gail Russell and Johnny Sands. A crusading newspaper editor in California becomes concerned about the plight of the state's fruit pickers, mostl ...

'', starring

Macdonald Carey Edward Macdonald Carey (March 15, 1913 – March 21, 1994) was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera '' Days of Our Lives''. For almost three decades, he was the show's central cast membe ...

. Bush's last appearance in a feature film was in a small role in 1951's ''

The Barefoot Mailman ''The Barefoot Mailman'' is a 1951 American historical comedy adventure film directed by Earl McEvoy and starring Robert Cummings, Terry Moore and Jerome Courtland. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film was based on the 1943 novel ...

''. Bush also made infrequent appearances in

film serials A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a film, motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater ...

, such as '' Burn 'Em Up Barnes'' in 1934, and 1940's '' Mysterious Doctor Satan''.Towards the end of his career, he made several guest appearances on television programs, including ''

The Adventures of Kit Carson ''The Adventures of Kit Carson'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that aired from 1951 to 1955 and consisted of 104 episodes. While airing, the show was shown in over 130 markets and was sold to the Coca-Cola Bott ...

'' (1951), ''

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok ''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'' is an American Western television series that ran for eight seasons from April 15, 1951, through September 24, 1958. The Screen Gems series began in syndication, but ran on CBS from June 5, 1955, throug ...

'' (1952), and '' Dragnet'' in 1953, which was also his last acting performance.

Death

Bush died on April 9, 1987, in Van Nuys, California.

Filmography

(Per AFI database) *'' Wild Horse Mesa'' (1932) as Bent Weymer *''

Central Airport Central Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located in Central, in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska. Commercial service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. As per Federal Aviation Administrati ...

'' (1933) as Amarillo Pilot (uncredited) *'' The Great Jasper'' (1933) as Andrew Horn (adult) *'' One Man's Journey'' (1933) as Bill Radford *'' Crimson Romance'' (1934) as Fred von Bergen *'' Young and Beautiful'' (1934) as Dick * '' House of Danger'' (1934) as Ralph Nelson *'' Beggars in Ermine'' (1934) as Lee Marley, Jim's Son *'' Eight Girls in a Boat'' (1934) as Paul Lang *'' The Merry Frinks'' (1934) as Oliver Gilfin *'' Burn 'Em Up Barnes'' (1934, serial) as George Riley h. 1(uncredited) *'' Against the Law'' (1934) as Bill Barrie *'' Harmony Lane'' (1935) as Morrison Foster *'' A Shot in the Dark'' (1935) as Byron Coates / John Meseraux *'' The Return of Peter Grimm'' (1935) as James *'' The Arizonian'' (1935) as Orin Tallant *''

Freckles Freckles are clusters of concentrated melaninized cells which are most easily visible on people with a fair complexion. Freckles do not have an increased number of the melanin-producing cells, or melanocytes, but instead have melanocytes that ...

'' (1935) as Ralph Barton *'' Strangers All'' (1935) as Lewis Carter *'' The Lady in Scarlet'' (1935) as Arthur Pennyward *''

Confidential Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise sometimes executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access to or places restrictions on the distribution of certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, law ...

'' (1935) as Lacey *'' The Glory Trail'' (1936) as Lieutenant Dave Kirby *'' O'Malley of the Mounted'' (1936) as Bud Hyland *'' M'Liss'' (1936) as Jack Farlan *'' Ceiling Zero'' (1936) as Buzz Gordon *''

Absolute Quiet ''Absolute Quiet'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by George B. Seitz and written by Harry Clork. The film stars Lionel Atwill, Irene Hervey, Raymond Walburn, Stuart Erwin, Ann Loring and Louis Hayward. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture, it was ...

'' (1936) as Airport Radio Operator (uncredited) *'' Crashing Through Danger'' (1936) as Eddie *'' Internes Can't Take Money'' (1937) as Haines *''

'' (1937) as Mark Twain *'' I Cover the War!'' (1937) as Don Adams *'' Night of Mystery'' (1937) as Rex Greene *'' The Good Old Soak'' (1937) as Tom Ogden *'' Outlaws of the Orient'' (1937) as Johnny Eaton *'' Sky Giant'' (1938) as Cadet Thompson *'' I Am the Law'' (1938) as Law Student (uncredited) *'' Come On, Leathernecks!'' (1938) as Dick Taylor * '' Topa Topa'' (1938) as Jim Turner *'' You Can't Cheat an Honest Man'' (1939) as Roger Bel-Goodie *'' Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President'' (1939) as Henry Crusper *'' They Asked for It'' (1939) as Tucker Tyler *'' The Family Next Door'' (1939) as Harold Warner *'' Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever'' (1939) as Bill Franklin (uncredited) *'' Beyond Tomorrow'' (1940) as Jace Taylor *'' Appointment for Love'' (1941) as Dr. Wade (uncredited) *'' A Girl, a Guy and a Gob'' (1941) as Sailor Taking Address Book (uncredited) *'' West of Cimarron'' (1941) as Dr. Ken Morgan *''

You're in the Army Now In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...

'' (1941) as Lieutenant (uncredited) *''

'' (1941) as Private (uncredited) *'' So Ends Our Night'' (1941) as Herbert *'' A-Haunting We Will Go'' (1942) as Joe Morgan *''

Captains of the Clouds ''Captains of the Clouds'' ( ''Shadows of Their Wings'') is a 1942 American war film in Technicolor, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney. It was produced by William Cagney (Cagney's brother), with Hal B. Wallis as executive pro ...

'' (1942) as Sergeant Pilot (uncredited) *''

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

'' (1942) as Master Sergeant (uncredited) *'' Sundown Jim'' (1942) as Ring Barr *'' Hangmen Also Die!'' (1943) as Peacock *'' He Hired the Boss'' (1943) as Clark *''

Hers to Hold ''Hers to Hold'' (aka ''Three Smart Girls Join Up'') is a 1943 American romantic musical comedy film and is the third film in '' Three Smart Girls'' trilogy. In ''Hers to Hold'', Deanna Durbin reprises her role as Penny Craig, who is the only ...

'' (1943) as Bomber Captain (uncredited) *''

Jitterbugs ''Jitterbugs'' is an American 1943 Laurel and Hardy feature-length musical comedy film produced by Sol M. Wurtzel and directed by Mal St.Clair. Plot Stan and Ollie are musicians traveling across the U.S. as "The Original Zoot Suit Band". Durin ...

'' (1943) as Henchman Jimmy O'Grady (uncredited) *'' King of the Cowboys'' (1943) as Dave Mason *'' Spotlight Scandals'' (1943) as Jerry *'' Bomber's Moon'' (1943) as Radek - Czech Prisoner (scenes deleted) *''

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

'' (1943) as Clark Field Control Officer (uncredited) *'' Can't Help Singing'' (1944) as Cavalry Officer (uncredited) *'' Call of the Jungle'' (1944) as Jim *'' Shine on Harvest Moon'' (1944) as William R. Fowler (uncredited) *'' The Big Noise'' (1944) as Hartman *'' Wilson'' (1944) as Reporter (uncredited) *'' Because of Him'' (1946) as Critic (uncredited) *'' They Made Me a Killer'' (1946) as Frank Conley *'' The Beginning or the End'' (1947) as Dr. Ernest O. Lawrence *''

Out of the Past ''Out of the Past'' (billed in the United Kingdom as ''Build My Gallows High'') is a 1947 American film noir directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas. The film was adapted by Geoffrey Homes (Daniel ...

'' (1947) as Doorman (uncredited) *''

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada. United St ...

'' (1948) as Instructor (uncredited) *'' The Man from Colorado'' (1948) as Cpl. Dixon (uncredited) *'' Race Street'' (1948) as Male Nurse on Ward (uncredited) *'' Massacre River'' (1949) as Eddie *'' Armored Car Robbery'' (1950) as Control Tower Operator (uncredited) *''

Convicted In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...

'' (1950) as Guard in Kitchen (uncredited) *'' The Killer That Stalked New York'' (1950) as Hennick (uncredited) *''

'' (1950) as Anderson *''

'' (1951) as Guard (uncredited) *'' Chain of Circumstance'' (1951) as Office Help (uncredited) *'' Never Trust a Gambler'' (1951) as Jim - State Trooper (uncredited) *'' Saddle Legion'' (1951) as Gabe

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, James 20th-century American male actors 1907 births 1987 deaths American male child actors American male film actors American male stage actors