James Lee Wainwright"Obituaries/Funeral Announcements"
''The Los Angeles Times''. December 22, 1999. p. 34. Retrieved August 25, 2024. (March 5, 1938 – December 20, 1999) was an American actor best known for his roles in films such as ''

Joe Kidd ''Joe Kidd'' is a 1972 American Revisionist Western film starring Clint Eastwood and Robert Duvall, written by Elmore Leonard and directed by John Sturges. The film is about an ex-bounty hunter hired by a wealthy landowner named Frank Harlan ...

'' (1972), '' The President's Plane Is Missing'' (1973), ''

Killdozer Marvin John Heemeyer (October 28, 1951 – June 4, 2004) was an American automobile muffler repair shop owner who demolished numerous buildings with a modified bulldozer in Granby, Colorado, in June 2004. Heemeyer's machine was posthumously ni ...

'' (1974), ''Bridger'' (1976, as

Jim Bridger James Felix Bridger (March 17, 1804 – July 17, 1881) was an American mountain man, Animal trapping, trapper, Army scout, and wilderness guide who explored and trapped in the Western United States in the first half of the 19th century. He was ...

), '' The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover'' (1977), ''

Mean Dog Blues ''Mean Dog Blues'' is a 1978 American drama film directed by Mel Stuart. It stars Gregg Henry and Kay Lenz. Plot After hitchhiking a car ride with a drunken politician and his seductive wife, Paul Ramsey, a singer, offers to take the rap in co ...

'' (1978), ''

Battletruck ''Battletruck'' (also known as ''Warlords of the 21st Century'' in the U.S. and '' Destructors'' in Italy) is a 1982 New Zealand post-apocalyptic science fiction action film co-written and directed by Harley Cokliss and starring Michael Beck, A ...

'' (1982) and '' The Survivors'' (1983). His television appearances include ''

Beyond Westworld ''Beyond Westworld'' is a 1980 American television series based on the 1973 film ''Westworld (film), Westworld,'' which was written and directed by Michael Crichton. Although the DVD box cover mentions that it follows the film's events, it ignored ...

'' and '' Jigsaw''.

Early life and career

Born out of wedlock in

Danville, Illinois Danville is a city in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The populations was 29,204 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Danville micropolitan area. History The area that is now Danville was on ...

and left in a foundling home in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

when he was two days old,"United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KQM-21MT : 10 February 2023), James Lee Wainwright, .Shull, Richard (October 17, 1972)
"Character Actor Jim Wainwright Has Played Himself 34 Years"
''Pensacola News Journal''. p. 5. Retrieved August 25, 2024. Wainwright was raised by a succession of foster parents before being adopted at either five or six years of age by Leo Wainwright and Esther L. Embry. By 1950, the Wainwrights had separated, but James continued to live with his adoptive mother. The adoptive cousin (once removed) of General Jonathan M. Wainwright, James Wainwright served with distinction in the

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Personal life and death

From 1967 until their divorce in 1978, Wainwright was married to Janet L. Cook. They had two children, both daughters. On March 26, 1973, Wainwright and his wife appeared together as themselves, competing against

Dave Madden David Joseph Madden (December 17, 1931 – January 16, 2014) was a Canadian-born American actor. His most famous role came on the 1970s sitcom ''The Partridge Family'', in which he played the group's manager, Reuben Kincaid, opposite Shirley Jo ...

and his wife, on the TV game show ''

It's Your Bet ''It's Your Bet'' is an American game show which aired in Broadcast syndication, syndication (mostly NBC owned-and-operated stations) from 1969 to 1973. The series was a revised version of the NBC game ''I'll Bet,'' which aired for six months in ...

''."Monday Morning, March 26"
''Sunday Call-Chronicle''. March 25, 1973. p. TV18. Retrieved August 25, 2024. Wainwright died on December 20, 1999 at age 61 from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

, survived by his two daughters.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wainwright, James 1938 births 1999 deaths American male television actors American male film actors 20th-century American male actors Male Western (genre) film actors People from Danville, Illinois Actors from Vermilion County, Illinois