James Thomas Kevin Byrnes
www.filmreference.com. (born September 22, 1948) is an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

Life and career

Byrnes was born in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

on September 22, 1948. His mother was a homemaker, and his father was a municipal accountant. In 1968, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, Byrnes was drafted and served in the

196th Infantry Brigade The 196th Infantry Brigade ("Chargers"), also known as the Charger Brigade was first formed on 24 June 1921 as part of the United States Army Reserve's 98th Division with the responsibility of training soldiers. World War II During World War II, ...

for a year."The Loss of His Legs Is No Handicap for Wiseguy's Jim Byrnes"
''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'', May 21, 1990. He has lived in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada, since the mid-1970s. On February 26, 1972, he was struck by a passing car while he attempted to help move a stalled truck on the Island Highway North of Parksville, which injured his legs and forced them both to be amputated. In 1987, Byrnes started appearing on '' Wiseguy'' as Daniel Burroughs, better known as Lifeguard. It was his first major role and lasted until 1990. Later, he starred in the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

television series '' Highlander: The Series'' as Joe Dawson, a member of a

secret society A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...

known as the "Watchers." He reprised his role as Dawson in '' Highlander: Endgame'' and '' Highlander: The Source'', installments of the '' Highlander'' film series, as well as providing voices for the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

'' Highlander: The Search for Vengeance''. He starred in his own short-lived TV show, called ''The Jim Byrnes Show''. He played a recruiting sergeant for the Union Army in an episode of ''Copper'' called "The Children of the Battlefield." His other television roles include '' Higher Ground'' and cartoon voices in '' Beast Wars: Transformers'', '' Beast Machines: Transformers'', '' Shadow Raiders'', ''

Stargate Infinity ''Stargate Infinity'', often abbreviated as ''SGI'' or just ''Infinity'' (), is an American-French animated science fiction television series co-produced by Les Studios Tex S.A.R.L. and DIC Entertainment Corporation, in association with MGM Te ...

'', ''

Dinosaur Train ''Dinosaur Train'' is an animated television series aimed at children ages 3 to 6 and created by Craig Bartlett, who also created Nickelodeon's '' Hey Arnold!''. The series features a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' named Buddy who, together with the re ...

'' as Percy '' Paramacellodus'',

Nick Fury Colonel (United States), Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and ...

in '' X-Men: Evolution'', and Duke Dermail in ''

Gundam Wing ''Mobile Suit Gundam Wing'', also known in Japan as , is a 1995 Japanese mecha anime series directed by Masashi Ikeda and written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa. It is the sixth installment in the ''Gundam'' franchise, taking place in the "After ...

''. He appeared in the '' Taken'' mini series, which broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel and an episode of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' entitled " Harsh Mistress". He has also appeared on the Syfy series ''

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

'', appearing as the father of Helen Magnus, played by

Amanda Tapping Amanda Tapping (born 28 August 1965) is a British-Canadian actress and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian–American military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1,'' ''Stargate Atlantis,'' an ...

and as Shineoa San in an episode of '' Andromeda'' as well as the voice of Virgil Vox in nine additional episodes. As a musician, Byrnes has won the

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for Blues Album of the Year three times, for ''That River'' in 1996 and ''House of Refuge'' on Black Hen Music in 2007, and for ''Everywhere West'' in 2011. Byrnes was also honoured at the 2006 Maple Blues Awards, as Male Vocalist of the Year. The Canadian Folk Music Awards recognized him as the Contemporary Singer of the Year in 2006 and 2009. In 2018, Byrnes performed with the Sojourners at a concert organized by the North Island Concert Society.

Filmography

Film

Television

Animation

Discography

Solo

* ''Burning'' (1981)

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

(vinyl) * ''I Turned My Nights into Days'' (1987) Stony Plain Records (vinyl) * ''That River'' (1995) Stony Plain * ''Love Is a Gamble'' (2001) One Coyote Music * ''Fresh Horses'' (2004) Black Hen Music * ''House of Refuge'' (2006) Black Hen Music * ''My Walking Stick'' (2009) Black Hen Music * ''Everywhere West'' (2011) Black Hen Music * ''I Hear the Wind in the Wires'' (2012) Black Hen Music * ''St. Louis Times'' (2014) Black Hen Music * ''Long Hot Summer Days'' (2017) Black Hen Music

Compilation Inclusions

*'' Vancouver Seeds 2'' (1981) *'' Saturday Night Blues: 20 Years'' (2006)

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

of live performances from the Saturday Night Blues radio program on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

, hosted by Holger Petersen. Byrnes' "Blood In My Eyes" (also known as "I've Got Blood In My Eyes For You" and originally recorded on ''Fresh Horses'') is included.

References

External links

Jim Byrnes Website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrnes, Jim 1948 births 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian guitarists 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Living people American amputees American actors with disabilities American blues guitarists American male guitarists American emigrants to Canada American expatriate male actors in Canada American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American musicians with disabilities Amputee actors Amputee musicians Black Hen Music artists Canadian actors with disabilities Canadian amputees Canadian blues guitarists Canadian Folk Music Award winners Canadian male guitarists Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Guitarists from Missouri Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year winners Male actors from St. Louis Male actors from Vancouver Members of the Order of British Columbia Members of the Order of Canada Musicians from St. Louis Singers from Vancouver Stony Plain Records artists United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army soldiers Canadian blues singers 20th-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian male singers