Dana James Hutton (May 31, 1934 – June 2, 1979) was an American actor in film and television best remembered for his role as

Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...

in the 1970s TV series of the same name, and his screen partnership with

Paula Prentiss Paula Prentiss (née Ragusa; born March 4, 1938) is an American actress. She is best known for her film roles in ''Where the Boys Are'' (1960), ''What's New Pussycat?'' (1965), ''Catch-22'' (1970), ''The Parallax View'' (1974), and ''The Stepford ...

in four films, starting with ''

Where the Boys Are ''Where the Boys Are'' is a 1960 American CinemaScope comedy film directed by Henry Levin and starring Connie Francis, Dolores Hart, Paula Prentiss, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, and Frank Gorshin. It was written by Geo ...

''. He is the father of actor

Timothy Hutton Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in '' Ordinary Peopl ...

Early life

Hutton was born on May 31, 1934, in Binghamton, New York, the son of Helen and Thomas R. Hutton, an editor and managing editor of the '' Binghamton Press''. Hutton's parents divorced while he was an infant, and he never knew his father. During his childhood, he enjoyed sports and playing games with his friends. Hutton was expelled from five high schools and a boarding school due to behavior problems, but had excellent grades and test scores. After starting his school newspaper's sports column, he earned a scholarship in journalism from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in 1952. He was expelled from Syracuse after driving a bulldozer through a bed of tulips near the library while drunk. Hutton then enrolled at Niagara University, where he began pursuing an acting career. He performed in summer stock in Connecticut and La Jolla, and won state oratory competitions. In 1955, he moved to New York, where he became, in his own words, a "

beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...

". He struggled to find acting work, and worried about being able to eat, he joined the U.S. Army.

Military service

Hutton served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

from 1956 and starred in over 40 Army training films before going to Berlin to serve in special services. Hutton personally founded the American Community Theater by spearheading the renovation of theaters abandoned during World War II. He established the first English-speaking theater in Berlin. "They turned out to be the kickiest two years of my life", he later said. Hutton was performing in live theater in Germany, playing Captain Queeg in a production of ''

The Caine Mutiny Court Martial ''The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial'' is a two-act play, of the courtroom drama type, that was dramatized for the stage by Herman Wouk, which he adapted from his own 1951 novel, ''The Caine Mutiny''. Wouk's novel covered a long stretch of time ab ...

'', while with the Army, when he was spotted by American film director

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left f ...

. Sirk offered him in a small role in a film, '' A Time to Love and a Time to Die'' (1958), if he could get leave to join the unit in Nuremberg. Hutton made his debut in the film as a neurotic German soldier who commits suicide. Universal saw footage and expressed interest in offering him a long-term contract. While in Germany, Hutton also had a small role in '' Ten Seconds to Hell'' (1959). When Hutton got out of the Army, he moved to Hollywood, but discovered the offer from Universal had expired. He got an agent, though, and started doing auditions.

Acting

Early television roles

Hutton's first notable screen appearance was in the episode "And When the Sky Was Opened" of ''The Twilight Zone'' (1959), in which he co-starred with

Rod Taylor Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including ''The Time Machine'' (1960), ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and '' I ...

. He also guest-starred on episodes of ''

Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six seasons and 203 episodes. Created by ...

'' and ''

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

''. In 1959, he appeared on stage at the La Jolla Playhouse in ''

Look Homeward Angel ''Look Homeward, Angel: A Story of the Buried Life'' is a 1929 novel by Thomas Wolfe. It is Wolfe's first novel, and is considered a highly autobiographical American coming-of-age story. The character of Eugene Gant is generally believed to be a ...

'' alongside Miriam Hopkins.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Hutton auditioned for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

executives Al Tresconi and Ben Thau. They were impressed enough to offer him a long-term contract. "But after that, they didn't seem to know what to do with me", he said. "I don't fall easily into a mold and they tried different things." MGM put him in ''

The Subterraneans ''The Subterraneans'' is a 1958 novella by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. It is a semi-fictional account of his short romance with Alene Lee (1931–1991), an African-American woman, in Greenwich Village, New York. It was the first work of ...

'' (1960), a drama about "beatniks". The film was a big flop, but Hutton was then cast in a teen comedy for the same studio, ''

'' (1960), where he appeared alongside a number of young players under contract to the studio, including George Hamilton,

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

, Yvette Mimieux, and

. The movie was a huge success. Due to his tall, gangly frame and the absent-minded quality of his delivery, Hutton was viewed as a successor to James Stewart. Hutton was romantically teamed in the film with Prentiss, in part because they were the tallest MGM contract players of their time (Hutton at 6'5" and Prentiss at 5'10"), and public feedback being positive, MGM decided to make them a regular team, along the lines of

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters crea ...

and

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films ...

. Hutton appeared with Prentiss in '' The Honeymoon Machine'' (1961) supporting Steve McQueen, which was a hit. Then, they made '' Bachelor in Paradise'' (1961) starring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

and

Lana Turner Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized pe ...

, which lost money. Hutton and Prentiss were given top billing in ''

The Horizontal Lieutenant ''The Horizontal Lieutenant'' is a 1962 American romantic comedy war film, based on the 1961 novel ''The Bottletop Affair'' by Gordon Cotler who was a Japanese interpreter for US Army Intelligence during World War II. It is a military comedy abo ...

'' (1962), which was a box-office disappointment. "We're not being thrown into films together to play the same parts", said Hutton. "Paula and I have spent too much time and money on our careers, and if teaming together happens to go hand and glove with advancing our careers, then fine." Hutton and Prentiss were announced for ''Away from Home'' to be shot in Mexico by producer Edmund Grainer, but the film appears to have not been made. Neither was another announced for them, ''And So To Bed'', to be written and directed by

Frank Tashlin Frank Tashlin (born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, February 19, 1913 – May 5, 1972), also known as Tish Tash and Frank Tash, was an American animator, cartoonist, children's writer, illustrator, screenwriter, and film director. He was best k ...

. Hutton was meant to play a role in '' How the West Was Won'' (1962), a soldier who tries to desert and fights with George Peppard, but

Russ Tamblyn Russell Irving Tamblyn, also known as Rusty Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934) is an American film and television actor and dancer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamblyn trained as a gymnast in his youth. He began his career as a child actor f ...

ended up playing the role. In February 1962, Prentiss and he made the exhibitors list of the top 10 "stars of tomorrow" alongside

Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promisi ...

, Nancy Kwan,

Horst Bucholz Horst Werner Buchholz (4 December 1933 – 3 March 2003) was a German actor who appeared in more than 60 feature films from 1951 to 2002. During his youth, he was sometimes called "the German James Dean". He is perhaps best known in English- ...

, Carol Lynley, Dolores Hart, Juliet Prowse, Connie Stevens, and

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty ( né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director ...

. MGM tried Hutton in a comedy-drama with

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Jane Fonda, various accolades including two ...

, '' Period of Adjustment'' (1962), directed by George Roy Hill. It was a hit at the box office. MGM announced they would reteam him with Prentiss in '' Follow the Boys'' but he was not in the final film; Prentiss' love interest was played by Russ Tamblyn. He did some stage acting at the La Jolla Playhouse in '' Write Me a Murder'' in 1962. He was Connie Francis's leading man in '' Looking for Love'' (1964) (in which Hamilton, Mimieux, and Prentiss had cameos). The movie was not a success. He was going to be Sandra Dee's leading man in ''The Richest Girl in Town'' but was replaced by Andy Williams for the final film, which became '' I'd Rather Be Rich''.

Columbia

Hutton was tired of playing in comedies. In the words of Hedda Hopper, he refused "one script after another" from MGM for 15 months before the studio eventually released him from his contract. He signed a one-year contract with Universal and received an offer to make a Western at Columbia, '' Major Dundee'', which was directed by

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institut ...

, and Hutton played the third lead after

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film '' The Ten ...

and Richard Harris, an ineffective officer. Filming took place in Mexico. He followed it with another expensive Western, '' The Hallelujah Trail'' (1965) with

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

, directed by

John Sturges John Eliot Sturges (; January 3, 1910 – August 18, 1992) was an American film director. His films include '' Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955), '' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), '' The Great Escape'' (19 ...

for United Artists. Both films were financial disappointments, although ''Dundees reputation has risen in recent years. Hutton was the male juvenile in '' Never Too Late'' (1965) with Paul Ford and Connie Stevens, at Warner Bros. "The ''Major Dundee'' and ''Hallelujah Trail'' parts were good", he said in an interview around this time, "but they were peripheral. I'm ready for a take charge part. In all immodesty, I don't believe there are many guys my age who can play comedy. Jack Lemmon is the master, but who among the younger guys can you think of? A lot of them can clown and laugh at their own jokes." Hutton made a pilot for a sitcom about a travelling salesman, ''Barney'', written and directed by

Shelley Berman Sheldon Leonard Berman (February 3, 1925 – September 1, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, writer, teacher, and lecturer. In his comedic career, he was awarded three gold records and he won the first Grammy Award for a spoken comedy reco ...

for

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...

, but it was not picked up. He made a cameo in '' The Trouble with Angels'', and was the second male lead in ''

Walk, Don't Run ''Walk, Don't Run'' is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Charles Walters and starring Cary Grant, Samantha Eggar, and Jim Hutton. The film, which was Grant's last film role, is set during the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. It is a remake o ...

'' (1966), a comedy with

Samantha Eggar Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar (born 5 March 1939) is a retired British-American actress. After beginning her career in Shakespearean theatre she rose to fame for her performance in William Wyler's thriller ''The Collect ...

and

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

(in Grant's last feature-film appearance) at Columbia. Director Charles Walters says Hutton was Grant's personal choice for the role. "Cary identifies with Hutton", he said. The success of this film had Hutton given the lead in Columbia's comedy '' Who's Minding the Mint?'' (1967), but it was not widely seen. He was announced for the lead in '' A Guide for the Married Man'' but when the script changed, he ended up asking to be released from it. In November 1966, Hutton signed a nonexclusive, two-year deal with 20th Century Fox. However, he did not appear in any Fox films.

John Wayne

In July 1967, Hutton signed to appear in the John Wayne war drama, '' The Green Berets'', in which Hutton played a

Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

sergeant in a mix of comedy and drama, with a memorable

booby trap A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap m ...

death scene. Also in 1968, Hutton appeared with Wayne in '' Hellfighters'', playing the role of Greg Parker. The movie was loosely based on the career of oil-well firefighter Red Adair.

Return to television

In the early 1970s, Hutton began working almost exclusively in television, guest-starring on such shows as '' The Psychiatrist''; '' Love, American Style'' (several times), and ''

The Name of the Game Name of the Game may refer to: Television * ''The Name of the Game'' (TV series), a 1968–1971 American drama ** ''Fame Is the Name of the Game'', a 1966 American television film and pilot for the series * "The Name of the Game" (''Grey's Anato ...

''. He was in two TV movies, the thriller ''

The Deadly Hunt ''The Deadly Hunt'' is a 1971 American thriller television film directed by John Newland, starring Tony Franciosa, Peter Lawford, and Jim Hutton. It was also known as ''Autumn of a Hunter'' after the title of the novel on which it was based. Plo ...

'' (1971) and a war film, ''

The Reluctant Heroes of Hill 656 ''The Reluctant Heroes'' is a made-for-TV movie and war film set in the period of the Korean War. It was directed by Robert Day and starred Ken Berry, Jim Hutton, Trini López, Don Marshall, Ralph Meeker, Cameron Mitchell and Warren Oates ...

'' (1971). Hutton played Erle Stanley Gardner's small-town district attorney hero, Doug Selby, in ''

They Call It Murder ''They Call It Murder'' is a 1971 American television film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Jim Hutton. Production ''They Call It Murder'' is a two-hour television film produced by Paisano Productions in association with 20th Century Fox ...

'' (1971), a TV movie that was a pilot for a proposed series that never came about. He also co-starred with Connie Stevens in '' Call Her Mom'' (1972), another TV movie that was a pilot for a series that was not picked up. He tried three failed sitcom pilots, ''Wednesday Night Out'', ''Call Holme'', and ''

Captain Newman, M.D. ''Captain Newman, M.D.'' is a 1963 American comedy film, comedy Drama (film and television), drama film directed by David Miller (director), David Miller and starring Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson, Robert Duvall, Eddie Albert and Bob ...

'' (the latter, written by Richard Crenna, screened as a TV movie). He starred in '' Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'' (1973) and '' The Underground Man'' (1974) and episodes of '' Marcus Welby, M.D.'', '' The Wide World of Mystery'', and '' Ironside''. His last theatrical film was ''

Psychic Killer ''Psychic Killer'' is a 1975 American horror film directed by Ray Danton and written by Greydon Clark, Mikel Angel and Ray Danton. The film stars Paul Burke, Jim Hutton, Julie Adams, Nehemiah Persoff, Neville Brand and Aldo Ray. The film wa ...

'' (1975) directed by

Ray Danton Ray Danton (born Raymond Caplan; September 19, 1931 – February 11, 1992) was a radio, film, stage, and television actor, director, and producer whose most famous roles were in the screen biographies '' The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond'' (196 ...

. "Much of my career downfall was my own fault," he said around this time.

''Ellery Queen''

Hutton had not auditioned since ''Period of Adjustment'', but agreed to do it for the role of fictional amateur detective Ellery Queen in the 1975 made-for-television movie and 1975–1976 television series, ''

''. Hutton's co-star in the series (set in 1946–1947 New York City) was

David Wayne David Wayne (born Wayne James McMeekan, January 30, 1914 – February 9, 1995) was an American stage and screen actor with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life and career Wayne was born in Traverse City, Michigan, the son of Helen M ...

, who portrayed his widowed father, an

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

homicide detective. Ellery, a writer of murder mysteries, assisted his father as an amateur, each week solving an "actual" murder case. Near the end of each story, before revealing the solution, he would "break the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cent ...

" by giving the audience a brief review of the clues and asking if they had solved the mystery. "It's the first opportunity I've had in a long time to show people I can give a good performance," he said. It ran for 23 episodes. One of Hutton's memorable television appearances was appearing as a guest star in the 1977–1978 third-season premiere of the

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning ''All in the Famil ...

sitcom '' One Day at a Time''. The episode, titled "The Older Man", was a four-part story arc in which Hutton portrayed Dr. Paul Curran, a 42-year-old veterinarian who falls in love with 17-year-old Julie Cooper (played by Mackenzie Phillips).

Final years

Hutton's final performances included roles in '' Flying High'', ''

$weepstake$ ''Sweepstakes'', stylized as ''$weepstake$'', is an American anthology television series that aired in the United States on NBC during the 1978-79 United States network television schedule#Tuesday, 1978-79 television season. It depicts the lives o ...

'', and ''

The Wonderful World of Disney The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The p ...

'' ("The Sky Trap"). His last television role was in an unsold pilot called ''Butterflies'', based on the

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

sitcom of the same name. It was broadcast on NBC in August 1979, about two months after Hutton had died.

Personal life

Hutton was married to Maryline Adams (née Poole), who was a teacher. They divorced in 1963. They had two children: a daughter, Heidi (born 1959), and a son, Timothy (born 1960). Timothy also became an actor and appeared with his father in a summer-stock production of '' Harvey''. In 1970, he married Lynni Solomon, and they had daughter Punch Hutton (former deputy fashion editor of '' Vanity Fair''). Hutton also had an intermittent 15-year relationship with actress and model Yvette Vickers.

Death

On June 2, 1979, Hutton died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

, two days after his 45th birthday, and a month after being diagnosed. He was cremated and his ashes were interred at the ''Garden of Roses'' area of Westwood Village Memorial Park.

Filmography

*'' A Time to Love and a Time to Die'' (1958) — Hirschland *'' Ten Seconds to Hell'' (1959) — Workman at Bomb Site (uncredited) *''

'' (1960) — Adam Moorad *''

'' (1960) — TV Thompson *'' The Honeymoon Machine'' (1961) — Jason Eldridge *'' Bachelor in Paradise'' (1961) — Larry Delavane *''

'' (1962) — Second Lt. Merle Wye *'' Period of Adjustment'' (1962) — George Haverstick *'' Sunday in New York'' (1963) — Man in Rowboat with Radio (uncredited) *'' Looking for Love'' (1964) — Paul Davis *'' Major Dundee'' (1965) — Lieutenant Graham *'' The Hallelujah Trail'' (1965) — Captain Paul Slater *'' Never Too Late'' (1965) — Charlie Clinton *'' The Trouble with Angels'' (1966) — Mr. Petrie (uncredited) *''

'' (1966) — Steve Davis *'' Who's Minding the Mint?'' (1967) — Harry Lucas *'' The Green Berets'' (1968) — Sgt. Petersen *'' Hellfighters'' (1968) — Greg Parker * ''Don’t Be Afraid of The Dark'' (1973) *''

'' (1975) — Arnold James Masters *'' The Sky Trap'' (1979) — Joe Reese

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, Jim 1934 births 1979 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from cancer in California Male actors from New York (state) Niagara University alumni Actors from Binghamton, New York Military personnel from New York (state) Syracuse University alumni United States Army soldiers