James Pier Mason (February 3, 1889 – November 7, 1959) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 170 films between 1914 and 1952, often as a villain or henchman in Westerns, and was sometimes credited as Jim Mason. A memorable performance was in 1920's '' The Penalty'' as the drug-addicted criminal who shoots

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often gr ...

's character Blizzard in the final moments of the film.

Biography

He was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, on February 3, 1889 to James Kent Mason and Katie Evelyn Pier. His parents were from

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

and returned to the United States after his birth. Mason died in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

, from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on November 7, 1959.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Jim 1889 births 1959 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors 20th-century American male actors Male Western (genre) film actors American expatriates in France Male actors from Paris