John James Anderson (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor and producer widely known to television audiences for his roles as

Jeff Colby Jeffrey Broderick "Jeff" Colby is a fictional character on the ABC prime time soap opera ''Dynasty'', created by Richard and Esther Shapiro. Portrayed by John James, Jeff Colby was introduced in the show's first episode in 1981 and appeared as ...

in both the prime-time

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

'' and its

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

series ''

The Colbys ''The Colbys'' (originally titled ''Dynasty II: The Colbys'') is an American prime time soap opera that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from November 20, 1985, to March 26, 1987. Created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and E ...

'' throughout the 1980s.

Career

James is a veteran of daytime soaps, first appearing in ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show f ...

'' in the late 1970s. In 1981, he won the role of Jeff Colby in ''

'', appearing in the very first episode, "

Oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

", and remaining on the soap opera until the final episode, '' Catch 22'' in 1989. James played the same role in ''The Colbys'' between 1985 and 1987, and one last time in the 1991 TV movie, '' Dynasty: The Reunion''. James was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

for his role in ''Dynasty'' in 1985 and appeared at the 1986 ceremony. The

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film is a Golden Globe Award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outst ...

went to Edward James Olmos. James returned to the genre playing Rick Decker on ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

'' in 2003–2004. In May 2006, he was cast in the role of Dr. Jeff Martin (the first husband of

Erica Kane Erica Kane is a fictional character from the American ABC Daytime soap opera ''All My Children''. The character was portrayed by actress Susan Lucci from her debut on January 16, 1970, until the last broadcast television episode on September 23, 2 ...

played by series star

Susan Lucci Susan Victoria Lucci (born December 23, 1946) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama ''All My Children'' during that show's entire network run from 1970 to 2011. The character is considere ...

) on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

daytime soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

''. He began appearing the following month. On July 15, 2008, James returned to ''As the World Turns'', reprising the role of demented Dr. Rick Decker. In film, James starred in ''

Icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

'' (2000) with

Sean Astin Sean Patrick Astin (; born February 25, 1971) is an American actor. His acting roles include Mikey Walsh in '' The Goonies'' (1985), Billy Tepper in '' Toy Soldiers'' (1991), Dave Morgan in '' Encino Man'' (1992), Daniel Ruettiger in '' Rudy'' ...

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known best for his role as Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' horror series, beginning with the short movie '' Within the Woods'' (1978). He has also f ...

, and

Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor, active in theatre, film and television since the 1960s. Keach first distinguished himself in Off-Broadway productions and remains a prominent figure in American theatre across his ...

; in ''The Cursed'' aka ''Peril'' (2001) with

Morgan Fairchild Morgan Fairchild (born Patsy Ann McClenny; February 3, 1950) is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series since then. Fairchild began her career on the CBS daytime soap opera '' Searc ...

and

Michael Pare Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

; in ''Lightning: Fire from the Sky'' (2001) with

Jesse Eisenberg Jesse Adam Eisenberg ( ; born October 5, 1983) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. Recognized for playing smart but awkward characters in both comedies and dramas, his accolades include a British Academy Film Award and nominati ...

, Stacy Keach and John Schneider and in ''Chronology'' (2015) with

William Baldwin William Joseph Baldwin (born February 21, 1963) Note: While birthplace is routinely listed as Massapequa, that town has no hospital, and brother Alec Baldwin was born in nearby Amityville, which does. is an American actor and the second-younge ...

and

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo (, ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. Known for his Danny Trejo filmography, large body of work as a character actor, films in which he has appeared in have grossed over $3.7 billion worldwide. A native of Los Angeles, Tr ...

, all of which were directed by

David Giancola David Giancola (born June 24, 1969) is a Vermont-based American filmmaker. Born in Rutland, Vermont, he has directed, produced, and/or functioned as director of photography on over 35 feature films as of December 2019. Career Giancola's fir ...

. He produced and starred in ''

Illegal Aliens Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

'' (2007). In 2012, James starred in the Giancola documentary, '' Addicted to Fame'' (2012), about the making of their film ''Illegal Aliens''. In 2016, James produced and starred in another Giancola film — the sci-fi action adventure, ''Axcellerator'' which reunited him with ''The Colbys'' co-star

Maxwell Caulfield Maxwell Caulfield (born Maxwell P.J. Newby; 23 November 1959) is a British actor. He has appeared in ''Grease 2'' (1982), ''Electric Dreams (film), Electric Dreams'' (1984), ''The Boys Next Door (1985 film), The Boys Next Door'' (1985), ''The S ...

while James' daughter Laura played one of the roles. James has appeared on stage intermittently, from musicals for the producer John Kenley to a 1996 national tour of ''Dial 'M' for Murder'' with Roddy McDowall, to playing Captain Keller in Judson Theatre Company's ''The Miracle Worker'' in 2018.

Personal life

James was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, as one of the three children of radio broadcaster Herb Oscar Anderson (1928—2017) and his first wife. His brother, Herb Oscar Anderson II, is an actor. In 1989, James married Denise Ellen Coward (born 1955 in Australia), a model and 2nd Runner-up for

Miss World 1978 Miss World 1978 was the 28th edition of the Miss World pageant, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, United Kingdom on 16 November 1978. At the end of the event, Mary Stävin of Sweden crowned Silvana Suárez of Argentina as the new Miss W ...

. They have two children. In 2012, James' daughter, Laura, won America's Next Top Model, Cycle 19. His son Phillip is serving in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. In 2014, James considered running as a Republican for

New York's 21st congressional district New York's 21st congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives that is represented by United States Republican Party, Republican Elise Stefanik. On November 11, 2024, President of the United St ...

Filmography

Self

* ''

The Home and Family Show ''Home & Family'' (formerly ''The Home and Family Show'') is an American Daytime television, daytime talk show. The series originally premiered on April 1, 1996, on History of Freeform#The Family Channel, The Family Channel, and was dropped by t ...

'' - Dynasty Reunion (2015) * ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

'' - Laura's Father (2012) * ''The Life and Death of Anna Nicole Smith'' (2007) * ''

Intimate Portrait ''Intimate Portrait'' is a biographical documentary television series on the Lifetime cable network hosted by Meredith Vieira and focusing on different female celebrities, including stars from the fields of cinema, music, politics, sports a ...

'' -

Emma Samms Emma Elizabeth Wylie Samuelson MBE known professionally as Emma Samms, (born 28 August 1960) is an English actress and TV host, known popularly for her role as Holly Sutton on the American daytime soap opera ''General Hospital'', and as the se ...

(2002) * ''After They Were Famous'' - ''Dynasty'' (2002) * '' E! True Hollywood Story'' - ''Dynasty'' (2001) * ''Denver-Clan ohne Maske'' (1994) * ''The

Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedienne, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona that w ...

Show'' - November, 4 (1991) * ''

Live! with Kelly and Michael ''Live with Kelly and Mark'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts sinc ...

'' - October 18, (1991) * ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...

'' November, 11 (1987) * ''

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States ...

'' TV Special (1986) * ''The 12th Annual

People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the fans and general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls un ...

'' (1986) * ''The 43rd Annual

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

'' (1986) * ''The 11th Annual

'' (1985) * ''Christmas with the Carringtons'' BBC TV Special (1985) * '' Breakaway'' TV Series (1984) * ''

Battle of the Network Stars ''Battle of the Network Stars'' is a series of competitions in which television stars from ABC, CBS and NBC would compete in various sporting events. A total of 19 of these competitions were held between 1976 and 1988, all of which were aired ...

XVI'' - ABC Team Captain (1984) * ''The 10th Annual

'' (1984) * ''

XIV'' - ABC Team Captain (1983) * ''The

Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series had runs on two different networks on NBC (1962–1963) and CBS (1969–1972) but is most known for its run on first-run syndication from 1965 to 19 ...

'' - February 12 (1983) * ''The

'' - November 6 (1982) * '' Miss USA 1982'' - Celebrity Judge (1982) * ''

XIII'' - ABC Team (1982) * ''

XII'' - ABC Team (1982)

Awards

Discography

*''This Time'' b/w ''Fooling Around'' (with Heidi Bruhl; 1984) *''Painted Dreams'' b/w ''Sleeping In Your Arms Again'' (1985) (GER # 60, 5 weeks)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:James, John American male soap opera actors New York (state) Republicans Living people 1956 births