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James Whitmore

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James Whitmore

James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor who appeared in over 150 stage, film, and television roles over a 50-year career. He received numerous honors, notably a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. He was nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actor for Battleground (1949) and Best Actor for Give 'em Hell, Harry! (1975).

James Allen Whitmore Jr. was born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle (née Crane) and James Allen Whitmore Sr., a park commission official.[citation needed] Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, for three years, before transferring to the Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut, on a football scholarship. He studied at Yale College, but he had to quit playing football after severely injuring his knees.

After giving up football, Whitmore turned to the Yale Dramatic Society and began acting. While at Yale, he was a member of Skull and Bones, and was among the founders of the Yale radio station (the student-run WOCD-AM, later renamed WYBC-AM). Whitmore planned on becoming a lawyer and graduated with a major in government from Yale University.[citation needed]

In World War II, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1942 while finishing his degree, which he completed in 1944. In the Marines, he trained at Parris Island and Quantico, Virginia, and Officers Candidate School, and was commissioned a second lieutenant. After further training he was assigned to the 4th Marine Division on Saipan in July 1944. While at Tinian, he contracted amoebic dysentery and was hospitalized. Following his hospitalization, he served guard duty at the Panama Canal Zone until his discharge in March 1946.

Whitmore appeared on Broadway in the role of the sergeant in Command Decision. His first major picture for MGM was Battleground, in a role that was turned down by Spencer Tracy. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for this role, and won the Golden Globe Award as Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role.[citation needed] Other major films included Angels in the Outfield, The Asphalt Jungle, The Next Voice You Hear, Above and Beyond, Kiss Me, Kate, Them!, Oklahoma!, Black Like Me, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, Tora! Tora! Tora!, and Give 'em Hell, Harry!, a one-man show for which Whitmore was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of former U.S. President Harry S Truman.[citation needed] In the film Tora! Tora! Tora!, he played Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey.

Whitmore appeared during the 1950s on many television anthology series. He was cast as Father Emil Kapaun in the 1955 episode "The Good Thief" in the ABC religion anthology series Crossroads. Other roles followed on Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theater, Lux Video Theatre, Kraft Theatre, Studio One in Hollywood, Schlitz Playhouse, Matinee Theatre, and the Ford Television Theatre. In 1958, he carried the lead in "The Gabe Carswell Story" of NBC's Wagon Train, with Ward Bond.(S1 E18 which aired 1/14/1958).

In 1963, Whitmore played Captain William Benteen in The Twilight Zone episode "On Thursday We Leave for Home". Whitmore also appeared in Route 66 on January 18, 1963, as Ralph Vincent in “A Gift for a Warrior.” He appeared twice in Twelve O'Clock High. In 1965, Whitmore guest-starred as Col. Paul "Pappy" Hartley in Season 1, Episode 32 "The Hero" and as Col. Harry Connelly in 1966 Season 3, Episode 12 "The Ace". He also appeared in an episode of Combat! titled "The Cassock", as a German officer masquerading as a Catholic priest. In 1967, he guest-starred as a security guard in The Invaders episode, "Quantity: Unknown". That same year, Whitmore also appeared on an episode of ABC's Custer starring Wayne Maunder in the title role.

In 1968, he appeared as head of the Simian Assembly in the Planet of the Apes. In 1969, he played the leading character of Professor Woodruff in the TV series My Friend Tony, produced by NBC. Whitmore also made several memorable appearances on the classic ABC Western The Big Valley starring Barbara Stanwyck, and the classic NBC Western The Virginian starring James Drury, during the second half of the 1960s.

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