Jim Davis
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jim Davis (born Marlin Davis, August 26, 1909 – April 26, 1981) was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap opera, Dallas, a role which continued until he was too ill from a terminal illness to perform. He was known as Jim Davis by the time of his first major screen role, which was opposite Bette Davis in the 1948 melodrama Winter Meeting,[3] a lavish failure for which he was lambasted in the press as being too inexperienced to play the part properly. His subsequent film career consisted of mostly B movies, many of them westerns, although he made an impression as a U.S. senator in the Warren Beatty conspiracy thriller The Parallax View. Davis performed in numerous television series episodes in the 1950s-1970s. After years of relatively low-profile roles, Davis was cast as family patriarch Jock Ewing on Dallas, which debuted in 1978. During season four, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma but continued to film the show as long as he could. In many scenes as the season progressed he was shown seated, and his voice became softer and more obviously affected by his illness. He wore a hairpiece to cover the hair he'd lost from chemotherapy. A season four storyline regarding the Takapa development and Jock's separation from Miss Ellie was ended abruptly at the end of season four. The writers depicted the couple suddenly leaving to go on an extended second honeymoon when it became obvious that Davis could no longer continue to work. Their departure in a limousine in the episode "New Beginnings" was Davis' only scene in that episode, and his condition was so poor that close watching reveals (based on his unsynchronized lip movement) that he overdubbed his one last line of dialogue. It was his final appearance on the show. He died of complications from his illness while season four was being aired.
Known For
Marshal MacPhee
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter
Reporter (uncredited)
Tennessee Johnson
Head of Lynching Party
Big Jake
Marshal
Bad Company
Riley
Rio Lobo
Streak
The Big Sky
Slick Novak
Winter Meeting
Sgt. Martin
Dracula vs. Frankenstein
George Hammond
The Parallax View
Cal Brennan
Monte Walsh
Dr. Quent Brady
Monster from Green Hell
Clay Bates
Five Bloody Graves
Grant Williams
The Day Time Ended
Seaplane Pilot (uncredited)
White Cargo
Brad Bellows
The Big Chase
Joe Harper
Hi-Jacked
Hal
Satan's Triangle
Talker (uncredited)
Stand by for Action
Adam Carlyle
Zebra in the Kitchen
Noah Reedy
The Road Hustlers
George Cady
The Bottom of the Bottle
Fred Denton
Three Desperate Men
Nick Randall
Blonde Bait
Vince Ballard
They Ran for Their Lives
Angus Clyde McKane
Raiders of Old California
Cpl. Doan Moylan
Little Big Horn
Military Policeman
Pilot #5
Ed Newton
The Restless Breed
Lt. Mike Baker
The Savage Horde
Dixie
Deliver Us from Evil
Dean Cannary
Duel at Apache Wells
Aaron Baring
The Wild Dakotas
Case Silverthorne
The Gambler Wore a Gun
Tony Burton
Frontier Gambler
Sgt. Walsh
Iron Angel
Case Britton
Noose for a Gunman
Glendon
The Vanishing American
Major Linton Cosgrave
The Outcast
Jeff Harlan
The Badge of Marshal Brennan
Ralph Carpenter
The Quiet Gun
Jim Stockton
Frontier Uprising
Miller
The Cariboo Trail
Willie Whitewater
Rose of Cimarron
Marshal Matt Gordon
A Lust to Kill
Bill Cameron
Last Stagecoach West
Sheriff Naylor
The Trackers
Krantz
Hondo and the Apaches
Johnny Ringo
The Toughest Gun in Tombstone
Jake
The Ice House
Jim Hughes
Wolf Dog
Buttons and Her Beaus
Julie Blocker
Comes a Horseman
Dave Erickson
Just a Little Inconvenience
Nick Courteen
Brimstone
Harry
Gallant Bess
Ira Jordan
Oh! Susanna
Poole
Timberjack
Sen. Barry Tyler
Killing Stone
Lt. Spaulding
Cavalry Scout
Drobeck
The Choirboys
Ben Ziegler
Apache Warrior
Cole Younger
Woman They Almost Lynched
Red Courteen
Ride the Man Down
Sheriff Potter
The Honkers
Dave Ryder
Red Stallion In The Rockies
Capt. Buckshot Bates
The Runaway Barge
Joe Tascarelli
Yes Sir, That's My Baby
Gunman at Boot Hill
The Magnificent Seven
Marshal Dan Porter
The Outlaw's Daughter
Wade McQuarrie
Silver Canyon
Slave Overseer (uncredited)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Cochran
The Showdown
Ben Evans
The Last Command
Sheriff Pat Lambrose
Law of the Land
Von Strutt's Assistant (uncredited)
Merton of the Movies
Sam Bass
The Fabulous Texan
Gyp Stoner
Hellfire
Sam Horne
Hell's Outpost
Silky
Jubilee Trail
Scarecrow
Fort Utah
Tony Sullivan
The Sea Hornet
Lincoln 'Linc' Corey
California Passage
Joseph Cummins
Keep 'Em Sailing
Steve Powell
Woman of the North Country
Mountie with Warrant
Northwest Rangers
Chief Deputy John Poe
Last of the Desperados
Col. Hugh Carver
Flaming Frontier
The Stranger
The Maverick Queen
Police Captain Stewart / Narrator
Guns Don't Argue
Rocky Stratton
Inferno in Paradise
Mr. Wilkenson
Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy "Satchel" Paige
Pop Apling
Trail of Danger
Frank James
Alias Jesse James
Jim Purvis
El Dorado
Investigator / Airport Announcer (Uncredited)
Swing Shift Maisie
Matthews (Uncredited)
Up Goes Maisie
Sheriff
Four Women in Black
Colonel Valentine
Enigma
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
98
Gender
Male
Birthday
1909-08-26
Place of Birth
Edgerton, Platte County, Missouri, USA
Also Known As
James Davis