James Stephenson
Biography
British stage actor James Stephenson made his film debut quite late in life, at the age of 49, in 1937, making four pictures that year. Warner Bros. got a glimpse of this distinguished gent and signed him to a contract where he indulged himself in urbane villainy. Proving a reliable support in such films as Boy Meets Girl (1938), You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), and the classic adventure The Sea Hawk (1940), he was entrusted by director William Wyler and mega-star Bette Davis to play the sympathetic role of the family attorney Howard Joyce in The Letter (1940). It was the role of a lifetime and he didn't let them down for he earned an Oscar nomination in the process. Stephenson was soon on a roll, playing the titular sleuth in Calling Philo Vance (1940) and was first-billed in the above-average "B" movie Shining Victory (1941) when he died suddenly in 1941 of a heart attack at the rather young age of 53. Date of Death: 29 July 1941, Pacific Palisades, California (heart attack)
Known For
Col. Armand Lucien
Devil's Island
Abbott
The Sea Hawk
Bill Stevens
King of the Underworld
Major Henri de Beaujolais
Beau Geste
Jim Ralston
The Old Maid
Sir Thomas Egerton
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
Challon
Nancy Drew… Detective
Howard Joyce
The Letter
Joe Garvey
Murder in the Air
Dr. Anton Rader
Espionage Agent
Senor De La Torre
The Monroe Doctrine
Dr. Lawrence 'Larry' Stevens
Flight from Destiny
Hiram Rogers
Wolf of New York
Jim Cameron
Secret Service of the Air
Gerald Trask
On Trial
McDowell
River's End
Philo Vance
Calling Philo Vance
Dr. George Vanders
The Adventures of Jane Arden
Phillip Corey
When Were You Born
Dr. Paul Venner
Shining Victory
Colonel Tillman
Sons of Liberty
Thomas Bradford
White Banners
Fingers
Wanted by Scotland Yard
Prof. Landis
Cowboy from Brooklyn
Major Thompson
Boy Meets Girl
Inspector Thornton
South of Suez
Sam Brooks
You Live and Learn
British Military Intelligence Agent
Confessions of a Nazi Spy
Sir William Clintock
We Are Not Alone
Stephen Gore
Heart of the North
Dr. Mansfield
Torchy Blane in Chinatown
Carew
A Dispatch from Reuters
Lewis
Transatlantic Trouble
Inspector Clarke
The Dark Stairway
Ben
The Man Who Made Diamonds
Squadron Leader Charles Wyatt
International Squadron
Tim Garnett
Mr. Satan
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
37
Gender
Male
Birthday
1889-04-13
Place of Birth
Selby, Yorkshire, England, UK
Also Known As