James Ellison

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. James Ellison (May 4, 1910 - December 23, 1993) was an American actor, born James Ellison Smith in Guthrie Center, Iowa, son of Edward James Smith and Ona Mary Ellis. Ellison appeared in nearly seventy films between 1932 and 1962. Ellison worked for a time in a film laboratory and while there was offered a screen test. He developed it himself and when he saw it, decided it was not satisfactory so he would not show it to the director. But he saw it anyway and Ellison got a contract. Despite his rugged good looks and height of 6 feet 3 inches, Ellison's limited range and somewhat wooden screen presence kept him from the first (or even second) ranks of stardom. He spent much of his career in Westerns, including a stint in the mid-thirties as the sidekick of Hopalong Cassidy in Paramount's successful series. In 1938, he played a charming, romantic character opposite 26 year old Lucille Ball in the comedy, "Next Time I Marry", a film where Ball had her first top billing on screen credits. Before that, in 1936, he played his highest-profile role, as Buffalo Bill in Cecil B. DeMille's The Plainsman, which also starred Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. Despite that film's success, Ellison spent most of the remainder of his career shuttling between cowboy pictures and more varied roles, primarily in B movies with titles like Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case and The Undying Monster. He had a supporting role in 1941's Charley's Aunt (which starred Jack Benny) and played the romantic lead in 1943's The Gang's All Here, a Twentieth Century Fox musical in which he seemed somewhat lost among the vivid antics of Carmen Miranda, Charlotte Greenwood, and Edward Everett Horton (and was the only principal not to sing a note). He also co-starred with Tom Conway and Frances Dee in Val Lewton's production of I Walked with a Zombie, directed by Jacques Tourneur. Ellison landed another romantic lead role as 'Jerry Gibson' in the musical film Lady, Let's Dance (1944) which starred ice skating sensation 'Belita'. In the early 1950s, Ellison moved from acting to real estate. Joining fellow veteran Jackie Coogan, Ellison returned to the screen only once to play Axel 'Longhorn' Gates in a picture called When the Girls Take Over (1962). James Ellison died at age 83 in Monterey, California after suffering a broken neck as the result of a fall. Description above from the Wikipedia article James Ellison (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Keith

Vivacious Lady

Wesley Rand

I Walked with a Zombie

Robert Curtis

The Undying Monster

Jack Chesney

Charley's Aunt

William "Buffalo Bill" Cody

The Plainsman

Mike

Fifth Avenue Girl

Shamrock Ellison

Crooked River

Andy Mason

The Gang's All Here

Johnny Nelson

The Eagle's Brood

Johnny Nelson

Three on the Trail

Johnny Nelson

Hop-a-long Cassidy

Johnny Nelson

Call of the Prairie

Johnny Nelson

Heart of the West

Johnny Nelson

Bar 20 Rides Again

Johnny Nelson

Borderland

Johnny Nelson

Trail Dust

Monte Crandall

The Ghost Goes Wild

Larry Winters

Hollywood and Vine

Jimmy

The Winning Ticket

Jeff Carter

Zenobia

Thomas Elwood Dice

Play Girl

Detective (uncredited)

Buried Loot

Tony Pringle

Anne of Windy Poplars

Steve Adams

Calendar Girl

Jimmy Peyton

Hitch Hike Lady

Sheriff Tod Merrick

Texas Lawmen

Duke Barnum

Last of the Wild Horses

Mike Burke

Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Jeff Buchanan

Hotel for Women

Bill Loomis

Sorority House

Dan Preston

Almost a Gentleman

Thomas Aldrich

Careful, Soft Shoulders

Gordon Hastings

The Texan Meets Calamity Jane

Jerry Gibson

Lady, Let's Dance

Alex 'Longhorn' Gates (as Jimmy Ellison)

When the Girls Take Over

William J. "Bill" Martin

Annapolis Salute

Ralph Thurston

Mother Carey's Chickens

Sgt. Robert Gray

23 1/2 Hours Leave

Andrew Hinklin

You Can't Fool Your Wife

Anthony J. Anthony

Next Time I Marry

Elmer

Play Girl

Bob Clemens

Ice-Capades

Dale Every

Reckless

Henry Summers

That Other Woman

Jeff Benson

Kentucky Jubilee

Tim Kelly

They Met in Argentina

Lt. Burrell

The Barrier

Capt. James Mason

Army Surgeon

Jimmy Ellison

Everybody's Dancin'

Roger Hudson

Dixie Dugan

Shamrock Ellison

Fast on the Draw

Shamrock Kid

Colorado Ranger

Shamrock Ellison

Hostile Country

Shamrock Ellison

Marshal of Heldorado

Shamrock Ellison

West of the Brazos

Reporter Lane (uncredited)

The Famous Ferguson Case

P. Cadwallader Jones

Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case

Clancy

Oklahoma Justice

Sheriff Dave Holland

Whistling Hills

Dan Winslow

Dead Man's Trail

Steve Giles

G.I. War Brides

Mac MacDonald

The Leathernecks Have Landed

Capt. Jeff Packard

I Killed Geronimo

Jim Fallon (as Jimmy Ellison)

Man from the Black Hills

Jim Kirby (as Jimmy Ellison)

Texas City

Cadet

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