James Whitmore Overview:

Character actor, James Whitmore, was born on Oct 1, 1921 in White Plains, NY. Whitmore died at the age of 87 on Feb 6, 2009 in Malibu, CA .

MINI BIO:

Solidly-built with a homely, philosophical face, James Whitmore was utterly reliable in his performances -- sort of a supporting player's Spencer Tracy. A solid bulwark to M-G-M films of the early 1950s, Whitmore was usually to be found in sincere dramatic roles, but could also be delightfully comic, as demonstrated by his singing/clowning partnership with Keenan Wynn in Kiss Me Kate.  When films failed to make the most of him, he toured America with one-man shows. He was twice nominated for  an Oscar, Battleground and Give 'Em Hell Harry.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Illustrated Dictionary of Film Character Actors).

HONORS and AWARDS:

.

Although Whitmore was nominated for one Oscar, he never won a competitive Academy Award.

Academy Awards

YearAwardFilm nameRoleResult
1949Best Supporting ActorBattleground (1949)KinnieNominated
.

He was honored with one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Television.

BlogHub Articles:

Warner Archive: in Face of Fire (1959)

By KC on Jun 4, 2015 From Classic Movies

The devastating, but beautifully filmed Face of Fire stars as a handyman whose face is burned beyond recognition when he rescues a young boy from a house fire. I had this DVD release from Warner Archive for quite a while before I had the nerve to watch it; it looked unbearably bleak t... Read full article


See all articles

James Whitmore Quotes:

Joe Smith, American: [to Johnny] Johnny, how many times have I told you? Don't do like I do; do like I say.


Commissioner Anthony X. Russell: [after Kane drops his shield on Russell's desk] What am I supposed to do with that?
Chief Insp. Charles Kane: Commissioner, I thought you'd never ask.


Sgt. Elliott: Never say an injun is dumb. He just waits for the chance to use his one good cavalry tactic: ring around and close in.


read more quotes from James Whitmore...



Share this page:
Visit the Classic Movie Hub Blog CMH
Also a Libra






See All Libras >>
Best Supporting Actor Oscar 1949






See more Best Supporting Actor awards>>
James Whitmore on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame



See All Walk of Fame Stars >>
James Whitmore Facts
In the early 1950s Whitmore conducted an acting workshop in Hollywood; one of his pupils was a struggling young actor, then unknown, James Dean. Whitmore helped Dean get some jobs in LA but encouraged Dean to go to New York to audition for the Actors Studio. Dean was one of the few accepted the year he auditioned.

Earned a football scholarship at Yale University but extensive knee injuries led him to give the sport up.

Performed his one-man stage show on and off for thirty years (1970-2000). He had nearly eight hours of various comments about the topics of the day memorized, changing the show each time he performed it. His costume is now housed at the Smithsonian Institute.

See All Related Facts >>