James Griffith

James Jeffrey Griffith (February 13, 1916 – September 17, 1993) was an American character actor, musician and screenwriter.

Early life and career Born in Los Angeles, California and raised in San Pedro, Griffith was the elder of two born to Albert James Griffith and Ruth Elizabeth Jeffrey. They later moved to Balboa, where he attended Newport Beach Grammar School. Following his parents' divorce in 1931, Griffith lived in Santa Monica with his mother, sister and grandmother, attending Huntington Beach High School and, later, Santa Monica High School, Although his extracurricular activity at Santa Monica High appears to have been primarily musical (he played clarinet), Griffith's devotion to the theater outside of school hours, as reported by the San Luis Obispo Tribune, mirrored that of Ford. During that time he and his boyhood friend, Gwyllyn Ford, went around town trying out for all the plays. On occasion they spread their territory beyond Santa Monica and would hitchhike over to Pasadena and audition at the Pasadena Playhouse. By the time he was 17, Mr. Griffith had acted in 70 plays and graduated from high school.

After graduating from University of California, Los Angeles, he managed to find work in little theatres around Los Angeles, where the budding musician eased into a dual career of acting. He found success in the production They Can't Get You Down in 1939, but put his career on hold during World War II to serve with the United States Marine Corps. Following the war, Griffith switched from the stage to films when he appeared in the 1948 film noir picture Blonde Ice. From then on, he enjoyed a lengthy career of supporting and bit roles (sometimes uncredited) in westerns and detective films.

Though Griffith was generally cast as the outlaw in Western pictures, he managed to garner a few memorable "good guy" roles over his many years in Hollywood – Abraham Lincoln in both 1950's Stage to Tucson and 1955's Apache Ambush (as well as episodes of Cavalcade of America and—as a Lincoln lookalike—The Lone Ranger), Doc Holliday in 1954's Masterson of Kansas, sheriff Pat Garrett in 1954's The Law vs. Billy the Kid, and Davy Crockett in 1956's The First Texan. In 1951's Apache Drums, Griffith portrayed a cavalry officer sensitive to Native-American concerns, and in 1957, he co-starred on Gunsmoke, playing a simple farmer involved in a feud in S3E16's "Twelfth Night". He was also featured in the season one episode, "Pike's Reward," and several others.

In 1959, Griffith appeared as John Wesley Hardin on the TV western Maverick in the episode titled "Duel at Sundown" featuring James Garner and Clint Eastwood.

In the role of Aaron Adams, the town barber, Griffith appeared in 1958 in twelve episodes of the CBS western series, Trackdown.

Griffith also portrayed deputy Tom Ferguson in the syndicated series, Sheriff of Cochise, starring John Bromfield, and U.S. Marshal.

Griffith made more than seventy guest appearances on television shows, including eight episodes of Wagon Train, seven episodes of The Range Rider, seven episodes of The Lone Ranger, two episodes of Annie Oakley, four episodes of Cheyenne, three episodes of Buffalo Bill, Jr., six episodes of Gunsmoke, four episodes of Perry Mason, four episodes of Dragnet, three episodes (42, 43 and 108) of Batman, and two segments of Little House on the Prairie.

Throughout his acting career, beginning with an early stint as vocalist/reed man with Spike Jones, Griffith frequently found ways to combine his two passions. Collaborating with former Pied Piper Hal Hopper, he co-wrote title tunes for several films. and, from 1984 until his own death, to Elizabeth Thorpe (née Jackson). He had one child, a daughter, by his first marriage. In the 60's he lived in a house on Huston St. in Sherman Oaks, California.

On September 17, 1993, Griffith died of cancer in Avila Beach, California, survived by his wife, daughter and two granddaughters.

Filmography