James Ellison
66 movies
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- May 4, 1910
- Died
- Dec 23, 1993 (age 83)
- Place of birth
- Guthrie Center, Iowa, USA
- Also known as
- Jimmie 'Shamrock' Ellison · Jimmie Ellison · Jimmy 'Shamrock' Ellison · Jimmy 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.
Read the full biography
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.
Profiles IMDb
Known for
James Ellison: movies and TV shows
Acting (66)
- 1962 When the Girls Take Over
as Alex 'Longhorn' Gates (as Jimmy Ellison)
- 1952 Dead Man's Trail
as Dan Winslow
- 1952 Man from the Black Hills
as Jim Fallon (as Jimmy Ellison)
- 1952 Texas City
as Jim Kirby (as Jimmy Ellison)
- 1951 Texas Lawmen
as Sheriff Tod Merrick
- 1951 Whistling Hills
as Sheriff Dave Holland
- 1951 Oklahoma Justice
as Clancy
- 1951 Kentucky Jubilee
as Jeff Benson
- 1950 The Texan Meets Calamity Jane
as Gordon Hastings
- 1950 I Killed Geronimo
as Capt. Jeff Packard
- 1950 Fast on the Draw
as Shamrock Ellison
- 1950 Crooked River
as Shamrock Ellison
- 1950 West of the Brazos
as Shamrock Ellison
- 1950 Colorado Ranger
as Shamrock Kid
- 1950 Marshal of Heldorado
as Shamrock Ellison
- 1950 Everybody's Dancin'
as Jimmy Ellison
- 1950 Hostile Country
as Shamrock Ellison
- 1948 Last of the Wild Horses
as Duke Barnum
- 1947 The Ghost Goes Wild
as Monte Crandall
- 1947 Calendar Girl
as Steve Adams
- 1946 G.I. War Brides
as Steve Giles
- 1945 Hollywood and Vine
as Larry Winters
- 1944 Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore
as Mike Burke
- 1944 Lady, Let's Dance
as Jerry Gibson
- 1943 The Gang's All Here
as Andy Mason
- 1943 Best Foot Forward
as Cadet
- 1943 I Walked with a Zombie
as Wesley Rand
- 1943 Dixie Dugan
as Roger Hudson
- 1942 Army Surgeon
as Capt. James Mason
- 1942 The Undying Monster
as Robert Curtis
- 1942 That Other Woman
as Henry Summers
- 1942 Careful, Soft Shoulders
as Thomas Aldrich
- 1941 Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case
as P. Cadwallader Jones
- 1941 Ice-Capades
as Bob Clemens
- 1941 Charley's Aunt
as Jack Chesney
- 1941 They Met in Argentina
as Tim Kelly
- 1941 Play Girl
as Thomas Elwood Dice
- 1940 Anne of Windy Poplars
as Tony Pringle
- 1940 You Can't Fool Your Wife
as Andrew Hinklin
- 1939 Fifth Avenue Girl
as Mike
- 1939 Hotel for Women
as Jeff Buchanan
- 1939 Sorority House
as Bill Loomis
- 1939 Zenobia
as Jeff Carter
- 1939 Almost a Gentleman
as Dan Preston
- 1938 Next Time I Marry
as Anthony J. Anthony
- 1938 Mother Carey's Chickens
as Ralph Thurston
- 1938 Vivacious Lady
as Keith
- 1937 The Barrier
as Lt. Burrell
- 1937 Annapolis Salute
as William J. "Bill" Martin
- 1937 23 1/2 Hours Leave
as Sgt. Robert Gray
- 1937 Borderland
as Johnny Nelson
- 1936 Trail Dust
as Johnny Nelson
- 1936 The Plainsman
as William "Buffalo Bill" Cody
- 1936 Three on the Trail
as Johnny Nelson
- 1936 Call of the Prairie
as Johnny Nelson
- 1936 Heart of the West
as Johnny Nelson
- 1936 The Leathernecks Have Landed
as Mac MacDonald
- 1935 Hitch Hike Lady
as Jimmy Peyton
- 1935 Bar 20 Rides Again
as Johnny Nelson
- 1935 The Eagle's Brood
as Johnny Nelson
- 1935 Hop-a-long Cassidy
as Johnny Nelson
- 1935 Reckless
as Dale Every
- 1935 The Winning Ticket
as Jimmy
- 1935 Buried Loot
as Detective (uncredited)
- 1932 The Famous Ferguson Case
as Reporter Lane (uncredited)
- 1932 Play Girl
as Elmer