James Gregory
One of the most beloved actors of all, James Gregory was born December 23, 1911, in the Bronx and grew up in New Rochelle, NY. In high school, he was elected president of the Drama Club. He went to work on Wall Street as a runner shortly after the 1929 crash. James Gregory performed in drama groups and achieved pro status as a summer stock player in 1935. He performed in plays throughout New York, New Jersey and Maryland. His troupe of performers toured small towns in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, towing a trailer full of theatre props; they performed in school gyms, churches and YMCAs, earning $25 for a week of one-night stands. In 1939, James Gregory made his Broadway debut in a production of "Key Largo". Over the next 16 years, he performed in approximately 25 Broadway productions. (His career was interrupted by WWII; he served for 3 years in the Navy and Marine Corps. His tour of duty took him to the Pacific where he spent 83 days on Okinawa). One good thing that came out of the war years is that he married Anne in 1944, and they would stay together always. During his Broadway career, James Gregory earned consistently favorable reviews by drama critics from the New York Press, Boston Globe, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Hollywood Reporter and Variety. James Gregory did a few TV spots as early as 1951, and in 1955 he made the transition from the Broadway stage to live television. The following year, after a couple of earlier uncredited movie appearances, he would also begin his movie career in earnest. He worked steadily throughout the early years of TV, working for major live television productions from New York to Hollywood. In 1959, James Gregory made television history by costarring in the pilot episode of the The Twilight Zone (1959); the episode "Where Is Everybody?" concerning the relevant topic of the USA winning the space race by sending a manned spaceship to the moon sold the series. James Gregory would play Dean Martin's exasperated boss MacDonald in the first 3 of the Matt Helm movies: The Silencers (1966), Murderers' Row (1966) and The Ambushers (1967). But he won his biggest acclaim as Inspector Frank Luger for the entire run of the TV series Barney Miller (1974) (1975-1982). This was his signature role; as the Inspector, he would be lovable, irritating, ingratiating, exasperating and humorous, sometimes all at the same time. He was Barney's buddy for 7 years, and the series ended with the Inspector getting himself a mail-order bride. James Gregory retired from acting in 1983, with over 100 TV and movie credits. He has entertained, uplifted and captivated us with his performances. He has endeared himself to a legion of fans. When asked to define his life's work, he simply said, "I am an actor". Fans would disagree with him. James Gregory is so much more -- role model and inspiration.
Known For
Credits
- 1983 · Wait Till Your Mother Gets Home as Dan Peters
- 1982 · The Flight of Dragons as Bryagh / Smrgol (voice)
- 1981 · Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood as Leo Hackett
- 1980 · Gridlock as Gen. Caribou Caruthers
- 1980 · The Comeback Kid as Scotty
- 1979 · Detective School as
- 1979 · The Main Event as Gough
- 1978 · Flying High as
- 1978 · The Bastard as Will Campbell
- 1977 · The Love Boat as Milton Benson
- 1976 · Quincy, M.E. as
- 1976 · Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident as James Donovan
- 1976 · All's Fair as
- 1975 · The Strongest Man in the World as Chief Blair
- 1975 · Barney Miller as Inspector Frank Luger
- 1975 · Barney Miller as Frank Luger
- 1975 · The Abduction of Saint Anne as Pete Haggerty
- 1974 · Kolchak: The Night Stalker as Captain Quill
- 1973 · Miracle on 34th Street as District Attorney
- 1973 · Police Story as
- 1972 · The Weekend Nun as Sid Richardson
- 1972 · The Streets of San Francisco as
- 1972 · M*A*S*H as General Kelly
- 1972 · Search as
- 1972 · The Paul Lynde Show as
- 1972 · Temperatures Rising as James Jerome
- 1972 · A Very Missing Person as Oscar Piper
- 1972 · Emergency! as
- 1972 · Sanford and Son as
- 1972 · The Marshal of Madrid as Oil Tycoon
- 1971 · Columbo as David Buckner
- 1971 · Cannon as
- 1971 · The Late Liz as Sam Burns
- 1971 · Shoot Out as Sam Foley
- 1971 · The Million Dollar Duck as Rutledge
- 1971 · All in the Family as William R. Kirkwood
- 1970 · Night Gallery as
- 1970 · The Headmaster as
- 1970 · The Hawaiians as Dr. Whipple Sr. (uncredited)
- 1970 · Beneath the Planet of the Apes as Ursus
- 1970 · McCloud as
- 1969 · My World and Welcome to It as
- 1969 · The Love God? as Darrell Evans Hughes
- 1968 · Lancer as
- 1968 · The Mod Squad as
- 1968 · The Outcasts as
- 1968 · Hawaii Five-O as Jonathan Kaye
- 1968 · Hawaii Five-O as Mike Finney
- 1968 · Cocoon as Jonathan Kaye
- 1968 · The Outsider as
- 1968 · Premiere as
- 1968 · The Secret War of Harry Frigg as Gen. Homer Prentiss
- 1967 · The Ambushers as MacDonald
- 1967 · Clambake as Duster Heyward
- 1967 · The Hunted as Buckman
- 1967 · The High Chaparral as Jake Stoner
- 1967 · Judd for the Defense as
- 1967 · Cimarron Strip as
- 1967 · Ironside as Herb Jarman
- 1966 · Murderers' Row as MacDonald
- 1966 · Mission: Impossible as
- 1966 · Star Trek as Dr. Tristan Adams
- 1966 · That Girl as
- 1966 · Tarzan as
- 1966 · The Silencers as MacDonald
- 1965 · A Rage to Live as Dr. O'Brien
- 1965 · The F.B.I. as Bert Anslem
- 1965 · The Loner as
- 1965 · The Wild Wild West as
- 1965 · Hogan's Heroes as General Biedenbender
- 1965 · The Big Valley as Simon Carter
- 1965 · The Big Valley as Senator Jim Bannard
- 1965 · The Big Valley as Harry Bodine
- 1965 · F Troop as
- 1965 · The Sons of Katie Elder as Morgan Hastings
- 1965 · Quick, Before It Melts as Vice Admiral
- 1964 · Daniel Boone as Captain Asa Webb
- 1964 · A Distant Trumpet as Maj. Gen. Alexander Upton Quaint
- 1963 · Captain Newman, M.D. as Col. Edgar Pyser
- 1963 · Twilight of Honor as Norris Bixby
- 1963 · Kraft Suspense Theatre as Lieutenant Wade
- 1963 · The Fugitive as Pete Crandall
- 1963 · The Lieutenant as
- 1963 · PT 109 as Commander C.R. Ritchie
- 1962 · The Manchurian Candidate as Sen. John Yerkes Iselin
- 1962 · The Alfred Hitchcock Hour as Fred Kruger
- 1962 · The Virginian as Slim Jessup
- 1962 · The Virginian as Cal Young
- 1962 · Sam Benedict as
- 1962 · Two Weeks in Another Town as Brad Byrd
- 1961 · X-15 as Tom Deparma
- 1961 · The New Breed as Father Al
- 1961 · Ben Casey as
- 1961 · Target: The Corruptors! as
- 1961 · The Defenders as Paul Tasso
- 1960 · My Three Sons as
- 1960 · Thriller as Howard Yates
- 1960 · The Snows of Kilimanjaro as Editor
- 1959 · The Twilight Zone as Confederate Sergeant
- 1959 · The Twilight Zone as Air Force General
- 1959 · The DuPont Show with June Allyson as John Kramer
- 1959 · Laramie as
- 1959 · Bonanza as Mulvaney
- 1959 · Bonanza as Sgt. Mike Russell
- 1959 · Hey Boy! Hey Girl! as Father Burton
- 1959 · The Lawless Years as Barney Ruditsky
- 1959 · Al Capone as Schaefler (narrator)
- 1959 · Rawhide as Owen Spencer
- 1959 · Rawhide as Mister Brothers
- 1959 · Rawhide as Lash Whitcomb
- 1958 · Onionhead as Lt. Cmdr. Fox aka The Skipper
- 1958 · Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse as
- 1958 · A Town Has Turned to Dust as Hennify
- 1958 · Underwater Warrior as Lt. William Arnold
- 1957 · Gun Glory as Grimsell
- 1957 · The Big Caper as Flood
- 1957 · The Young Stranger as Sergeant Shipley
- 1956 · Nightfall as Ben Fraser
- 1956 · The Scarlet Hour as Ralph Nevins
- 1955 · Playwrights '56 as
- 1955 · Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Mr. Wescott
- 1955 · Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Wayne Campbell
- 1955 · Alfred Hitchcock Presents as John Gregory
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Scanlon, Sr.
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Judge Calvin Strom
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Wes Martin
- 1955 · Five in Judgement as Roy
- 1954 · Knife in the Dark as Willie
- 1954 · Climax! as Joe McCarthy
- 1954 · Climax! as Dr. Froelich
- 1954 · Inner Sanctum as
- 1954 · At This Moment as Bill Ritter
- 1953 · Letter to Loretta as Jim Patton
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Sandy Green
- 1951 · Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Morgan
- 1951 · Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Lieutenant Billy Kyle
- 1951 · Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as
- 1951 · The Frogmen as Chief Petty Officer Lane
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Mac
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Mr. Randolph
- 1950 · Danger as
- 1950 · Robert Montgomery Presents as
- 1949 · Suspense as
- 1949 · Suspense as Jerry
- 1948 · Studio One as Gas Man
- 1948 · Studio One as Mr. Black
- 1948 · Studio One as James Metcalf
- 1948 · Studio One as Mr. Bales
- 1948 · Studio One as George Monzo
- 1948 · Studio One as Corey
- 1948 · Studio One as Private Alan Pomeroy
- 1948 · The Philco Television Playhouse as
- 1948 · The Philco Television Playhouse as Lester Thompson
- 1948 · The Philco Television Playhouse as Angus
- 1948 · The Naked City as Patrolman Albert Hicks (uncredited)
- 1948 · The Things People Want as Pete