Skip to main content
James Dunn

James Dunn

Actor · 1901 – 1967 · New York City, New York, USA

James Dunn worked on the stage, in vaudeville and as an extra in silent movies before he was signed by Fox in 1931. His first movie with Fox was 1931's Sob Sister (1931). While at Fox, he appeared with Shirley Temple in her first three features: Baby Take a Bow (1934), Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) and Bright Eyes (1934). Dunn's screen character was usually the boy next door or the nice guy. In 1935 musicals at the new 20th Century-Fox were out and Dunn would move to the "B" list, from which he would never return. In The Payoff (1935) he plays the nice guy newspaper columnist whose wife ruins his career. By the late 1930s he was drinking heavily and become unemployable. He would appear in small roles in films during the early 1940s, but those parts were few. In 1945 he was able to make a comeback and win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), but his rejuvenated career would not continue. By 1951 he would again be unemployed and bankrupt. Television would later supply some work and he would be a regular on the series It's a Great Life (1954). Dunn was born 2 November 1901, New York City, New York, USA, and he died 1 September 1967, Santa Monica, California, USA  (following abdominal surgery)

Movies24

  • Movie7.5

    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

    1945 · 111 votes

  • Movie9.0

    A Wonderful Life

    1950 · 1 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Government Girl

    1943 · 9 votes

  • Movie5.1

    The Oscar

    1966 · 17 votes

  • Movie6.0

    Bad Girl

    1931 · 41 votes

  • Movie6.0

    Hello, Sister!

    1933 · 15 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Baby Take a Bow

    1934 · 21 votes

  • Movie6.3
  • Movie10.0

    Mercy Plane

    1939 · 1 votes

  • Movie5.6
  • Movie5.3

    Stand Up and Cheer!

    1934 · 12 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Sob Sister

    1931 · 1 votes

  • Movie10.0

    The Daring Young Man

    1935 · 1 votes

  • Movie7.1

    We Have Our Moments

    1937 · 4 votes

  • Movie4.2

    The Girl in 419

    1933 · 5 votes

  • Movie4.4

    Leave It to the Irish

    1944 · 6 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Deliverance

    1919 · 3 votes

  • Movie6.7

    Bright Eyes

    1934 · 30 votes

  • Movie6.0

    Take It or Leave It

    1944 · 2 votes

  • Movie
  • Movie7.0
  • Movie10.0

    Don’t Get Personal

    1936 · 1 votes

  • Movie5.5

    That Brennan Girl

    1946 · 13 votes

  • Movie9.0

Series24

  • TV7.5

    Bonanza

    1959 · 500 votes

  • TV7.3

    The Fugitive

    1963 · 63 votes

  • TV3.8

    Climax!

    1954 · 12 votes

  • TV6.0
  • TV6.5

    The Virginian

    1962 · 35 votes

  • TV5.3

    Matinee Theater

    1955 · 7 votes

  • TV5.4

    Studio One

    1948 · 13 votes

  • TV5.9
  • TV5.7

    Naked City

    1958 · 13 votes

  • TV5.9

    Ben Casey

    1961 · 15 votes

  • TV7.3

    Rawhide

    1959 · 50 votes

  • TV7.1

    Wanted: Dead or Alive

    1958 · 38 votes

  • TV6.7

    Route 66

    1960 · 20 votes

  • TV6.8

    Branded

    1965 · 18 votes

  • TV6.7

    Lux Video Theatre

    1950 · 7 votes

  • TV7.0
  • TV10.0

    The Great Adventure

    1963 · 1 votes

  • TV7.9
  • TV8.0

    Vacation Playhouse

    1963 · 2 votes

  • TV5.8

    Going My Way

    1962 · 5 votes

  • TV6.0

    The Investigators

    1961 · 2 votes

  • TV6.8
  • TV7.2
  • TV8.0

    It's a Great Life

    1954 · 1 votes