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James Gregory

James Gregory

Actor · 1911 – 2002 · Bronx, New York, USA

James Gregory (December 23, 1911 – September 16, 2002) was an American actor. His best-known roles include Schaffer in Al Capone (1959), the McCarthy-like Sen. John Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), and Inspector Frank Luger in the television sitcom Barney Miller (1975–1982). Gregory 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. 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, 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. He married Anne Miltner in 1944; they were married for 58 years (until his death). During his Broadway career, Gregory earned consistently favorable reviews by drama critics from the New York Press, Boston Globe, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Hollywood Reporter and Variety. 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, 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. 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). One of his final roles, perhaps his most acclaimed, was as Inspector Frank Luger for the entire run of Barney Miller (1975 - 1982). As the Inspector, he would be lovable, irritating, ingratiating, exasperating, and humorous, sometimes all at the same time. Gregory retired from acting in 1983, with over 100 TV and movie credits.

Movies24

  • Movie6.2
  • Movie7.5

    The Manchurian Candidate

    1962 · 841 votes

  • Movie6.7

    Captain Newman, M.D.

    1963 · 35 votes

  • Movie7.0

    The Sons of Katie Elder

    1965 · 314 votes

  • Movie6.2

    Gun Glory

    1957 · 21 votes

  • Movie6.2
  • Movie6.1

    The Silencers

    1966 · 55 votes

  • Movie7.2

    The Naked City

    1948 · 292 votes

  • Movie6.2
  • Movie5.9
  • Movie6.8

    The Flight of Dragons

    1982 · 115 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Al Capone

    1959 · 57 votes

  • Movie5.8

    The Million Dollar Duck

    1971 · 97 votes

  • Movie5.8

    Clambake

    1967 · 49 votes

  • Movie5.3

    The Main Event

    1979 · 68 votes

  • Movie5.1

    The Ambushers

    1967 · 44 votes

  • Movie5.5

    The Hawaiians

    1970 · 20 votes

  • Movie6.3

    Shoot Out

    1971 · 96 votes

  • Movie4.8

    A Rage to Live

    1965 · 14 votes

  • Movie5.5

    A Distant Trumpet

    1964 · 32 votes

  • Movie5.5

    Onionhead

    1958 · 8 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Murderers' Row

    1966 · 47 votes

  • Movie6.9

    Nightfall

    1956 · 107 votes

  • Movie7.0

Series24

  • TV8.1

    Columbo

    1971 · 857 votes

  • TV6.3

    The Love Boat

    1977 · 199 votes

  • TV8.0

    Star Trek

    1966 · 1.6K votes

  • TV7.5

    Bonanza

    1959 · 500 votes

  • TV6.8

    Ironside

    1967 · 71 votes

  • TV7.5

    Quincy, M.E.

    1976 · 123 votes

  • TV7.9

    M*A*S*H

    1972 · 770 votes

  • TV7.3

    The Fugitive

    1963 · 63 votes

  • TV7.6

    Mission: Impossible

    1966 · 320 votes

  • TV7.9
  • TV7.5

    Hogan's Heroes

    1965 · 193 votes

  • TV7.2

    Hawaii Five-O

    1969 · 164 votes

  • TV7.0

    Daniel Boone

    1964 · 34 votes

  • TV6.0
  • TV8.5

    The Twilight Zone

    1959 · 1.1K votes

  • TV7.8

    Alfred Hitchcock Presents

    1955 · 265 votes

  • TV6.3

    The Defenders

    1961 · 11 votes

  • TV6.7

    Cannon

    1971 · 41 votes

  • TV6.5

    The Virginian

    1962 · 35 votes

  • TV8.0

    Emergency!

    1972 · 53 votes

  • TV5.4

    Studio One

    1948 · 13 votes

  • TV5.6

    The F.B.I.

    1965 · 25 votes

  • TV6.6

    My Three Sons

    1960 · 41 votes

  • TV3.8

    Climax!

    1954 · 12 votes