Image of James Gregory

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, N.Y. 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 W.W.II; 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.


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Born:
Dec 23, 1911 In Bronx, New York, USA
Movie/TV Credits:
127
First Appeared:
In the movie The Naked City 1948-03-04
Latest Project:
Movie 4/20 Massacre 2018-04-03
Known For
Poster of Onionhead
Poster of Underwater Warrior
Poster of The Young Stranger
Poster of At This Moment
Filmography
Movie 4/20 Massacre The Shape 2018-04-03
Movie Hail, Caesar! Slave (uncredited) 2016-02-05
Movie Fist of the Warrior Man with bat 2007-06-04
Movie Blood Revenge Marshall 1998-01-01
Movie Carnival of Souls Headless demon 1998-08-21
Movie Wait Till Your Mother Gets Home Dan Peters 1983-01-17
Movie The Flight of Dragons Bryagh / Smrgol (voice) 1982-08-17
Movie Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood Leo Hackett 1981-02-19
Movie The Comeback Kid Scotty 1980-04-11
Movie Gridlock Gen. Caribou Caruthers 1980-10-02
Movie The Main Event Gough 1979-06-22
Series Detective School 1979-07-31
Movie The Bastard Will Campbell 1978-05-22
Series Flying High Unknown 1978-09-29
Series The Love Boat Unknown 1977-09-24
Series All's Fair Unknown 1976-09-20
Series Quincy, M.E. Unknown 1976-10-03
Movie Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident James Donovan 1976-09-29
Series Barney Miller Unknown 1975-01-23
Movie The Strongest Man in the World Chief Blair 1975-02-06
Series Kolchak: The Night Stalker Unknown 1974-09-13
Series Police Story Unknown 1973-03-20
Movie Miracle on 34th Street District Attorney 1973-12-14
Movie A Very Missing Person Oscar Piper 1972-03-04
Series Emergency! Unknown 1972-01-22
Series The Paul Lynde Show Unknown 1972-09-13
Movie The Marshal of Madrid Oil Tycoon 1972-01-01
Series Sanford and Son Unknown 1972-01-14
Movie The Weekend Nun Sid Richardson 1972-12-21
Series Search Unknown 1972-09-13
Series The Streets of San Francisco Unknown 1972-09-23
Series M*A*S*H Unknown 1972-09-17
Movie The Million Dollar Duck Rutledge 1971-06-30
Series All in the Family Unknown 1971-01-12
Movie Shoot Out Sam Foley 1971-07-02
Movie The Late Liz Sam Burns 1971-09-01
Series Columbo David Buckner) 1971-09-15
Series Cannon Unknown 1971-09-14
Series McCloud Unknown 1970-02-17
Movie Beneath the Planet of the Apes Ursus 1970-04-23
Series Night Gallery Unknown 1970-12-16
Series The Headmaster Unknown 1970-09-18
Movie The Hawaiians Dr. Whipple Sr. (uncredited) 1970-06-17
Movie The Love God? Darrell Evans Hughes 1969-08-01
Series My World and Welcome to It Unknown 1969-09-15
Series The Outsider Unknown 1968-09-18
Series Premiere Unknown 1968-07-01
Movie Cocoon Jonathan Kaye 1968-09-20
Movie The Secret War of Harry Frigg Gen. Homer Prentiss 1968-02-29
Series Hawaii Five-O Unknown 1968-09-20
Series Lancer Unknown 1968-09-24
Series The Mod Squad Unknown 1968-09-24
Series The Outcasts Unknown 1968-09-23
Series Cimarron Strip Unknown 1967-09-07
Series Ironside Unknown 1967-03-28
Series Judd for the Defense Unknown 1967-09-08
Movie The Hunted Buckman 1967-10-05
Series The High Chaparral Unknown 1967-09-10
Movie The Ambushers MacDonald 1967-12-22
Movie Clambake Duster Heyward 1967-12-04
Series Tarzan Unknown 1966-09-08
Movie The Silencers MacDonald 1966-02-18
Series That Girl Unknown 1966-09-08
Movie Murderers' Row MacDonald 1966-12-20
Series Star Trek Dr. Tristan Adams 1966-09-08
Series Mission: Impossible Unknown 1966-09-17
Series F Troop Unknown 1965-09-14
Movie The Sons of Katie Elder Morgan Hastings 1965-06-23
Movie Quick, Before It Melts Vice Admiral 1965-01-20
Series The Wild Wild West Unknown 1965-09-17
Series The Big Valley Unknown 1965-09-15
Movie A Rage to Live Dr. O'Brien 1965-10-20
Series The F.B.I. Unknown 1965-09-19
Series The Loner Unknown 1965-09-18
Series Hogan's Heroes Unknown 1965-09-17
Movie A Distant Trumpet Maj. Gen. Alexander Upton Quaint 1964-05-20
Series Daniel Boone Unknown 1964-09-24
Series The Lieutenant Unknown 1963-09-14
Movie PT 109 Commander C.R. Ritchie 1963-06-26
Series The Fugitive Unknown 1963-09-17
Series Kraft Suspense Theatre Unknown 1963-10-10
Movie Captain Newman, M.D. Col. Edgar Pyser 1963-12-25
Movie Twilight of Honor Norris Bixby 1963-11-13
Movie Two Weeks in Another Town Brad Byrd 1962-08-17
Series Sam Benedict Unknown 1962-09-15
Series The Virginian Unknown 1962-09-19
Movie The Manchurian Candidate Sen. John Yerkes Iselin 1962-10-24
Series The Dick Powell Show Unknown 1961-09-26
Series Target: The Corruptors! Unknown 1961-09-29
Series The New Breed Unknown 1961-10-03
Movie X-15 Tom Deparma 1961-12-22
Series Ben Casey Unknown 1961-10-02
Series Thriller Unknown 1960-09-13
Series My Three Sons Unknown 1960-09-29
Movie Al Capone Schaefler (narrator) 1959-03-25
Series The Lawless Years Barney Ruditsky 1959-04-16
Series Rawhide Unknown 1959-01-09
Series The Twilight Zone Air Force General 1959-10-02
Movie Hey Boy! Hey Girl! Father Burton 1959-08-05
Series The DuPont Show with June Allyson Unknown 1959-09-21
Series Laramie Unknown 1959-09-15
Movie A Town Has Turned to Dust Hennify 1958-06-19
Movie Underwater Warrior Lt. William Arnold 1958-02-14
Series Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Unknown 1958-10-06
Movie Onionhead Lt. Cmdr. Fox aka The Skipper 1958-10-25
Movie The Young Stranger Sergeant Shipley 1957-02-01
Movie The Big Caper Flood 1957-03-28
Movie Gun Glory Grimsell 1957-07-19
Movie The Scarlet Hour Ralph Nevins 1956-04-01
Movie Nightfall Ben Fraser 1956-11-09
Series Alfred Hitchcock Presents Unknown 1955-10-02
Series Gunsmoke Unknown 1955-09-10
Series Playwrights '56 Unknown 1955-10-04
Movie At This Moment Bill Ritter 1954-01-01
Series Inner Sanctum Unknown 1954-01-09
Series Climax! Unknown 1954-10-07
Series General Electric Theater Unknown 1953-02-01
Series Letter to Loretta Unknown 1953-09-20
Movie The Frogmen Chief Petty Officer Lane 1951-01-25
Series Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Unknown 1951-10-05
Series Danger Unknown 1950-09-26
Series Robert Montgomery Presents Unknown 1950-01-30
Series Lux Video Theatre Unknown 1950-10-02
Series Suspense Unknown 1949-01-06
Movie The Naked City Patrolman Albert Hicks (uncredited) 1948-03-04
Series Studio One Unknown 1948-11-07
Series The Philco Television Playhouse Unknown 1948-10-03