
James 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.
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.
Acting (66 movies)

Vivacious Lady
1938

I Walked with a Zombie
1943

The Undying Monster
1942

Charley's Aunt
1941

The Plainsman
1936

Fifth Avenue Girl
1939

Crooked River
1950

The Gang's All Here
1943

The Eagle's Brood
1935

Three on the Trail
1936

Hop-a-long Cassidy
1935

Call of the Prairie
1936

Heart of the West
1936

Bar 20 Rides Again
1935

Borderland
1937

Trail Dust
1936

The Ghost Goes Wild
1947

Hollywood and Vine
1945

The Winning Ticket
1935

Zenobia
1939

Play Girl
1941

Buried Loot
1935

Anne of Windy Poplars
1940

Calendar Girl
1947

Hitch Hike Lady
1935

Texas Lawmen
1951

Last of the Wild Horses
1948

Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore
1944

Hotel for Women
1939

Sorority House
1939

Almost a Gentleman
1939

Careful, Soft Shoulders
1942

The Texan Meets Calamity Jane
1950

Lady, Let's Dance
1944

When the Girls Take Over
1962

Annapolis Salute
1937

Mother Carey's Chickens
1938

23 1/2 Hours Leave
1937

You Can't Fool Your Wife
1940

Next Time I Marry
1938

Play Girl
1932

Ice-Capades
1941

Reckless
1935

That Other Woman
1942

Kentucky Jubilee
1951

They Met in Argentina
1941

The Barrier
1937

Army Surgeon
1942

Everybody's Dancin'
1950

Dixie Dugan
1943

Fast on the Draw
1950

Colorado Ranger
1950

Hostile Country
1950

Marshal of Heldorado
1950

West of the Brazos
1950

The Famous Ferguson Case
1932

Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case
1941

Oklahoma Justice
1951

Whistling Hills
1951

Dead Man's Trail
1952

G.I. War Brides
1946

The Leathernecks Have Landed
1936

I Killed Geronimo
1950

Man from the Black Hills
1952

Texas City
1952

Best Foot Forward
1943
| Title | Year | Job | 
|---|