JG
James Gregory
Actor
Died September 16, 2002 (90 years)
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.
Filmography
| 1985 | Mr. Belvedere (TV Series) · as Mr. Sparks |
| 1982 | The Atomic Cafe · as Soldier |
| 1982 | The Flight of Dragons · as Bryagh / Smrgol |
| 1979 | The Main Event · as Leo Gough |
| 1977 | The Love Boat (TV Series) · as Milton Benson |
| 1976 | Quincy, M.E. (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1975 | The Strongest Man in the World · as Chief Blair |
| 1975 | Barney Miller (TV Series) · as Frank Luger |
| 1974 | Kolchak: The Night Stalker (TV Series) · as Captain Quill |
| 1973 | Miracle on 34th Street · as District Attorney |
| 1973 | Police Story (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1972 | M*A*S*H (TV Series) · as General Kelly |
| 1972 | The Streets of San Francisco (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1972 | Emergency! (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1972 | Sanford and Son (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1971 | The Million Dollar Duck · as Rutledge |
| 1971 | Shoot Out · as Sam Foley |
| 1971 | The Late Liz · as Sam Burns |
| 1971 | Columbo (TV Series) · as David Buckner |
| 1971 | Cannon (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1971 | All in the Family (TV Series) · as William R. Kirkwood |
| 1970 | The Hawaiians · as Dr. Whipple Sr. |
| 1970 | The Partridge Family (TV Series) · as Claude Tubbles |
| 1970 | McCloud (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1970 | Beneath the Planet of the Apes · as Ursus |
| 1969 | Night Gallery (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1969 | Love, American Style (TV Series) · as Marty (segment "Love and the Plane Fantasy") |
| 1968 | The Secret War of Harry Frigg · as Gen. Homer Prentiss |
| 1968 | The Outcasts (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1968 | The Name of the Game (TV Series) · as Senator Tucker |
| 1968 | The Mod Squad (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1968 | Hawaii Five-O (TV Series) · as Jonathan Kaye |
| 1967 | Clambake · as Duster Heyward |
| 1967 | The Ambushers · as MacDonald |
| 1967 | The High Chaparral (TV Series) · as Jake Stoner |
| 1967 | Cimarron Strip (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1967 | Ironside (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1966 | The Silencers · as MacDonald |
| 1966 | Murderers' Row · as MacDonald |
| 1966 | Tarzan (1966) (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1966 | Star Trek (TV Series) · as Dr. Tristan Adams |
| 1966 | Mission: Impossible (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1966 | That Girl (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1965 | The Sons of Katie Elder · as Morgan Hastings |
| 1965 | A Rage to Live · as Dr. O'Brien |
| 1965 | The Wild Wild West (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1965 | The Big Valley (TV Series) · as Harry Bodine |
| 1965 | Hogan's Heroes (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1965 | F Troop (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1965 | The F.B.I. (TV Series) · as Bert Anslem |
| 1964 | A Distant Trumpet · as Maj. Gen. Alexander Upton Quaint |
| 1964 | Daniel Boone (TV Series) · as Captain Asa Webb |
| 1964 | The Rogues (TV Series) · as Augustus Lineen |
| 1963 | PT 109 · as Commander C.R. Ritchie |
| 1963 | Captain Newman, M.D. · as Col. Edgar Pyser |
| 1963 | The Lieutenant (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1963 | The Fugitive (TV Series) · as Pete Crandall |
| 1963 | Breaking Point (TV Series) · as Malcolm |
| 1963 | Kraft Suspense Theatre (TV Series) · as Lieutenant Wade |
| 1962 | The Manchurian Candidate · as Sen. John Yerkes Iselin |
| 1962 | Two Weeks in Another Town · as Brad Byrd |
| 1962 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV Series) · as Fred Kruger |
| 1962 | The Virginian (TV Series) · as Slim Jessup |
| 1961 | X-15 · as Tom Deparma |
| 1960 | Thriller (TV Series) · as Howard Yates |
| 1960 | My Three Sons (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1960 | Checkmate (TV Series) · as Judge Ralph Addison |
| 1959 | Al Capone · as Schaefler (narrator) |
| 1959 | The Lawless Years (TV Series) · as Barney Ruditsky |
| 1959 | Rawhide (TV Series) · as Mister Brothers |
| 1959 | |
| 1959 | Laramie (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1959 | The Twilight Zone (TV Series) · as Air Force General |
| 1959 | The Untouchables (TV Series) · as Walter Trager |
| 1958 | Onionhead · as Lt. Cmdr. Fox aka The Skipper |
| 1958 | Underwater Warrior · as Lt. William Arnold |
| 1957 | The Big Caper · as Flood |
| 1957 | The Young Stranger · as Sergeant Shipley |
| 1957 | Gun Glory · as Grimsell |
| 1957 | Suspicion (TV Series) · as Morton Noble |
| 1957 | Wagon Train (TV Series) · as Ricky Bell |
| 1956 | Nightfall · as Ben Fraser |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke (TV Series) · as Judge Calvin Strom |
| 1955 | Star Tonight (TV Series) · as actor |
| 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) · as John Gregory |
| 1954 | Climax! (TV Series) · as Joe McCarthy |
| 1954 | Disneyland (TV Series) · as Sheriff Dodds |
| 1953 | General Electric Theater (TV Series) · as Sandy Green |
| 1953 | The Loretta Young Show (TV Series) · as Jim Patton |
| 1951 | The Frogmen · as Chief Petty Officer Lane |
| 1950 | The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as Mr. Randolph |
| 1949 | Suspense (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1948 | The Naked City · as Patrolman Albert Hicks (uncredited) |
| 1948 | Studio One (TV Series) · as Mr. Black |