James Gammon
James Richard Gammon (April 20, 1940 – July 16, 2010) was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series. Gammon portrayed Lou Brown, the manager in the movies Major League and Major League II, fictionalized versions of the Cleveland Indians. He was also known for his role as the retired longshoreman Nick Bridges on the CBS television crime drama Nash Bridges.
James Gammon | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 20, 1940 Newman, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | July 16, 2010 (aged 70) Costa Mesa, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1966–2009 |
| Spouse | Nancy Jane Kapusta (m. 1972–2010) |
Biography
Early life
Gammon was born in Newman, Illinois, the son of Doris Latimer (née Toppe), a farm girl,[1][2] and Donald Gammon, a musician. After his parents divorced, he made his way to Orlando, Florida. He worked at Orlando's ABC TV affiliate WLOF-TV (Channel 9), as a cameraman and director. In his 20s, he packed up and moved to Hollywood to find work.[2]
Acting career
In the 1970s, Gammon helped found the Met Theatre in Los Angeles. While performing there, a rep from The Public Theater saw him and had him cast as Weston in Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class in 1978. The two became friends afterward.[2] He made his sole Broadway appearance as "Dodge" in a revival of Sam Shepard's Buried Child. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance. He appeared on stage in Sam Shepard's San Francisco debut of The Late Henry Moss along with Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, Cheech Marin (both of Nash Bridges) and Woody Harrelson in 2000.
Gammon may be best-remembered for his characters Lou Brown, manager of the Cleveland Indians in the Major League films; and Nick Bridges, the father of Don Johnson's title character in the television series Nash Bridges. He appeared in the films Cool Hand Luke (1967), Urban Cowboy (1980), Any Which Way You Can (1980), Silverado (1985), Noon Wine (1985), The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), Major League (1989), Revenge (1990), The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993), Major League II (1994), Wyatt Earp (1994), Wild Bill (1995), Truman (1995), The Hi-Lo Country (1998), Cold Mountain (2003), and more recently Appaloosa (2008). He also had an uncredited role in Natural Born Killers (1994).
Gammon portrayed a Korean War veteran on the hit ABC series Grey's Anatomy. He played Charles Goodnight in Streets of Laredo. In 2006, he played the stern grandfather, Sam, brother of notorious outlaw Butch Cassidy, in the film Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy. Gammon also plays a supporting role in Appaloosa (2008).
Gammon provided the voices of the animated characters Marv Loach and Floyd Turbeaux in the 1999 Warner Bros. feature film The Iron Giant.
Personal life
His first marriage ended in divorce. He has a brother, Philip, and a sister, Sandra (Glaudell). He was married to Nancy Jane Kapusta from 1972 until his death. He has two daughters, Allison Mann and Amy Gammon.[2]
Death and legacy
Gammon died of adrenal gland and liver cancer in Costa Mesa, California, at the age of 70.[3]
His friend, Sam Shepard, paid tribute to Gammon, saying: "You're probably aware of the notorious father figures in my plays, alcoholic Midwesterners who leave their families and get lost in the Southwestern desert. Jimmy had that familiarity about him with the way I grew up, the guys with the voice and the face and the whiskey. He definitely rang a bell with me."[2]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Cool Hand Luke | Sleepy | Uncredited, Supporting Role |
| 1968 | Journey to Shiloh | Tellis Yeager | Supporting Role |
| 1969 | The Thousand Plane Raid | Major Varga | Supporting Role |
| 1970 | A Man Called Horse | Ed | Supporting Role |
| Macho Callahan | Cowboy | Supporting Role | |
| The Intruders (filmed in 1967) | Chaunce Dykstra | TV Movie, Supporting Role | |
| 1972 | Cry for Me, Billy | Amos | Supporting Role |
| 1974 | Zandy's Bride | Man in Gunfight | Uncredited |
| Macon County Line | Elisha | Supporting Role | |
| 1975 | The Wild McCullochs | 1st Police Officer | Supporting Role |
| The Kansas City Massacre | Garth | TV Movie, Supporting Role | |
| 1976 | Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw | Leather Salesman | Minor Role |
| The Pom Pom Girls | Coach | Minor Role | |
| 1977 | Black Oak Conspiracy | Deputy | Minor Role |
| The Greatest | Mr. Harry | Minor Role | |
| 1979 | The Sacketts | Wes Bigelow | TV movie |
| 1980 | On the Nickel | Peanut John | Supporting Role |
| Urban Cowboy | Steve Strange | Supporting Role | |
| Rage! | Joe Dean | TV movie | |
| It's My Turn | Connie Foxworth | Uncredited | |
| Any Which Way You Can | Palomino Bartender | Supporting Role | |
| Below the Belt | Luke | Supporting Role | |
| 1981 | The Big Black Pill | Captain Jake Jacqualone | TV movie |
| 1982 | Deadly Encounter | Frank Kitchens | TV movie |
| The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez | Sheriff Frank Fly | ||
| 1983 | M.A.D.D.: Mothers Against Drunk Drivers | Willard Kohler | TV movie |
| Women of San Quentin | Officer | TV movie | |
| 1985 | Noon Wine | Sheriff | TV movie |
| Vision Quest | Mr. Kuchera | Supporting Role | |
| Hell Town | Lieutenant Raymond Tracy | TV Movie | |
| Sylvester | Steve | Supporting Role | |
| Silverado | Dawson | Supporting Role | |
| The Long Hot Summer | Billy Quick | TV movie | |
| Silver Bullet | Arnie Westrum | Supporting Role | |
| 1986 | Hard Traveling | Sgt. Slattery | Supporting Role |
| 1987 | Made in Heaven | Steve Shea | Supporting Role |
| Laguna Heat | Grimes | TV movie | |
| Ironweed | Reverend Chester | Supporting Role | |
| 1988 | The Milagro Beanfield War | Horsethief Shorty | Supporting Role |
| 1989 | Major League | Lou Brown | |
| Roe vs. Wade | Jimmy Russell | TV movie | |
| 1990 | Revenge | Texan | Supporting Role |
| Coupe de Ville | Dr. Sturgeon the Cadillac Surgeon | Supporting Role | |
| I Love You to Death | Lt. Larry Schooner | Supporting Role | |
| 1991 | Conagher | Smoke Parnell, Ladder Five Owner | TV movie |
| Stranger at My Door | Sheriff Bitterman | TV movie | |
| 1992 | Leaving Normal | Walt | Supporting Role |
| CrissCross | Emmett | Supporting Role | |
| Criminal Behavior | Roy Stubbs | TV movie | |
| 1993 | Men Don't Tell | Jack MacAffrey | TV movie |
| The Adventures of Huck Finn | Deputy Hines | Supporting Role | |
| Running Cool | Ironbutt Garrett | Supporting Role | |
| Painted Desert | Al | Supporting Role | |
| 1994 | Cabin Boy | Paps | Supporting Role |
| Major League II | Lou Brown | Supporting Role | |
| Wyatt Earp | Mr. Sutherland | Supporting Role | |
| Hard Vice | Bronski | Supporting Role | |
| Natural Born Killers | Redneck's Buddy in the Diner | Uncredited, Supporting Role | |
| 1995 | Truman | Sam Rayburn | TV movie |
| Wild Bill | California Joe | Supporting Role | |
| 1996 | Two Mothers for Zachary | Chalmer | TV movie |
| 1997 | Traveller | Double D | Supporting Role |
| The Apostle | Brother Edwards | Uncredited | |
| 1998 | The Man in the Iron Mask | The Commandant | Supporting Role |
| Point Blank | Dad | Supporting Role | |
| Love from Ground Zero | Hat | Supporting Role | |
| Logan's War: Bound by Honor | Ben | TV movie | |
| The Hi-Lo Country | Hoover Young | Supporting Role | |
| 1999 | You Know My Name | Real Arkansas Tom | TV movie |
| The Iron Giant | Marv Loach / Floyd Turbeaux | Voice | |
| One Man's Hero | Gen. Zachary Taylor | Supporting Role | |
| 2000 | The Cell | Teddy Lee | Supporting Role |
| 2002 | Life or Something Like It | Pat Kerrigan | Supporting Role |
| The Country Bears | Big Al | Voice | |
| 2003 | Monte Walsh | Fighting Joe Hooker / Albert Miller | TV movie |
| Cold Mountain | Esco Swanger | Supporting Role | |
| 2004 | Silver City | Sheriff Joe Skaggs | Supporting Role |
| Paradise | Old cowboy | TV movie | |
| 2005 | Don't Come Knocking | Old Ranch Hand | Supporting Role |
| 2006 | Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy | Sam Parker | Supporting Role |
| The Far Side of Jericho | The Preacher | Supporting Role | |
| Altered | Sheriff Henderson | Supporting Role | |
| What I Did for Love | Karl Ryder | TV movie | |
| 2007 | Jesse Stone: Sea Change | Bob | TV movie |
| The Final Season | Jared Akers | Supporting Role | |
| 2008 | Appaloosa | Earl May | Supporting Role |
| 2009 | In the Electric Mist | Ben Hebert | Supporting Role |
| Convict | The Sheriff | ||
| The New Daughter | Roger Wayne | (final film role) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Episodes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Wild Wild West | Egan | The Night of the Freebooters | Episodic character |
| The Monroes | Stennis | Night of the Wolf | ||
| 1966-1967 | The Road West | Deputy Virgil Bramley / Pete Fowler | The Agreement (1967) / The Gunfighter (1966) | |
| 1966-1973 | Gunsmoke | Arnie Jeffords / Dudley | My Father, My Son (1966) / Susan Was Evil (1973) | |
| 1967 | Captain Nice | — | Whatever Lola Wants | |
| Bonanza | Harry Jeffers | The Man Without Land | ||
| The Invaders | Hal | The Spores | ||
| Batman | Osiris | The Unkindest Tut of All | ||
| Felony Squad | Mickey | Ordeal by Terror | ||
| The Virginian | Cal Mason | A Small Taste of Justice | ||
| 1968-1969 | Lancer | Clint Meek / Wes | Blind Man's Bluff (1969) / Chase a Wild Horse (1968) | |
| 1970 | The High Chaparral | Lafe | Only the Bad Come to Sonora (1970) | |
| 1971-1974 | The F.B.I. | Cauldwell / Ben McCarty | Diamond Run (1974) / Turnabout (1971) | |
| 1971-1976 | Cannon | Sheriff Ryder / Keely | The Quasar Kill (1976) / Country Blues (1971) | |
| 1973 | Dusty's Trail | Roy | Horse of Another Color (1973) | |
| 1973-1975 | The Waltons | Zack Rosswell | 8 Episodes (1973–1975) | Recurring Character |
| 1974 | Kung Fu | Jake | The Nature of Evil (1974) | Episodic character |
| 1975 | Barnaby Jones | Andy Lucker | The Final Burial (1974) | |
| 1976 | Petrocelli | Harry | Blood Money (1976) | |
| Most Wanted | — | The Torch (1976) | ||
| 1977-1978 | Charlie's Angels | Gates / Billy | Angels in the Stretch (1978) / Angels on Ice (1977) | |
| 1979 | Lou Grant | — | Samaritan (1979) | |
| 1984 | The Master | — | A Place to Call Home (1984) | |
| Cagney & Lacey | Brian Holgate | Old Debts (1984) | ||
| 1985 | Murder, She Wrote | Billy Don Baker | Armed Response (1985) | |
| 1986 | The Equalizer | Michael Cub | Out of the Past (1986) | |
| 1987 | Crime Story | Jack Claymore | The Pinnacle; The Survivor (1987) | |
| American Playhouse | Clate Connaloe | Stacking (1987) | ||
| 1988 | Lincoln | Gen. Ulysses S. Grant | 2 episodes | television film |
| 1989 | Midnight Caller | Pete Hanrahan | Tarnished Shield (1989) | Episodic character |
| In the Heat of the Night | Sheriff Ketch Monroe | A Trip Upstate (1986) | Episodic character | |
| 1990-1991 | Bagdad Cafe | Rudy | 15 Episodes (1990–1991) | Recurring Character |
| 1991 | The Young Riders | Elias Mills | The Blood of Others (1991) | Episodic Character |
| 1992 | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Teddy Roosevelt | British East Africa, September 1909 (1992) | |
| 1992-1993 | Homefront | Coach Zelnick | 8 Episodes (1992–1993) | Recurring Character |
| 1993-1994 | L.A. Law | Rev. Joseph Halliday / Thomas Quinn | God is My Co-Counsel (1994) / F.O.B. (1993) | Episodic Character |
| 1996-2001 | Nash Bridges | Nick Bridges | 49 Episodes (1996–2001) | Recurring Character |
| 1999 | Tracey Takes On... | Uncle Shep | "Hype" (1999) | Episodic Character |
| 2003 | Fillmore! | Doc Hemlock | Two Wheels, Full Throtle, No Brakes (2003) | Voice |
| 2004 | LAX | Bill Barkley | The Longest Morning (2004) | Episodic Character |
| Crossing Jordan | Olin Price | Justice Delayed (2004) | ||
| 2007 | Monk | Oates | Mr. Monk Visits a Farm (2007) | |
| Grey's Anatomy | Mr. Scofield | Scars and Souvenirs (2007) |
References
External links
- James Gammon at IMDb
- James Gammon(Aveleyman)