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person_profile-James Westerfield

James Westerfield Died at age: 58

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

James Westerfield

Date of Birth:

Mar 22, 1913

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

Sep 20, 1971

Biography of

James Westerfield

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    James A. Westerfield (22 March 1913 – 20 September 1971) was an American actor of stage, film, and television.

    Born in Nashville, Tennessee, to candy-maker Brasher Omier Westerfield and his wife Dora Elizabeth Bailey, he was raised in Detroit, Michigan. (A news story in the June 12, 1949, issue of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle calls the information in the preceding sentence into question. It describes Westerfield as "the son of a famous producer-director" and says that he was "a youngster in Denver, Col.")

    He became interested in theatre as a young man and in the 1930s joined Gilmor Brown's famed Pasadena Community Playhouse, appearing in dozens of plays. He played in numerous films following his debut in 1940, then went to New York City and appeared on Broadway, winning two New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for his supporting roles in The Madwoman of Chaillot and Detective Story. He then returned to Hollywood and made more than 40 more films. Westerfield maintained an interest in the theatre. He directed more than 50 musicals in a summer-musical tent he owned in Danbury, Connecticut, and was the original stage director and producer for the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. He directed three seasons of "Theatre Under the Stars" in Vancouver, British Columbia, and appeared in musical roles with the Detroit Civic Light Opera, the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, and the San Francisco Civic Light Opera.

    On film, Westerfield had roles in The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), On The Waterfront (1954), Lucy Gallant (1955), the 1957 Budd Boetticher-directed Western Decision at Sundown starring Randolph Scott, Cowboy (1958), a repeating role in The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and its sequel Son of Flubber (1963), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), Man's Favorite Sport (1964), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), Hang 'Em High (1968) and True Grit (1969).

    Westerfield had many roles on television, including seven episodes as John Murrel from 1963 to 1964 on ABC's The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, starring child actor Kurt Russell in the title role. He made two guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Sheriff Bert Elmore in the 1957 episode, "The Case of the Angry Mourner." He also appeared in an episode of The Lone Ranger in 1954 entitled "Texas Draw."

    Westerfield's other appearances were on such series as The Rifleman, The Californians, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, The Alaskans, The Rebel, Straightaway, Going My Way, The Asphalt Jungle, Hazel, The Andy Griffith Show, Daniel Boone, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Gunsmoke. He played the circus leader, Dr. Marvello, in an episode of Lost in Space "Space Circus" (1966).

    Westerfield as a young man was a roommate of fellow Pasadena Playhouse actor George Reeves. The two remained close friends until Reeves's death in 1959.

    Westerfield was married to Alice G. Fay (an actress under the name Fay Tracey), who, along with his mother, survived him. Westerfield died from a heart attack in Woodlands Hills, California, at the age of fifty-eight.

Photos of

James Westerfield

Photos ( 1 Photos

Filmography of

James Westerfield

Found 53 Movies in total

Dead Aim

John Applebee ( Actor )

... 1971

The Boy Who Stole the Elephant

Sheriff Berry ( Actor )

... 1970

The Love God?

Rev. Wilkerson ( Actor )

... 1969

True Grit

Judge Parker ( Actor )

... 1969

Smith!

Sheriff ( Actor )

... 1969

Now You See It, Now You Don't

Capt. Boyle ( Actor )

... 1968

Blue

Abe Parker ( Actor )

... 1968

Hang 'em High

Prisoner ( Actor )

... 1968

A Man Called Gannon

Amos ( Actor )

... 1968

Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round

Jack Balter ( Actor )

... 1966

Scalplock

Nehemiah ( Actor )

... 1966

The Further Adventures of Gallegher

Charley Mardis ( Actor )

... 1965

That Funny Feeling

Officer Brokaw ( Actor )

... 1965

The Sons of Katie Elder

Mr. Vennar ( Actor )

... 1965

Bikini Beach

Cop #2 ( Actor )

... 1964

Man's Favorite Sport?

Policeman ( Actor )

... 1964

Son of Flubber

Officer Hanson ( Actor )

... 1963

Birdman of Alcatraz

Jess Younger ( Actor )

... 1962

Homicidal

Alfred S. Adrims ( Actor )

... 1961

The Absent-Minded Professor

Officer Hanson ( Actor )

... 1961

The Plunderers

Mike Baron ( Actor )

... 1960

Wild River

Cal Garth ( Actor )

... 1960

The Hangman

Herb Loftus ( Actor )

... 1959

The Gunfight at Dodge City

Reverend Howard ( Actor )

... 1959

The Shaggy Dog

Officer Hanson ( Actor )

... 1959

Old Man

Warden ( Actor )

... 1958

The Proud Rebel

Birm Bates ( Actor )

... 1958

Cowboy

Mike Adams ( Actor )

... 1958

Decision at Sundown

Otis, the Bartender ( Actor )

... 1957

Jungle Heat

Harvey Mathews ( Actor )

... 1957

The Helen Morgan Story

Frank Piggin ( Actor )

... 1957

Three Brave Men

Chief O'Reilly ( Actor )

... 1956

... 1956

Man with the Gun

Mr. Zender (drummer) ( Actor )

... 1955

Lucy Gallant

Harry Wilson ( Actor )

... 1955

The Scarlet Coat

Col. Jameson ( Actor )

... 1955

The Cobweb

James Petlee ( Actor )

... 1955

Chief Crazy Horse

Caleb Mantz ( Actor )

... 1955

The Violent Men

Sheriff Magruder ( Actor )

... 1955

Three Hours to Kill

Sam Minor ( Actor )

... 1954

The Human Jungle

Marty Harrison ( Actor )

... 1954

On the Waterfront

Big Mac ( Actor )

... 1954

The Whistle at Eaton Falls

Joe London ( Actor )

... 1951

Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town

Harvey (Zoo Attendant) (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1950

Side Street

Charlie (policeman) ( Actor )

... 1950

The Chase

Job the Butler ( Actor )

... 1946

Undercurrent

Henry Gilson ( Actor )

... 1946

Around the World

Bashful Marine ( Actor )

... 1943

The Pride of the Yankees

Spectator (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1942

The Magnificent Ambersons

Policeman at Accident (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1942

About Face

Soldier with Daisy (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1942

Highway West

Swede, Trucker at Cafe ( Actor )

... 1941

The Howards of Virginia

Backwoodsman ( Actor )

... 1940