James Flavin

American character actor whose career lasted nearly half a century. James Wilson Flavin Jr. was the son of a hotel waiter of Canadian-English extraction and a mother, Katherine, whose father was an Irish immigrant. (Thus Flavin, well-known in Hollywood as an "Irish" type, was only one-quarter Irish.) Flavin was born and raised in Portland, Maine (a fact that may have enrichened his later working relationship with director John Ford, also a Portland native). He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, but (contrary to some sources) did not graduate. Instead he dropped out and returned to Portland where he drove a taxi. Then as now, summer stock companies flocked to Maine each year, and in 1929 he was asked to fill in for an actor. He did well with the part and the company manager offered him $150 per week to go with the troupe back to New York. Flavin accepted and by the spring of 1930 was living in a rooming house at 108 W. 87th Street in Manhattan. Flavin didn't manage to crack Broadway at this time (his Broadway debut would not occur for another thirty-nine years, in the 1971 revival of "The Front Page," in which Flavin played Murphy and briefly took over the lead role of Walter Burns from star Robert Ryan). He worked his way across the country in stock productions and tours, arriving in Los Angeles around 1932. He quickly made the transition to movies, landing the lead in his very first film, a Universal serial, The Airmail Mystery (1932). He also landed his leading lady, marrying the serial's female star Lucile Browne that same year. However, the serial marked virtually the last time that Flavin would play the lead in a film. Thereafter, he was restricted almost exclusively to supporting characters, many of them without so much as a name. He specialized in uniformed cops and hard-bitten detectives, but played chauffeurs, cabbies, and even a 16th-century palace guard with aplomb. Flavin appeared in nearly four hundred films between 1932 and 1971, and in almost a hundred television episodes before his final appearance, as President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident (1976). Flavin died of a heart ailment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on April 23, 1976. His widow Lucile died seventeen days later. They were survived by their son, William James Flavin, subsequently a professor at the United States Army War College. James and Lucile Brown Flavin were buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Filmography (320 Appearances)

The Lost Spider Pit Sequence

2005

Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident

1976

Law and Order

1976

The Brady Bunch

1969

In Cold Blood

1967

Good Times

1967

The Pruitts of Southampton

1966

The Further Adventures of Gallegher

1965

Cheyenne Autumn

1964

The Addams Family

1964

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

1963

Mr. Novak

1963

Burke's Law

1963

Critic's Choice

1963

The Lucy Show

1962

Sam Benedict

1962

The New Breed

1961

Dr. Kildare

1961

Cain's Hundred

1961

Mister Ed

1961

The Roaring 20's

1960

Surfside 6

1960

Pete and Gladys

1960

Coronado 9

1960

Johnny Midnight

1960

The Twilight Zone

1959

The Last Hurrah

1958

Johnny Rocco

1958

Man with a Camera

1958

The Rifleman

1958

Wild Is the Wind

1957

Alcoa Theatre

1957

Night Passage

1957

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

1957

The Restless Breed

1957

Footsteps in the Night

1957

Hold That Hypnotist

1957

State Trooper

1956

Francis in the Haunted House

1956

Never Say Goodbye

1956

Matinee Theater

1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1955

Navy Log

1955

Apache Ambush

1955

The Naked Street

1955

Mister Roberts

1955

The Millionaire

1955

Climax!

1954

December Bride

1954

Return of the Dead

1954

Massacre Canyon

1954

Dragonfly Squadron

1954

Public Defender

1954

The Eddie Cantor Story

1953

Fighter Attack

1953

Hot News

1953

Letter to Loretta

1953

City Detective

1953

Abbott and Costello Go to Mars

1953

Trouble Along the Way

1953

I Beheld His Glory

1953

Confidentially Connie

1953

General Electric Theater

1953

Star of Texas

1953

The Abbott and Costello Show

1952

Million Dollar Mermaid

1952

Death Valley Days

1952

Cavalcade of America

1952

Four Star Playhouse

1952

O. Henry's Full House

1952

Carrie

1952

Here Come the Marines

1952

Sailor Beware

1952

Dangerous Assignment

1952

As We Forgive

1952

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

Come Fill the Cup

1951

I Love Lucy

1951

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

1951

Rhubarb

1951

Racket Squad

1951

Fighting Coast Guard

1951

Follow the Sun

1951

According to Mrs. Hoyle

1951

Oh! Susanna

1951

Operation Pacific

1951

The Living Christ

1951

Lux Video Theatre

1950

South Sea Sinner

1950

Destination Murder

1950

Armored Car Robbery

1950

The Savage Horde

1950

Rock Island Trail

1950

Dakota Lil

1950

When Willie Comes Marching Home

1950

Prison Warden

1949

The Devil's Henchmen

1949

Blondie Hits the Jackpot

1949

Mighty Joe Young

1949

Mississippi Rhythm

1949

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff

1949

Flamingo Road

1949

Homicide

1949

Shockproof

1949

Bungalow 13

1948

The Plunderers

1948

One Touch of Venus

1948

The Velvet Touch

1948

Secret Service Investigator

1948

The Noose Hangs High

1948

Sleep, My Love

1948

My Girl Tisa

1948

Unconquered

1947

Nightmare Alley

1947

Joe Palooka in the Knockout

1947

Song of the Thin Man

1947

Desert Fury

1947

Robin Hood Of Texas

1947

Dishonored Lady

1947

It Happened on Fifth Avenue

1947

My Favorite Brunette

1947

Nora Prentiss

1947

Nobody Lives Forever

1946

Cloak and Dagger

1946

Angel on My Shoulder

1946

Step by Step

1946

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

1946

The Missing Lady

1946

Easy to Wed

1946

Rendezvous with Annie

1946

Boys' Ranch

1946

A Stolen Life

1946

Sentimental Journey

1946

Young Widow

1946

Tars and Spars

1946

The Spider

1945

Hold That Blonde!

1945

Johnny Angel

1945

Mildred Pierce

1945

The Shanghai Cobra

1945

Anchors Aweigh

1945

Over 21

1945

Murder, He Says

1945

Circumstantial Evidence

1945

God Is My Co-Pilot

1945

Hollywood Canteen

1944

Laura

1944

Strange Affair

1944

Abroad with Two Yanks

1944

Mr. Winkle Goes to War

1944

Once Upon a Time

1944

Christmas Holiday

1944

Uncertain Glory

1944

There's Something About a Soldier

1943

Riding High

1943

Swing Shift Maisie

1943

Corvette K-225

1943

Thank Your Lucky Stars

1943

Murder on the Waterfront

1943

So Proudly We Hail

1943

I Dood It

1943

Heaven Can Wait

1943

Action in the North Atlantic

1943

Mission to Moscow

1943

Air Force

1943

Something to Shout About

1943

It Ain't Hay

1943

Life Begins at Eight-Thirty

1942

Gentleman Jim

1942

Night in New Orleans

1942

Ten Gentlemen from West Point

1942

Thru Different Eyes

1942

Tough as They Come

1942

Broadway

1942

Fingers at the Window

1942

Saboteur

1942

Kid Glove Killer

1942

Reap the Wild Wind

1942

Treat 'Em Rough

1942

A Yank on the Burma Road

1942

Bedtime Story

1941

Kathleen

1941

The Night of January 16th

1941

Ride 'Em Cowboy

1941

New York Town

1941

I Wake Up Screaming

1941

Texas

1941

Hold Back the Dawn

1941

We Go Fast

1941

Belle Starr

1941

Manpower

1941

Affectionately Yours

1941

Ziegfeld Girl

1941

Ride on Vaquero

1941

Pot o' Gold

1941

Western Union

1941

The Strawberry Blonde

1941

Buck Privates

1941

The Wild Man of Borneo

1941

Four Mothers

1941

Tin Pan Alley

1940

Youth Will Be Served

1940

The Long Voyage Home

1940

The Devil's Pipeline

1940

North West Mounted Police

1940

Knute Rockne All American

1940

The Great Profile

1940

Rhythm on the River

1940

When the Daltons Rode

1940

The Golden Fleecing

1940

South of Pago Pago

1940

Manhattan Heartbeat

1940

The Way of All Flesh

1940

Private Affairs

1940

Lucky Cisco Kid

1940

Queen of the Mob

1940

The Ghost Breakers

1940

Brother Orchid

1940

Florian

1940

Girl in 313

1940

La Conga Nights

1940

Hot Steel

1940

Johnny Apollo

1940

It All Came True

1940

And One Was Beautiful

1940

The Grapes of Wrath

1940

Women Without Names

1940

Double Alibi

1940

Castle on the Hudson

1940

Broadway Melody of 1940

1940

The Fighting 69th

1940

Remember the Night

1940

The Cisco Kid and the Lady

1939

Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President

1939

The Roaring Twenties

1939

Fast and Furious

1939

Irish Luck

1939

Each Dawn I Die

1939

They Shall Have Music

1939

When Tomorrow Comes

1939

They All Come Out

1939

Mr. Wong in Chinatown

1939

Mickey the Kid

1939

Tell No Tales

1939

The Gracie Allen Murder Case

1939

Union Pacific

1939

Rose of Washington Square

1939

Big Town Czar

1939

Code of the Streets

1939

Everybody's Baby

1939

Sergeant Madden

1939

The Ice Follies of 1939

1939

Jesse James

1939

The Duke of West Point

1938

While New York Sleeps

1938

Convicts at Large

1938

Blondie

1938

Lightning Carson Rides Again

1938

Too Hot to Handle

1938

Three Loves Has Nancy

1938

You Can't Take It with You

1938

I Am the Law

1938

Gateway

1938

Wives Under Suspicion

1938

Alexander's Ragtime Band

1938

Test Pilot

1938

Miracle Money

1938

Start Cheering

1938

Night Spot

1938

Born to Be Wild

1938

Mannequin

1938

Everybody's Doing It

1938

Big Town Girl

1937

Live, Love and Learn

1937

Hot Water

1937

Dangerously Yours

1937

My Dear Miss Aldrich

1937

Girls Can Play

1937

Angel's Holiday

1937

I Promise to Pay

1937

Midnight Taxi

1937

You Only Live Once

1937

Dangerous Number

1937

The Luckiest Girl in the World

1936

They Met in a Taxi

1936

My Man Godfrey

1936

Charlie Chan at the Race Track

1936

How to Behave

1936

One Way Ticket

1935

Rendezvous

1935

Shipmates Forever

1935

Special Agent

1935

Man on the Flying Trapeze

1935

Woman Wanted

1935

The Daring Young Man

1935

The Murder Man

1935

Chinatown Squad

1935

Public Hero Number 1

1935

'G' Men

1935

Straight from the Heart

1935

Captain Hurricane

1935

Secrets of Chinatown

1935

The Brand of Hate

1934

The Affairs of Cellini

1934

Baby Take a Bow

1934

Wild Gold

1934

The Big Race

1934

Beloved

1934

Only Yesterday

1933

Ship of Wanted Men

1933

Riot Squad

1933

Hello, Sister!

1933

King Kong

1933

Air Mail

1932

The All-American

1932

The Most Dangerous Game

1932

Okay, America!

1932

McKenna of the Mounted

1932

Back Street

1932

The Airmail Mystery

1932 Debut
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