Jim Davis

Jim Davis

Birth : 1909-08-26, Edgerton, Platte County, Missouri, USA

Death : 1981-04-26

History

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jim Davis (born Marlin Davis, August 26, 1909 – April 26, 1981) was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap opera, Dallas, a role which continued until he was too ill from a terminal illness to perform. He was known as Jim Davis by the time of his first major screen role, which was opposite Bette Davis in the 1948 melodrama Winter Meeting,[3] a lavish failure for which he was lambasted in the press as being too inexperienced to play the part properly. His subsequent film career consisted of mostly B movies, many of them westerns, although he made an impression as a U.S. senator in the Warren Beatty conspiracy thriller The Parallax View. Davis performed in numerous television series episodes in the 1950s-1970s. After years of relatively low-profile roles, Davis was cast as family patriarch Jock Ewing on Dallas, which debuted in 1978. During season four, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma but continued to film the show as long as he could. In many scenes as the season progressed he was shown seated, and his voice became softer and more obviously affected by his illness. He wore a hairpiece to cover the hair he'd lost from chemotherapy. A season four storyline regarding the Takapa development and Jock's separation from Miss Ellie was ended abruptly at the end of season four. The writers depicted the couple suddenly leaving to go on an extended second honeymoon when it became obvious that Davis could no longer continue to work. Their departure in a limousine in the episode "New Beginnings" was Davis' only scene in that episode, and his condition was so poor that close watching reveals (based on his unsynchronized lip movement) that he overdubbed his one last line of dialogue. It was his final appearance on the show. He died of complications from his illness while season four was being aired.

Profile

Jim Davis

Movies

Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy
Mr. Wilkenson
The story of Leroy "Satchel" Paige, the legendary pitcher, from his barnstorming days in the 1920s, hoping to break into organized "negro" baseball, to his emergence at age 43 in the major leagues with the Cleveland Indians the year after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier.
The Day Time Ended
Grant Williams
A small family relocates to the Sonoran Desert, to be closer to the grandparents of the family. Though there are news reports of a spectacular triple supernova, and the young granddaughter has seen a glowing alien construction behind the barn, the family is at ease until, one night, a UFO soars over head and appears to land in the nearby hills. Apparently, the triple supernova has opened a rift in space and time.
Satan’s Triangle
Hal
The female survivor of a shipwreck and two Coast Guard helicopter pilots sent to rescue her find themselves trapped in a mysterious part of the ocean known as Satan's Triangle.
Comes a Horseman
Julie Blocker
Ella Connors is a single woman who gets pressured to sell her failing cattle farm to her corrupt ex-suitor, Jacob Ewing. She asks for help from her neighbor, Frank Athearn. As Ella and Frank fight back through stampedes, jealousy, betrayal, and sabotage... they eventually find love.
Killing Stone
Sen. Barry Tyler
Returning from prison after serving ten years on trumped-up charges, a freelance writer tries to uncover the truth behind a homicide involving the son of a U.S. senator in this pilot for a prospective series.
Trail of Danger
Pop Appling
Two men taking horses to market run afoul of angry sheep herders and are hampered by a lack of water for the horses.
The Choirboys
Drobeck
A group of Los Angeles cops decide to take off some of the pressures of their jobs by engaging in various forms of after-hours debauchery.
Just a Little Inconvenience
Dave Erickson
Jolted out of his self-pity by a friend who teaches him to ski, a wounded Vietnam vet comes to look on his double amputation not as a "handicap" but rather "just a little inconvenience."
Law of the Land
Sheriff Pat Lambrose
A frontier sheriff and his young deputies search for a serial killer who is murdering prostitutes.
The Runaway Barge
Capt. Buckshot Bates
Two bargemen on the Mississippi River find themselves mixed up in a kidnapping and hijacking plot.
The Parallax View
George Hammond
An ambitious reporter gets in trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the world's headlines.
Inferno in Paradise
Rocky Stratton
The tropical oasis of Honolulu is threatened by a maniacal arsonist, who strikes seemingly without pattern, or reason. This film stars Jim Davis (Jock in Dallas) and is about the Honolulu police and fire department trying to catch a deadly arsonist. Richard Young stars as Clay a young firefighter that is determined to find the arsonist after his father is killed in one of the arsonists fires. Jim Davis stars as Rocky Stratton who is the chief fire officer, Betty Ann Carr is his daughter who is a journalist and Clays girlfriend.
Deliver Us from Evil
Dixie
Several men hiking in the mountains discover an injured skyjacker who parachuted from a plane with $600,000. They kill him, then start fighting each other over the money.
Bad Company
Marshal
After Drew Dixon, an upright young man, is sent west by his religious family to avoid being drafted into the Civil War, he drifts across the land with a loose confederation of young vagrants.
The Honkers
Sheriff Potter
An over-the-hill rodeo champion is so self-centered that he ignores his wife, son, and best friend.
The Trackers
Sheriff Naylor
A rancher comes home and finds that his son has been murdered and his daughter kidnapped by a bandit gang. He hires a professional tracker with a reputation for finding his quarry to help him find the gang and rescue his daughter.
Dracula vs. Frankenstein
Sgt. Martin
Dracula conspires with a mad doctor to resurrect the Frankenstein Monster.
Big Jake
Head of Lynching Party
An aging Texas cattle man who has outlived his time swings into action when outlaws kidnap his grandson.
Monte Walsh
Cal Brennan
Monte Walsh is an aging cowboy facing the ending days of the Wild West era. As barbed wire and railways steadily eliminate the need for the cowboy, Monte and his friends are left with fewer and fewer options. New work opportunities are available to them, but the freedom of the open prarie is what they long for. Eventually, they all must say goodbye to the lives they knew, and try to make a new start.
Rio Lobo
Rio Lobo Deputy
After the Civil War, Cord McNally searches for the traitor whose perfidy caused the defeat of McNally's unit and the loss of a close friend.
Five Bloody Graves
Clay Bates
A lone gunman hunts the fearsome Apache Satago across the plains of the Wild West. When Satago's marauders ambush a stagecoach, the gunman rides to the rescue of the trapped passengers and helps them in their last stand against the deadly Indians.
The Ice House
Jake
A serial killer who works in an ice house murders women, then brings their bodies back to the ice house and stores them there. He also murders his brother, who is a cop, and takes his place in the investigation.
They Ran for Their Lives
Vince Ballard
A man with a dog helps a young woman being chased by hoodlums in the desert.
The Road Hustlers
Noah Reedy
A family of bootleggers fight against the sheriff and local gangsters.
Fort Utah
Scarecrow
An ex-gunfighter goes up against a man who is trying to stir up trouble with the Indians to enrich himself.
El Dorado
Jim Purvis
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Hara. Together with a fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water.
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter
Marshal MacPhee
Dr. Frankenstein's Granddaughter Maria, and her brother assistant Rudolph, moved to the old west because the lightning storms there are more frequent and intense, which allows them to work on the experiments of their grandfather. But the experiments are failing and Rudolph's been secretly killing the corpses afterwards. Meanwhile, the Lopez family leaves the town because of the evil going on there
Zebra in the Kitchen
Adam Carlyle
A young boy lets the animals out of their cages at the Zoo, to set them free, but the animals start taking over the town.
Iron Angel
Sgt. Walsh
A seasoned Sargent with a sorry unit, led by an angry 1st Lt., to take out an enemy hold for a convoy to proceed. After their success the Sarge and the crew meet up with another Lieutenant - Female nurse.
Buttons and Her Beaus
Buttons and Her Beaus is an unaired TV Pilot.
The Gambler Wore a Gun
Case Silverthorne
The professional gambler Case Silverthorn wants to quit and retire to a small ranch in Marlpine he bought recently. On the way there he saves the Sheriff's life, who got into an ambush. However another man is dead, Will Donovan, from whom he bought the ranch! Neither the Sheriff nor Donovan's children know about the sale. So Case has to switch back to his former profession, while he tries to clarify the situation. He comes across a group of cattle thieves.
Frontier Uprising
Jim Stockton
Not having heard that war has erupted between the U.S. and Mexico, a wagon train heads west, only to find itself threatened by the Mexicans who have teamed up with hostile Indians.
The Magnificent Seven
Gunman at Boot Hill
An oppressed Mexican peasant village hires seven gunfighters to help defend their homes.
Noose for a Gunman
Case Britton
Case Britton, gunslinger and wanted man, comes to town to meet his bride-to-be, stop a stagecoach robbery, and get even with the man who killed his brother.
Alias Jesse James
Frank James
Insurance salesman Milford Farnsworth sells a man a life policy only to discover that the man in question is the outlaw Jesse James. Milford is sent to buy back the policy, but is robbed by Jesse. And when Jesse learns that Milford's boss is on the way out with more cash, he plans to rob him too and have Milford get killed in the robbery while dressed as Jesse, and collect on the policy.
Lust to Kill
Marshal Matt Gordon
A cowboy escapes from jail with the help of his girlfriend, and goes after the men he believes are responsible for his brother being shot down by lawmen.
Flaming Frontier
Col. Hugh Carver
Army officer whose parents are white and Indian tries to avert an Indian war.
Wolf Dog
Jim Hughes
A paroled convict tries to start life anew by moving with his family to a ranch, where his young son finds a puppy that is half wolf and half dog.
The Toughest Gun in Tombstone
Johnny Ringo
A lawman goes undercover in order to capture the outlaws who murdered his wife.
Raiders of Old California
Angus Clyde McKane
A villainous cavalry officer is trying to force the owner of a hacienda to give him his land when a courageous settler comes to the rescue.
The Quiet Gun
Ralph Carpenter
A mild mannered sheriff must fight both a hired gun and local anti-Indian bigotry in a small frontier town.
Last Stagecoach West
Bill Cameron
The coming of the railroad to Cedar City spells the end of the stagecoach as the government gives the mail contract to the fastest means of delivery. McCord loses the stagecoach line gambling with the new buyer, but has enough hidden money to buy a ranch and some cattle. To make more money, he starts a gang to rob the railroad, express offices and steal cattle. But the railroads send out special agent Cameron to end his reign of violence.
Apache Warrior
Ben Ziegler
An Apache brave vows revenge when he feels betrayed by the U.S. Army.
Monster from Green Hell
Dr. Quent Brady
A test rocket carrying wasps to outer space, to study the effects on them of weightlessness and radiations, crashes out of control back to Earth, into the jungles of Africa. The two astrobiologists in charge of the test mount an expedition to the Darkest Continent to retrieve their experiment, only to find the wasps have grown to giant size which are panicking all forms of life as they quest for food.
The Restless Breed
Ed Newton
Texas-border gunrunners kill a federal agent, whose son comes looking for revenge.
The Badge of Marshal Brennan
Jeff Harlan
Jim Davis is a man on the run. He comes across the body of a dead man wearing the badge of a marshal. He buries the body and takes the badge and rides on. At the next town, he is mistaken for the dead man, a legendary marshal named Brennan. The town sent for Marshal Brennan because they were facing a crisis that includes among other things an epidemic. The Stranger decides to stay as a way of hiding from the men chasing him. What he does not realize is that when he takes on the Badge of Marshal Brennan, he takes on the responsibilities of Marshal Brennan.
Duel at Apache Wells
Dean Cannary
A young man returns home after several years absence to find that a gang is after not only his family ranch, but his girlfriend as well.
Guns Don't Argue
Police Captain Stewart / Narrator
The actions of various criminals such as Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie and Clyde and Baby Face Nelson are reenacted in this film.
Frontier Gambler
Tony Burton
A deputy marshal arrives in the small western town of Fairweather to investigate the death of a beautiful gambler known as "The Princess".
The Maverick Queen
The Stranger
A Pinkerton detective goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of thieves whose boss is a feisty lady saloonkeeper. Complications ensue.
Blonde Bait
Nick Randall
Seeking the whereabouts of international gangster Nick Randall, the US State Department contacts Scotland Yard, as his girlfriend, Angela Booth, is currently in a British prison. Angela has refused to give Nick up to the law, so the combined authorities arrange for Angela to escape, aided by stoolie Gran' Ramsey who is at the same prison. The police will then follow Angela to Nick. Gran' stages the getaway, and the two women, accompanied by a third convict, Marguerite, whose prison-born baby is about to be turned over to welfare authorities. It is up to Gran' to keep the police informed of Angela's movements without being detected by the escapees, until Angela contacts Nick. This film is a reworking of principal footage from the UK film WOMEN WITHOUT MEN (1955), q.v., which, with added new footage (including scenes with original star Beverly Michaels), significantly revises the plot and central characters from a story about a wrongly imprisoned waif to one about a gangster's moll.
The Wild Dakotas
Aaron Baring
When Aaron Baring (Jim Davis) signs on as wagon master for a group of settlers headed to Montana's Powder River Valley, his dictatorial style soon creates problems. When the settlers reach their destination, Baring unwisely declares war on the local Indians. When savvy frontier scout Jim Henry (Bill Williams) tries to promote cooperation between the natives and the newly arrived settlers, Baring responds by having Williams whipped.
The Bottom of the Bottle
George Cady
An alcoholic escaped convict asks his Arizona lawyer brother to help him cross the Mexican border.
The Vanishing American
Glendon
A woman arrives in New Mexico to claim property she's inherited and receives an education in the greedy exploitation of the local Navajo.
Last of the Desperados
Chief Deputy John Poe
After killing Billy the Kid, Sheriff Pat Garrett is relentlessly dogged by members of the Kid's gang.
The Last Command
Ben Evans
During the Texas War of Independence of 1836 American frontiersman and pioneer Jim Bowie pleads for caution with the rebellious Texicans. They don't heed his advice since he's a Mexican citizen, married to the daughter of the Mexican vice-governor of the province and a friend to General Santa Anna since the days they had fought together for Mexico's independence. After serving as president for 22 years, Santa Anna has become too powerful and arrogant. He rules Mexico with an iron fist and he would not allow Texas to self-govern. Bowie sides with the Texans in their bid for independence and urges a cautious strategy, given Santa Anna's power and cunning. Despite the disagreement between the Texicans and Bowie regarding the right strategy they ask Bowie to lead them in a last-ditch stand, at Alamo, against General Santa Anna's numerically superior forces.
Timberjack
Poole
A young man seeks his father's killers among lumberjacks, and discovers that they are actually timber barons who also seek to control lumber mills. Based on the novel of the same name.
Hell's Outpost
Sam Horne
A returning Korean War vet becomes embroiled in a fight over possession of a tungsten mine.
Outlaw's Daughter
Marshal Dan Porter
Led astray by outlaw leader Jess, the "outlaw's daughter" Kate joins Jess' gang and follows in her dad's footsteps. Town marshal Dan tries his best to reform the girl, but this proves difficult inasmuch as Kate holds Dan responsible for her father's death. Only after most of the bad guys have been decimated by Dan does Kate discover the true identity of her dad's murderer. Having fallen in love with Kate, marshal Dan offers to let her escape prosecution, but she's made of sterner stuff than that.
The Outcast
Major Linton Cosgrave
Thanks to the chicanery of his crooked uncle Major Cosgrave, Jet has been cheated out of his father's property and branded a pariah. He spends the rest of the film trying to regain his birthright and clear his name. The two women in Jet's life are Judy Polsen, who chases him for so long that he finally catches her, and Alice Austin, Major Cosgrave's fianee.
The Big Chase
Brad Bellows
A policeman (Glenn Langan) with a pregnant wife (Adele Jergens) winds up chasing a payroll thief (Lon Chaney Jr.) into Mexico by helicopter.
Jubilee Trail
Silky
A wild-west trader and his New York wife head out for the California by wagon train. The trader is killed enroute, and his wife finds herself with child. She continues on hoping to find a man and a home.
Woman They Almost Lynched
Cole Younger
Laying on the Missouri-Arkansas border, the neutral Border City, its female mayor and city council, take no side in the ongoing Civil War and they're prepared to hang any troublemaker, Yankee or Confederate, who stirs the townsfolk up.
Ride the Man Down
Red Courteen
After Celia's father dies, a war erupts over control of his land.
The Big Sky
Streak
Two tough Kentucky mountaineers join a trading expedition from St. Louis up the Missouri River to trade whisky for furs with the Blackfoot Indians. They soon discover that there is much more than the elements to contend with.
Woman of the North Country
Steve Powell
In 1890 Minnesota Christine Powell is the scheming head of the Powell dynasty, the richest mining empire of the era. But the Powell mine deposits are diminishing. The Mesabi range represents a whole new productive area but the rights to mine there are held by a young geological engineer, Kyle Ramlo. The latter reaches an impasse when he needs money to continue his experimentation with open-pit mining and goes to Miss Powell for financing. She displays great interest in both his inventive mining method and in him personally but secretly plots to destroy him and take over his Masabi rights. The gullible Ramlo falls into clutches while the girl he really loves, Cathy Norlund, tries desperately to open his eyes to Christine's scheme.
Rose of Cimarron
Willie Whitewater
A white girl raised by Indians sets out to find out who murdered her adoptive parents.
Three Desperate Men
Fred Denton
When they learn that their brother Matt Denton (Ross Latimer) is awaiting trial in California, charged with train robbery, deputies Tom Denton (Preston Foster) and Fred Denton (Jim Davis) leave their home in Fort Grant, Texas and head west. They arrive in Tulare just in time to rescue Matt from being hanged, but a guard is killed during their escape. Ed Larkin (Rory Mallinson) who framed Matt, falsely accuses them of a long list of crimes. They return to Fort Grant so that Tom can see his sweetheart Laura Brook (Virginia Grey). They encounter outlaw Bill Devlin (William Haade) who persuades them to hold up a train which Laura unwittingly told them would carry a large payroll. Soon the whole territory is enraged at their deeds. They return to Fort Grant to hold up the two banks that are filled with huge sums of cattle money.
The Sea Hornet
Tony Sullivan
"The Sea Hornet" was a merchant ship sunk, supposedly by a torpedo, less than a mile off the California Coast during World War Two. Six years later when his buddy is killed, attempting to blow up the sunken ship, on the orders of Suntan Radford and Tony Sullivan, deep-sea diver "Gunner" McNeil has his suspicions aroused... especially since Suntan is the daughter of the ship's captain that died when the ship sunk, and Sullivan was a crew member. Plus the fact the ship had over a million dollars in cash on board. During the course of his investigation, he becomes romantically involved with Ginger Sullivan
Silver Canyon
Wade McQuarrie
At the close of the Civil War, a band of Southern guerillas disguised themselves as Union soldiers, the better to perform acts of sabotage in Utah. Autry plays a cavalry scout who goes after guerilla leader McQuarrie (Jim Davis).
Little Big Horn
Cpl. Doan Moylan
Two cavalry officers (Lloyd Bridges, John Ireland) lead a patrol to warn Gen. Custer about an ambush.
Cavalry Scout
Lt. Spaulding
Kirby Frye, a former Confederate officer but now a Union Cavalry scout, is sent into Montana territory to locate and retrieve three Gatling Guns stolen from the U.S. Arsenal by outlaws believed to have taken them west to sell to the Soiux and Cheyenne. The trail leads him to Red Bluff where, aided by Claire Corville, he and the audience discover together and real quick like that Martin Gavin, a supposedly-honest operator of a freight line, has the guns and intends to exchange them to the Indians for furs.
Oh! Susanna
Ira Jordan
Unable to keep peace between frontier Indians and the US Cavalry, a heroic Captain risks court-martial to prevent bloodshed.
California Passage
Lincoln 'Linc' Corey
A series of reversals bring two desperate people together. When a saloon owner is framed by his partner for a stagecoach robbery, he fights to secure an acquittal.
The Showdown
Cochran
Shadrach Jones, ex-Texas State Policeman, has the ruthless determination to find and kill the man who shot his brother in the back and stole the money with which he was to buy a ranch for the two of them. At the saloon-hotel run by Adelaide, Shadrach is convinced that one of the cowhands on the Captain McKellar cattle drive to Montana is his man. He takes the job of trail-herd boss to find the killer. McKellar preaches to Jones that he should forget revenge and let the law of retribution take care of the killer. Shadrach's hard driving of the men and his hunt for the killer makes him bitterly hated, and his retribution quest ends in a manner he did not anticipated.
The Cariboo Trail
Miller
A cattleman fights to establish a ranch in the middle of gold country.
Hi-Jacked
Joe Harper
A parolee, working for a trucking line, struggles to clear his name after being accused of involvement with hijackers.
The Savage Horde
Lt. Mike Baker
A charismatic gunfighter who is on the run takes refuge in a frontier cattle town and attempts to help a group of ranchers against a wealthy cattle baron.
Yes Sir, That's My Baby
Joe Tascarelli
At a college, a group of ex-GIs clash with their wives about over playing football.
Brimstone
Nick Courteen
A U.S. Marshal goes undercover to stop a cattle smuggling gang, but when his cover is blown, the hunter becomes the hunted.
Hellfire
Gyp Stoner
Zeb Smith is a gambler with a larcenous streak, but when an itinerant preacher takes a bullet meant for him, Zeb vows to fulfill the preacher's mission of building a church. Frustrated in his attempts to get donations, Zeb attempts to capture fugitive Doll Brown in order to obtain the reward. But he finds that there's more to Doll than meets the eye. When his old friend Bucky McLean shows up gunning for Doll, Zeb sees a chance to redeem them all... one way or another.
Red Stallion In The Rockies
Dave Ryder
Horse story with Dynamite, The Red Stallion...
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Slave Overseer (uncredited)
A bump on the head sends Hank Martin, 1912 mechanic, to Arthurian Britain, 528 A.D., where he is befriended by Sir Sagramore le Desirous and gains power by judicious use of technology. He and Alisande, the King's niece, fall in love at first sight, which draws unwelcome attention from her fiancée Sir Lancelot; but worse trouble befalls when Hank meddles in the kingdom's politics.
Winter Meeting
Slick Novak
A repressed poetess and an embittered war hero help each other cope with their problems.
The Fabulous Texan
Sam Bass
A couple of Confederate soldiers, returning home from the Civil War, find Texas transformed into an armed camp with a quasi-dictator gathering up land and power as fast as he can. The two former Rebels take on this despot each in his own way.
Merton of the Movies
Von Strutt's Assistant (uncredited)
In 1915, Kansas theatre usher Merton Gill is a rabid silent-movie fan. When he brings Mammoth Studios free publicity by imitating star Lawrence Rupert's heroics, they bring him to Hollywood to generate another headline; he thinks he'll get a movie contract. Disillusioned, he haunts the casting offices, where he meets and is consoled by Phyllis Montague, bit player and stunt-woman. When Merton finally gets his "break," though, it's not quite what he envisioned.
Gallant Bess
Harry
Marshall Thompson stars in this MGM drama about a young soldier's devotion to a horse he rescues during WWII. (Not to be confused with "Adventures of Gallant Bess", another film released two years later.)
Up Goes Maisie
Matthews (Uncredited)
A showgirl working for an inventor battles crooks, who want to steal his ideas.
Swing Shift Maisie
Investigator / Airport Announcer (Uncredited)
Street-smart Maisie from Brooklyn lands a job at an airplane assembly plant during WWII and falls in love with handsome pilot "Breezy" McLaughlin. Breezy, however, falling in love with and getting engaged to Maisie's conniving roommate Iris, doesn't realize she's using him and it's up to Maisie to convince him.
Tennessee Johnson
Reporter (uncredited)
The tumultuous presidency of 19th-president Andrew Johnson is chronicled in this biopic. The story begins with Johnson's boyhood and covers his early life. During the Civil War, Johnson stays a staunch Unionist and upon Lincoln's reelection in 1864, becomes his Vice President. After Lincoln's assassination, Johnson becomes the President and became the first U.S. president ever to be impeached.
Keep 'Em Sailing
Joseph Cummins
An FBI agent goes undercover to investigate the sabotage of American cargo ships.
Northwest Rangers
Mountie with Warrant
Boyhood friends grow up into different professions: one a dedicated Canadian Mountie, the other a notorious gambler.