James Gleason was born in New York City to William Gleason and Mina Crolius, who were both in the theatre. He was married to Lucile Gleason (born Lucile Webster), and had a son, Russell Gleason. As a young man James fought in the Spanish-American War. After the war he joined the stock company at the Liberty Theater in Oakland, California, which his parents were running. James and his wife then moved to Portland, Oregon, where they played in stock at the Baker Theater. For several years afterward they toured in road shows until James enlisted in the army during World War I. When he returned he appeared on the stage in "The Five Million." He then turned to writing, including "Is Zat So", which he produced for the NY stage. He also wrote and acted in "The Fall Guy" and "The Shannons on Broadway." Next he wrote The Broadway Melody (1929) for MGM. He collaborated, in 1930, on The Swellhead (1930), Dumbbells in Ermine (1930), What a Widow! (1930), Rain or Shine (1930) and His First Command (1929). He and his wife were then contracted to Pathe, Lucille to act, and James (or Jimmie as he was known) as a writer. Probably his most famous acting role was as Max Corkle, the manager of Joe Pendleton who was wrongly plucked from this life into the next, in the hit fantasy Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).
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The vaudeville act of Harriet and Queenie Mahoney comes to Broadway, where their friend Eddie Kerns ...
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An alcoholic lawyer who successfully defended a notorious gambler on a murder charge objects when hi...
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New York schoolmarm Hildegarde Withers assists a detective when a body of unscrupulous stockbroker G...
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"In the Gay Nineties New York had grown up into bustles and balloon Sleeves ... but The Bowery had g...
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There are plenty of guilty secrets at the school where Hildegarde Withers teaches. When she finds th...
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An amateur sleuth suspects foul play when a fellow passenger on a seaplane suddenly dies. The third ...
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A conscientious attorney who is a member of the State Parole Board, finds his own son, using an alia...
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A priceless Cellini silver cup is stolen from a local museum with both Hildegarde and Oscar on the c...
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When the body of Violet Feverel is discovered on the Central Park bridle path, Inspector Oscar Piper...
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Hildegarde Withers and Inspector Piper try to solve a murder while attending a popular Broadway show...
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Penny Morris and Tommy Williams are both starstruck young teens but nobody seems to give them any ch...
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Boxer Joe Pendleton, flying to his next fight, crashes...because a Heavenly Messenger, new on the jo...
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As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who ...
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Biopic chronicling the early life of gay nineties-era songwriter Paul Dresser as he outgrows his job...
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Conceited World Champion boxer Tommy Lundy decides to test his popularity in a Broadway show. Tommy ...
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During WWII, a group of brave Americans spy on the Japanese after their invasion of the Philippines ...
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While an escaped convict, Moose Malloy, goes in search of his ex-girlfriend Velma, police inspector ...
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In the second film of the series (and not a second part of anything), Gay Lawrence, aka The Falcon, ...
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A US Navy submarine, the USS Corsair, is operating in the North Atlantic, hunting German merchant ra...
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A cocky U.S. Army Air Force pilot stationed in England during World War II falls for a daring female...
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Mortimer Brewster, a newspaper drama critic, playwright, and author known for his diatribes against ...
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In Brooklyn circa 1900, the Nolans manage to enjoy life on pennies despite great poverty and Papa's ...
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Upset at a new Broadway musical mocking The Nine Muses, Greek goddess Terpsichore comes down to eart...
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An Episcopal Bishop, Henry Brougham, has been working for months on the plans for an elaborate new c...
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Bonny Kane and 'Skid' Johnson are vaudeville performers in the 1920s. The two of them suffer marital...
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Catherine Sykes disappears after a midnight drive with Professor Andrew Gentling . When she's presum...
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Bill Lawrence wins a bevy of prizes from a radio program, but ends up having to sell them in order t...
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A Justice of the Peace performed weddings a few days before his license was valid. A few years later...
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In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whe...
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Deliveryman Deke Rivers is discovered by publicist Glenda Markle and country-western musician Tex Wa...
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An average television repairman must care for the newborn triplets of his former hometown sweetheart...
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| # | Name | Character | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rock-a-Bye Baby (1958) | Doc Simpkins | 7 | |
| 2 | Loving You (1957) | Carl Meade | 7.5 | |
| 3 | The Night of the Hunter (1955) | Uncle Birdie Steptoe | 7.6 | |
| 4 | Suddenly (1954) | Peter 'Pop' Benson | 7.5 | |
| 5 | We're Not Married! (1952) | Duffy | - | - |
| 6 | The Jackpot (1950) | Harry Summers | - | - |
| 7 | Take One False Step (1949) | Captain Gledhill | 4 | |
| 8 | When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948) | Lefty Moore | - | - |
| 9 | Down to Earth (1947) | Max Corkle | 4 | |
| 10 | The Bishop's Wife (1947) | Sylvester | 5.8 | |
| 11 | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) | McGarrity | 6 | |
| 12 | The Clock (1945) | Al Henry | 5 | |
| 13 | A Guy Named Joe (1944) | “Nails” Kilpatrick | 2 | |
| 14 | Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) | Lt. Rooney | 8.3 | |
| 15 | Crash Dive (1943) | Chief Mike 'Mac' McDonnell | - | - |
| 16 | My Gal Sal (1942) | Pat Hawley | - | - |
| 17 | Footlight Serenade (1942) | Bruce McKay | - | - |
| 18 | Manila Calling (1942) | Tim O'Rourke | - | - |
| 19 | The Falcon Takes Over (1942) | Inspector Mike O'Hara | - | - |
| 20 | A Date with the Falcon (1942) | Inspector Michael 'Mike' O'Hara | 7 | |
| 21 | Babes on Broadway (1941) | Thornton Reed | - | - |
| 22 | Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) | Max Corkle | 5.7 | |
| 23 | Meet John Doe (1941) | Henry Connell | 7.3 | |
| 24 | Forty Naughty Girls (1937) | Police Insp. Oscar Piper | 6 | |
| 25 | Don't Turn 'em Loose (1936) | Detective Daniels | - | - |
| 26 | The Plot Thickens (1936) | Police Insp. Oscar Piper | 7 | |
| 27 | Murder on a Bridle Path (1936) | Police Insp. Oscar Piper | 7 | |
| 28 | Murder on a Honeymoon (1935) | Police Insp. Oscar Piper | 7 | |
| 29 | Murder on the Blackboard (1934) | Police Insp. Oscar Piper | 6 | |
| 30 | The Bowery (1933) | Director / Writer | 6 | |
| 31 | The Penguin Pool Murder (1932) | Police Insp. Oscar Piper | 7 | |
| 32 | A Free Soul (1931) | Eddie | - | - |
| 33 | Her Man (1930) | Steve | 5 | |
| 34 | The Broadway Melody (1929) | Director / Writer | 4.3 |
