James Macarthur Popular Books

James Macarthur Biography & Facts

James Gordon MacArthur (December 8, 1937 – October 28, 2010) was an American actor and recording artist. He had a long career in both movies and television, and his early work was predominantly in supporting roles in films. Later, he had a starring role as Danny "Danno" Williams in the long-running television series Hawaii Five-O. In 1963, his spoken-word recording "The Ten Commandments of Love" charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 94. Early life Born in Los Angeles, MacArthur was the adopted son of playwright Charles MacArthur and his wife, actress Helen Hayes. He was raised in Nyack, New York along with his elder sister, the MacArthurs' biological daughter Mary, who died of polio in 1949. He was educated at Allen-Stevenson School in New York and later at the Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania, where he starred in basketball, football and baseball. In his final year at Solebury, MacArthur played guard on the football team, captained the basketball team, rewrote the school's constitution, edited the school paper, played Scrooge in a local presentation of A Christmas Carol and was president of his class, the student government and the drama club. He also dated fellow student and future actress Joyce Bulifant, whom he married in November 1958 and divorced nine years later. MacArthur was raised among people of literary and theatrical talent. Lillian Gish was his godmother, and his family's guests included John Steinbeck, John Barrymore, Harpo Marx, Ben Hecht, Beatrice Lillie and the humorist Robert Benchley. Acting career Early career MacArthur's first radio role was on the Theatre Guild on the Air in 1948, accompanying his mother Helen Hayes. MacArthur made his stage debut in Olney, Maryland in 1949 with a two-week stint in The Corn Is Green. His sister Mary, who was also in the play, had requested that he join the company. The following summer, he repeated the role in Dennis, Massachusetts and his theatrical career was under way. In 1954, he played John Day in Life with Father with Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney. He became involved in important Broadway productions only after receiving his training in summer-stock theater. He worked as a set painter, lighting director and chief of the parking lot. During a Helen Hayes festival at the Falmouth Playhouse on Cape Cod, he had a few walk-on parts. He also helped the theater's electrician and became so interested that he was allowed to remain after his mother's plays had ended. As a result, he lit the show for Barbara Bel Geddes in The Little Hut and for Gloria Vanderbilt in The Swan. Television In 1955, at the age of 18, MacArthur played Hal Ditmar in the television play '"Deal a Blow", an episode of the series Climax! directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Macdonald Carey, Phyllis Thaxter and Edward Arnold. The critical response was excellent, with the New York Times saying that he "performed splendidly." The following year, Frankenheimer directed the film version of the play, which was renamed The Young Stranger (1957), with MacArthur again in the starring role. His performance was again critically acclaimed, earning him a nomination for Most Promising Newcomer at the 1958 BAFTA awards. In late 1956, it was announced that MacArthur would make Underdog, based on a novel by W. R. Burnett, along with his mother and Susan Strasberg, but the project never materialized. MacArthur returned to television to appear in World in White (1957) and episodes of General Electric Theater, Studio One in Hollywood and Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. Disney MacArthur was selected by Walt Disney to star in The Light in the Forest (1958), playing a white man raised by Indians. In April 1957, he signed a three-picture deal with Disney. For Light in the Forest he was paid $2,500 per week, which increased to $3,000 per week for the second film and $3,500 for the third. However, MacArthur was only available to work during his summer vacation from Harvard, where he was studying history. Disney executives liked his performance and cast him in Third Man on the Mountain (1959), playing a young man who climbs the Matterhorn. His mother had a cameo role. Deciding to make acting his full-time career, he left Harvard in his second year to appear in two more Disney movies, Kidnapped (1960) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960). He was named a possibility for Bon Voyage (1962) but did not appear in the film. MacArthur made his Broadway debut in 1960 playing opposite Jane Fonda in Invitation to a March, for which he received a Theatre World Award. Although he never returned to Broadway, he remained active in theater throughout his career, appearing in such productions as Under the Yum Yum Tree, The Moon Is Blue, John Loves Mary (with his wife Joyce Bulifant), Barefoot in the Park and Murder at the Howard Johnson's. He also released several records in the early 1960s, scoring two minor hits with "(The Story of) The In-Between Years" and "The Ten Commandments of Love", which peaked at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963. MacArthur delivered a chilling performance as baby-faced opium dealer Johnny Lubin in The Untouchables episode "Death For Sale". He also appeared in episodes of the television shows Bus Stop and Wagon Train. He returned to feature films as one of several young actors in The Interns (1962), Columbia's popular medical drama. He appeared in episodes of The Dick Powell Theatre, Sam Benedict and Arrest and Trial, then made Spencer's Mountain (1963) at Warner Bros. with Henry Fonda and Cry of Battle (1963) in the Philippines. In 1963, MacArthur was nominated for the Top New Male Personality category of the Golden Laurel Awards. That year, he starred in and produced a pilot for a television series about a writer, Postmark: Jim Fletcher, but it was not sold. He guest-starred on the television shows Burke's Law, The Eleventh Hour and The Great Adventure, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour before appearing in the feature films The Truth About Spring and The Bedford Incident, both in 1965. In Battle of the Bulge (1965), MacArthur again played the role of a young and inexperienced officer. He appeared in Ride Beyond Vengeance (1966) and guest-starred on Branded, Combat!, Gunsmoke, Hondo, Insight, Death Valley Days, Bonanza, The Virginian, Twelve O'Clock High and Tarzan. MacArthur returned to Disney to appear in Willie and the Yank (1967) for television, released theatrically as Mosby's Marauders. He also had a role in The Love-Ins (1967) for Sam Katzman and a brief but memorable appearance in the Clint Eastwood film Hang 'Em High (1968) as a preacher. Hawaii Five-O Hang 'Em High was written by Leonard Freeman, who was producing a new police procedural, Hawaii Five-O. Tim O'Kelly was originally cast as Jack Lord's assistant, but test audiences felt that he was too young, so MacArthur was offered the role. MacArthur said that Lord "said 'book him' to others in the cast, but I guess he said it to me the most. It wasn't anyt.... Discover the James Macarthur popular books. Find the top 100 most popular James Macarthur books.