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.
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| Organization | Category | Movie |
|---|
The Living Christ
as Longinus
Episodes: 12
First Aired: Jan 07, 1951
The Lucy Show
as Sergeant Wilcox
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Oct 01, 1962
Dr. Kildare
as John Dolan
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 27, 1961
Burke's Law
as Officer Danny Robin
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 20, 1963
Cain's Hundred
as Arnie Kellwin
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 19, 1961
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Captain Kimble
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Dec 24, 1951
The Twilight Zone
as 1962 Policeman
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1959
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Joe Felix
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1955
The Millionaire
as Dan Mulcahy
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 19, 1955
Lux Video Theatre
as Steve
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1950
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
as Sam Cooper
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jul 01, 1957
Climax!
as Hogan
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 07, 1954
Lux Video Theatre
as Heineman
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1950
The Addams Family
as Lt. Poston
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 18, 1964
Mr. Novak
as Fire Chief Hawkins
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 24, 1963
The New Breed
as Moose
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 03, 1961
Letter to Loretta
as MacNamara
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 20, 1953
Alcoa Theatre
as Gavin Marshall
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 30, 1957
The Twilight Zone
as Truck Driver
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1959
General Electric Theater
as Callahan
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 01, 1953
Letter to Loretta
as Deputy Mason
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 20, 1953
Letter to Loretta
as Sgt. Danny Doofle
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 20, 1953
Four Star Playhouse
as Mr. Swanson
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 25, 1952
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Tony - The Doorman
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1955
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as General Charles Lee
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Dec 24, 1951
I Love Lucy
as Immigration Officer
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 15, 1951
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Dan
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1955
Death Valley Days
as Perry
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 01, 1952
The Roaring 20's
Episodes: 45
First Aired: Oct 15, 1960
Man with a Camera
Episodes: 29
First Aired: Oct 10, 1958
Mister Ed
Episodes: 7
First Aired: Jan 05, 1961
Pete and Gladys
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 19, 1960
Navy Log
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 20, 1955
Racket Squad
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Jun 07, 1951
Cavalcade of America
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Oct 01, 1952
Dangerous Assignment
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Jan 01, 1952
December Bride
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 04, 1954
The Brady Bunch
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 26, 1969
Surfside 6
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 06, 1960
General Electric Theater
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 01, 1953
Sam Benedict
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 15, 1962
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 05, 1951
Matinee Theater
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 31, 1955
The Pruitts of Southampton
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 06, 1966
The Rifleman
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 30, 1958
Public Defender
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 11, 1954
City Detective
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 07, 1953
State Trooper
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 25, 1956
Coronado 9
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 06, 1960
Johnny Midnight
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 03, 1960
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 4 |
| 2024 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 4 |
| 2024 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 2 |
| 2024 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 2 |
| 2025 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |