James Dunn
Actor
Born November 2, 1901 in New York City, New York, USA
James Dunn worked on the stage, in vaudeville and as an extra in silent movies before he was signed by Fox in 1931. His first movie with Fox was 1931's Sob Sister (1931). While at Fox, he appeared with Shirley Temple in her first three features: Baby Take a Bow (1934), Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) and Bright Eyes (1934). Dunn's screen character was usually the boy next door or the nice guy. In 1935 musicals at the new 20th Century-Fox were out and Dunn would move to the "B" list, from which he would never return. In The Payoff (1935) he plays the nice guy newspaper columnist whose wife ruins his career. By the late 1930s he was drinking heavily and become unemployable. He would appear in small roles in films during the early 1940s, but those parts were few. In 1945 he was able to make a comeback and win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), but his rejuvenated career would not continue. By 1951 he would again be unemployed and bankrupt. Television would later supply some work and he would be a regular on the series It's a Great Life (1954). Dunn was born 2 November 1901, New York City, New York, USA, and he died 1 September 1967, Santa Monica, California, USA (following abdominal surgery)
Filmography
Hollywood’s Children
Self (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
Shadow Over Elveron
Luke Travers
The Oscar
TV executive
Branded
The Great Adventure
Indian Agent McLean
The Fugitive
Lou Bragan
Going My Way
The Virginian
Congressman Matthew J. Cosgrove
Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man
Telegrapher
The Investigators
Chief Reynolds
Ben Casey
Route 66
Journey to the Day
Melville Cooper
The Bramble Bush
Stew Schaffer
Rawhide
Naked City
Peter Wilkin
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Gabe Henshaw
Mr. Broadway
The Ninth Day
Matinee Theater
Screen Director's Playhouse
Sheriff Garrett
The Wonderful World of Disney
J. Henry Newman
Climax!
Eldon Abernathy
General Electric Theater
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
The Golden Gloves Story
Joe Riley
Robert Montgomery Presents
Studio One
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
Mike
Killer McCoy
Brian McCoy
That Brennan Girl
Denny Reagan
The Caribbean Mystery
Mr. Smith
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Johnny Nolan
Leave It to the Irish
Terry Moran
Take It or Leave It
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Government Girl
Sergeant Joe Blake
The Ghost and the Guest
Webster Frye
The Living Ghost
Nick Trayne
Hold That Woman!
Jimmy Parker
Son of the Navy
Chief Gunners Mate Mike Malone
Shadows Over Shanghai
Johnny McGinty
Living on Love
Gary Martin
We Have Our Moments
John Wade
Mysterious Crossing
Addison Francis Murphy
Come Closer, Folks
Jim Keene
Two-Fisted Gentleman
Mickey
Hearts in Bondage
Lt. Kenneth Reynolds
Bad Boy
Eddie Nolan
Welcome Home
Richard Foster
The Daring Young Man
Don McLane
George White's 1935 Scandals
Eddie
The Payoff
Joe McCoy
Bright Eyes
Loop Merritt
365 Nights in Hollywood
James 'Jimmy' Dale
Have a Heart
James 'Jimmie' Flaherty
Baby Take a Bow
Eddie Ellison
Change of Heart
Mark McGowan
Stand Up and Cheer!
Jimmy Dugan
Hold That Girl
Barney Sullivan
Jimmy and Sally
Jimmy O'Connor
Arizona to Broadway
Smiley Wells
The Girl in 419
Dr. Daniel French
Hold Me Tight
Chuck Evans
Hello, Sister!
Jimmy
Sailor's Luck
Jimmy Fenimore Harrigan
Handle with Care
Bill Gordon
Society Girl
Johnny Malone
Dance Team
Jimmy Mulligan
Over the Hill
Johnny Shelby as an Adult
Sob Sister
Garry Webster
Bad Girl
Eddie Collins
The Song Plugger
Man in Record Shop
Deliverance
Life Saver