James Gregory
One of the most beloved actors of all, James Gregory was born December 23, 1911, in the Bronx and grew up in New Rochelle, NY. In high school, he was elected president of the Drama Club. He went to work on Wall Street as a runner shortly after the 1929 crash. James Gregory performed in drama groups and achieved pro status as a summer stock player in 1935. He performed in plays throughout New York, New Jersey and Maryland. His troupe of performers toured small towns in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, towing a trailer full of theatre props; they performed in school gyms, churches and YMCAs, earning $25 for a week of one-night stands. In 1939, James Gregory made his Broadway debut in a production of "Key Largo". Over the next 16 years, he performed in approximately 25 Broadway productions. (His career was interrupted by WWII; he served for 3 years in the Navy and Marine Corps. His tour of duty took him to the Pacific where he spent 83 days on Okinawa). One good thing that came out of the war years is that he married Anne in 1944, and they would stay together always. During his Broadway career, James Gregory earned consistently favorable reviews by drama critics from the New York Press, Boston Globe, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Hollywood Reporter and Variety. James Gregory did a few TV spots as early as 1951, and in 1955 he made the transition from the Broadway stage to live television. The following year, after a couple of earlier uncredited movie appearances, he would also begin his movie career in earnest. He worked steadily throughout the early years of TV, working for major live television productions from New York to Hollywood. In 1959, James Gregory made television history by costarring in the pilot episode of the The Twilight Zone (1959); the episode "Where Is Everybody?" concerning the relevant topic of the USA winning the space race by sending a manned spaceship to the moon sold the series. James Gregory would play Dean Martin's exasperated boss MacDonald in the first 3 of the Matt Helm movies: The Silencers (1966), Murderers' Row (1966) and The Ambushers (1967). But he won his biggest acclaim as Inspector Frank Luger for the entire run of the TV series Barney Miller (1974) (1975-1982). This was his signature role; as the Inspector, he would be lovable, irritating, ingratiating, exasperating and humorous, sometimes all at the same time. He was Barney's buddy for 7 years, and the series ended with the Inspector getting himself a mail-order bride. James Gregory retired from acting in 1983, with over 100 TV and movie credits. He has entertained, uplifted and captivated us with his performances. He has endeared himself to a legion of fans. When asked to define his life's work, he simply said, "I am an actor". Fans would disagree with him. James Gregory is so much more -- role model and inspiration.
The Manchurian Candidate
(Sen. John Yerkes Iselin)
A Town Has Turned to Dust
(Hennify)
The Frogmen
(Chief Petty Officer Lane)
The Silencers
(MacDonald)
The Bastard
(Will Campbell)
The Secret War of Harry Frigg
(Gen. Homer Prentiss)
Captain Newman, M.D.
(Col. Edgar Pyser)
The Flight of Dragons
(Bryagh / Smrgol (voice))
PT 109
(Commander C.R. Ritchie)
Nightfall
(Ben Fraser)
The Main Event
(Gough)
Murderers' Row
(MacDonald)
The Ambushers
(MacDonald)
Al Capone
(Schaefler (narrator))
Two Weeks in Another Town
(Brad Byrd)
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
(Editor)
The Sons of Katie Elder
(Morgan Hastings)
A Distant Trumpet
(Maj. Gen. Alexander Upton Quaint)
The Big Caper
(Flood)
The Scarlet Hour
(Ralph Nevins)
Shoot Out
(Sam Foley)
A Rage to Live
(Dr. O'Brien)
The Young Stranger
(Sergeant Shipley)
Knife in the Dark
(Willie)
Gun Glory
(Grimsell)
Quick, Before It Melts
(Vice Admiral)
Twilight of Honor
(Norris Bixby)
The Weekend Nun
(Sid Richardson)
Hey Boy! Hey Girl!
(Father Burton)
Underwater Warrior
(Lt. William Arnold)
The Hunted
(Buckman)
Wait Till Your Mother Gets Home
(Dan Peters)
Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood
(Leo Hackett)
X-15
(Tom Deparma)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
(Ursus)
Miracle on 34th Street
(District Attorney)
The Hawaiians
(Dr. Whipple Sr. (uncredited))
The Comeback Kid
(Scotty)
Gridlock
(Gen. Caribou Caruthers)
Clambake
(Duster Heyward)
Onionhead
(Lt. Cmdr. Fox aka The Skipper)
Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident
(James Donovan)
Five in Judgement
(Roy)
The Late Liz
(Sam Burns)
At This Moment
(Bill Ritter)
The Strongest Man in the World
(Chief Blair)
The Love God?
(Darrell Evans Hughes)
A Very Missing Person
(Oscar Piper)
The Million Dollar Duck
(Rutledge)
The Abduction of Saint Anne
(Pete Haggerty)
The Naked City
(Patrolman Albert Hicks (uncredited))
The Things People Want
(Pete)
Cocoon
(Jonathan Kaye)
The Marshal of Madrid
(Oil Tycoon)
Star Trek
(Dr. Tristan Adams)
M*A*S*H
(General Kelly)
My World and Welcome to It
F Troop
My Three Sons
Kraft Suspense Theatre
(Lieutenant Wade)
The F.B.I.
(Bert Anslem)
Hawaii Five-O
(Jonathan Kaye)
All in the Family
(William R. Kirkwood)
That Girl
Quincy, M.E.
The Streets of San Francisco
Sanford and Son
The Mod Squad
Gunsmoke
(Scanlon, Sr.)
All's Fair
Studio One
(Gas Man)
Night Gallery
General Electric Theater
(Sandy Green)
Emergency!
Mission: Impossible
Cannon
The Twilight Zone
(Confederate Sergeant)
Ironside
(Herb Jarman)
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
(Captain Quill)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(Mr. Wescott)
Sam Benedict
Target: The Corruptors!
The Lawless Years
(Barney Ruditsky)
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
The Wild Wild West
Rawhide
(Owen Spencer)
Cimarron Strip
The Outcasts
Police Story
Daniel Boone
(Captain Asa Webb)
The Fugitive
(Pete Crandall)
The High Chaparral
(Jake Stoner)
The Virginian
(Slim Jessup)
Lancer
Thriller
(Howard Yates)
Search
Lux Video Theatre
(Mac)
McCloud
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
(Morgan)
The Headmaster
Climax!
(Joe McCarthy)
The Big Valley
(Simon Carter)
The Loner
Judd for the Defense
The Paul Lynde Show
Tarzan
The Philco Television Playhouse
Laramie
Ben Casey
The New Breed
(Father Al)
Suspense
Robert Montgomery Presents
The Lieutenant
Playwrights '56
Inner Sanctum
Danger
Flying High
The Defenders
(Paul Tasso)
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
(John Kramer)
Letter to Loretta
(Jim Patton)
Barney Miller
(Inspector Frank Luger)
Premiere
The Outsider
Detective School
Hogan's Heroes
(General Biedenbender)
Rawhide
(Lash Whitcomb)
Rawhide
(Mister Brothers)
The Big Valley
(Harry Bodine)
The Big Valley
(Senator Jim Bannard)
The Virginian
(Cal Young)
Gunsmoke
(Judge Calvin Strom)
Gunsmoke
(Wes Martin)
Columbo
(David Buckner)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
(Lieutenant Billy Kyle)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Lux Video Theatre
(Mr. Randolph)
Hawaii Five-O
(Mike Finney)
Barney Miller
(Frank Luger)
Studio One
(Mr. Black)
Studio One
(James Metcalf)
Studio One
(Mr. Bales)
Studio One
(George Monzo)
Bonanza
(Mulvaney)
Studio One
(Corey)
Studio One
(Private Alan Pomeroy)
Climax!
(Dr. Froelich)
Suspense
(Jerry)
The Philco Television Playhouse
(Lester Thompson)
The Philco Television Playhouse
(Angus)
The Twilight Zone
(Air Force General)
The Love Boat
(Milton Benson)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(Wayne Campbell)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(John Gregory)
Temperatures Rising
(James Jerome)
Bonanza
(Sgt. Mike Russell)
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
(Fred Kruger)