Biografia

13 febbraio 1916 · Los Angeles, California, Stati Uniti

17 settembre 1993 · Avila Beach, California, Stati Uniti (cancro)

James Jeffrey Griffith

1,85 m

Served in the US Marine Corps during World War II.

American character actor, ubiquitous in the 1950s reliably appearing in pretty much all genres--westerns, sci-fi, drama, comedy, etc., playing everything from cold-blooded killer to jovial country bumpkin with ease. Had leads or "second leads" in a few "B" pictures, but settled down into small character parts in films and TV. Was once a musician with Spike Jones and His City Slickers.

Married twice and had one daughter by his first marriage.

Once played Santa Claus in a school play.

I understood what many actors did not understand -- that playing bad guys afforded me more opportunities to work and thus be in different settings. Most westerns have only one hero, and he's pretty much restricted in what he can do ... whereas the heavies run around in gangs and do all kinds of colorful things.