Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
May 22, 1882
Place of Birth:
New York City, New York, USA
Social Media
James Gleason
Biography
James Gleason was born in New York City to William Gleason and Mina Crolius, who were both in the theatre. He was married to Lucile Gleason (born Lucile Webster), and had a son, Russell Gleason. As a young man James fought in the Spanish-American War. After the war he joined the stock company at the Liberty Theater in Oakland, California, which his parents were running. James and his wife then moved to Portland, Oregon, where they played in stock at the Baker Theater. For several years afterward they toured in road shows until James enlisted in the army during World War I. When he returned he appeared on the stage in "The Five Million." He then turned to writing, including "Is Zat So", which he produced for the NY stage. He also wrote and acted in "The Fall Guy" and "The Shannons on Broadway." Next he wrote The Broadway Melody (1929) for MGM. He collaborated, in 1930, on The Swellhead (1930), Dumbbells in Ermine (1930), What a Widow! (1930), Rain or Shine (1930) and His First Command (1929). He and his wife were then contracted to Pathe, Lucille to act, and James (or Jimmie as he was known) as a writer. Probably his most famous acting role was as Max Corkle, the manager of Joe Pendleton who was wrongly plucked from this life into the next, in the hit fantasy Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | The Last Hurrah | Cuke Gillen |
| 1958 | Man or Gun | Sheriff Jim Jackson |
| 1958 | Money, Women and Guns | Henry Devers |
| 1958 | The Female Animal | Tom Maloney |
| 1958 | Rock-a-Bye Baby | Doc Simpkins |
| 1958 | No Time at All | Dolph Grimes |
| 1958 | Once Upon a Horse... | Postmaster |
| 1957 | Loving You | Carl Meade |
| 1957 | Spring Reunion | Collie |
| 1957 | Man in the Shadow | Hank James |
| 1956 | Star in the Dust | Orval Jones |
| 1955 | The Night of the Hunter | Uncle Birdie Steptoe |
| 1955 | The Girl Rush | Ether Ferguson |
| 1954 | Hollywood Thrill-Makers | Risky Russell |
| 1954 | Suddenly | Peter 'Pop' Benson |
| 1953 | Forever Female | Eddie Woods |
| 1952 | We're Not Married! | Duffy |
| 1952 | What Price Glory | General Cokely |
| 1952 | The Story of Will Rogers | Bert Lynn |
| 1951 | I'll See You in My Dreams | Fred Townsend |
| 1951 | Come Fill the Cup | Charley Dolan |
| 1951 | Two Gals and a Guy | Max Howard |
| 1951 | Joe Palooka in Triple Cross | Knobby Walsh |
| 1950 | The Yellow Cab Man | Mickey Corkins |
| 1950 | Key to the City | Sergeant Hogan |
| 1950 | Riding High | Racing Secretary |
| 1950 | The Jackpot | Harry Summers |
| 1950 | Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle | Knobby Walsh |
| 1949 | Take One False Step | Captain Gledhill |
| 1949 | Miss Grant Takes Richmond | Timothy Gleason |
| 1949 | The Life of Riley | Gillis |
| 1949 | Bad Boy | Chief |
| 1948 | Smart Woman | Sam Corkle |
| 1948 | When My Baby Smiles at Me | Lefty Moore |
| 1948 | The Return of October | Uncle Willie Ramsey |
| 1948 | The Dude Goes West | Sam Briggs |
| 1947 | Down to Earth | Max Corkle |
| 1947 | The Bishop's Wife | Sylvester |
| 1947 | Tycoon | Pop Mathews |
| 1947 | The Homestretch | Doc Kilborne |
| 1946 | The Hoodlum Saint | Snarp |
| 1946 | Home Sweet Homicide | Sgt. O'Hare |
| 1946 | Lady Luck | Sacramento Sam |
| 1946 | The Well Groomed Bride | Captain Hornby |
| 1945 | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | McGarrity |
| 1945 | The Clock | Al Henry |
| 1945 | This Man's Navy | Jimmy Shannon |
| 1945 | Captain Eddie | Tom Clark |
| 1944 | Arsenic and Old Lace | Lt. Rooney |
| 1944 | Once Upon a Time | Moke McGillicuddy |
| 1944 | The Keys of the Kingdom | Rev. Dr. Wilbur Fiske |
| 1943 | A Guy Named Joe | “Nails” Kilpatrick |
| 1943 | Crash Dive | Chief Mike 'Mac' McDonnell |
| 1942 | Tales of Manhattan | Joe - Mission Aid Society |
| 1942 | Footlight Serenade | Bruce McKay |
| 1942 | A Date with the Falcon | Inspector Michael 'Mike' O'Hara |
| 1942 | The Falcon Takes Over | Inspector Mike O'Hara |
| 1942 | Hay Foot | Colonel J. A. Barkley |
| 1942 | My Gal Sal | Pat Hawley |
| 1942 | Manila Calling | Tim O'Rourke |
| 1941 | Meet John Doe | Henry Connell |
| 1941 | Here Comes Mr. Jordan | Max Corkle |
| 1941 | Affectionately Yours | 'Chet' Phillips |
| 1941 | Nine Lives Are Not Enough | Sergeant Daniels |
| 1941 | Tanks a Million | Col. 'Spitfire' Barkley |
| 1941 | Babes on Broadway | Thornton Reed |
| 1941 | Breakdowns of 1941 | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1940 | Earl of Puddlestone | Joe Higgins |
| 1940 | Grandpa Goes To Town | Joe Higgins |
| 1939 | The Covered Trailer | Joe Higgins |
| 1939 | On Your Toes | Phil Dolan Sr. |
| 1939 | Should Husbands Work? | Joe Higgins |
| 1939 | My Wife's Relatives | Joe Higgins |
| 1939 | Money To Burn | Joe Higgins |
| 1938 | Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 12 | James Gleason |
| 1938 | Army Girl | Hennessy |
| 1938 | The Higgins Family | Joe Higgins |
| 1938 | Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 6 | Self |
| 1937 | Cinema Circus | Himself |
| 1937 | Forty Naughty Girls | Inspector Oscar Piper |
| 1937 | Manhattan Merry-Go-Round | Danny The Duck |
| 1936 | Murder on a Bridle Path | Police Insp. Oscar Piper |
| 1936 | The Ex-Mrs. Bradford | Inspector Corrigan |
| 1936 | The Plot Thickens | Oscar Piper |
| 1936 | Don't Turn 'em Loose | Detective Daniels |
| 1936 | The Big Game | George Scott |
| 1936 | Yours for the Asking | Saratoga |
| 1935 | Murder on a Honeymoon | Inspector Oscar Piper |
| 1935 | Helldorado | Sam Barnes |
| 1935 | West Point of the Air | Joe 'Bags' |
| 1935 | We're Only Human | Detective Danny Walsh |
| 1935 | Hot Tip | Jimmy McGill |
| 1935 | Hollywood Hobbies | Himself |
| 1934 | Murder on the Blackboard | Inspector Oscar Piper |
| 1934 | The Meanest Gal in Town | Duke Slater |
| 1934 | Search for Beauty | Dan Healy |
| 1934 | Change of Heart | Hot Dog Vendor |
| 1933 | Hoopla | Jerry |
| 1933 | Clear All Wires! | Lefty Williams |
| 1933 | Orders Is Orders | Ed Waggermeyer |
| 1933 | The Billion Dollar Scandal | "Ratsy" Harris |
| 1932 | Blondie of the Follies | Pa McClune |
| 1932 | The Penguin Pool Murder | Police Inspector Oscar Piper |
| 1932 | The Crooked Circle | Arthur Crimmer |
| 1932 | Lady and Gent | Pin Streaver |
| 1932 | High Hats and Low Brows | Danny Ruff |
| 1932 | Off His Base | Picture in Opening Credits |
| 1932 | The Devil Is Driving | 'Beef' Evans |
| 1932 | Rule 'Em and Weep | Spike Mc Gorey |
| 1932 | Yoo-Hoo | Jimmy Gleason |
| 1932 | Fast Companions | Silk Henley |
| 1932 | The All-American | Chick Knipe |
| 1931 | The Big Gamble | Fred 'Squint' Dugan |
| 1931 | A Free Soul | Eddie |
| 1931 | Sweepstakes | Sleepy Jones |
| 1931 | Suicide Fleet | Skeets |
| 1931 | Beyond Victory | Jim Mobley |
| 1931 | It's a Wise Child | Cool Kelly |
| 1930 | Puttin' on the Ritz | James 'Jimmy' Tierney |
| 1930 | Swellhead | Johnny Trump |
| 1930 | Her Man | Steve |
| 1930 | Dumb-bells in Ermine | Mike |
| 1930 | The Matrimonial Bed | Gustave Corton |
| 1930 | Don't Believe It | Jimmy |
| 1930 | Big Money | Tom |
| 1930 | Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 1 | Self |
| 1929 | Oh, Yeah! | Dusty |
| 1929 | Meet the Missus | Bert La Motte |
| 1929 | The Broadway Melody | Music Publisher (uncredited) |
| 1929 | Fairways and Foul | Husband |
| 1922 | Polly of the Follies | Paul Gordon |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Leave It to Beaver | Pete |
| 1955 | Cheyenne | |
| 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Mr. Jorgy |
| 1955 | The Millionaire | Charles Hartford Simpson |
| 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Howard Fieldstone |
| 1955 | Screen Director's Playhouse | Ed Shafer |
| 1954 | Climax! | Reverend Mr. McCarkle |
| 1952 | This Is Your Life | Self |
| 1952 | Cavalcade of America | Noah Larkin |
| 1951 | Racket Squad | |
| 1950 | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Self |