James Gregory (actor)

James Gregory (December 23, 1911 – September 16, 2002) was an American character actor known for his deep, gravelly voice and playing brash roles such as the McCarthy-like Sen. John Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), the audacious General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), and crusty Inspector Frank Luger in the television sitcom Barney Miller (1975–1982).

Biography
Gregory was born in the Bronx in New York City, and raised in New Rochelle north of the city. In high school he was president of the Drama Club. He briefly worked on Wall Street as a runner in 1929 and thought of being a stockbroker, but, by 1935, had become a professional actor instead. In 1939, he made his Broadway debut in a production of Key Largo and worked in about twenty-five more Broadway productions over the next sixteen years. Gregory served three years in the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps during World War II. His early acting work included Army training films; one such appearance is excerpted in The Atomic Café (1982).

Gregory was the lead in The Lawless Years, a 1920s crime drama which aired forty-five episodes on NBC. In the series, which ran from 1959 to 1961, he played a New York City police detective named Barney Ruditsky. After his appearance as Sen. Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Gregory starred in the film PT 109 (1963) with Cliff Robertson.

He was also cast as Dean Martin's spy boss MacDonald, in the Matt Helm film series; in the original Star Trek series in the episode "Dagger of the Mind" (1966), as Dr. Tristan Adams; and the father of Scott Hayward in Elvis Presley's film Clambake (1967). Gregory was also a regular on the TV series Barney Miller as Deputy Inspector Frank Luger. His final role was as a special guest star on Mr. Belvedere in 1986, portraying Mr. Sparks.

Gregory died of natural causes in Sedona, Arizona. He and his wife, the former Anne Miltner, are interred at the Sedona Community Cemetery.

Selected TV and filmography

 * The Naked City (1948)
 * At This Moment (1954)
 * Justice in "The Big Frame" (NBC, 1955)
 * Studio One in Hollywood 7 episodes (1954-1958)
 * The Scarlet Hour (1956)
 * Alfred Hitchcock Presents, CBS, as John Gregory in episode "The Perfect Crime" (1957)
 * Gun Glory (1957)
 * Nightfall (1957)
 * Underwater Warrior (1958)
 * Onionhead (1958)
 * Al Capone (1959)
 * The Twilight Zone Episode 001 "Where Is Everybody?" (10/02/1959)
 * Lux Playhouse as Johnny Warcheck in "Deathtrap" (1959)
 * Laramie as Father Elliott in "Man Of God" (1959) and as Richards in "The Sometime Gambler" (1963)
 * The DuPont Show with June Allyson as John Kramer in "I Hit And Ran" (CBS, 1960)
 * Wagon Train as Ricky Bell in "The Ricky And Laura Bell Story" with June Lockhart as Laurie Bell (1960)
 * General Electric Theater as Swandy Green in "Sarah's Laughter" (1960)
 * X-15 (1961)
 * The New Breed as Father Al in "Prime Target" (1961)
 * The Untouchables as Walter Trager in "Jigsaw" (1961)
 * Frontier Circus as Jacob Carno in "Depths Of Fear" (1961)
 * The Twilight Zone Episode 069 "The Passersby" (10/06/1961)
 * Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)
 * The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
 * Target: The Corruptors as Terran in "The Malignant Hearts" (1962)
 * The Virginian, NBC, Season 1, Episode 12, 50 Days To Moosejaw (12/12/1962), joins the Shiloh hands for a cattle drive to Moose Jaw Canada and befriends a "greenhorn" (Brandon deWilde)
 * Empire as Theron Haskell in "When The Gods Laugh" (1962)
 * PT 109 (1963)
 * Twilight of Honor (1959)
 * Sam Benedict as John Paul Elcott in "Of Rusted Cannons And Fallen Sparrows" (1963)
 * The Eleventh Hour NBC medical drama, as Eddie Forman in episode "Try To Keep Alive Until Next Tuesday" (1963)
 * The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, CBS anthology series, as Fred in episode "The Dividing Wall" (1963)
 * Rawhide as Owen Spencer in "Incident at Crooked Hat" (1963), as Mr. Brothers in "Incident of the Peyote Cup" (1964) and as Lash Whitcomb in "Six Weeks To Bent Fork" (1965)
 * The Lieutenant as Sgt. Horace Capp in "A Very Private Affair" (1963) and "Capp's Lady" (1964)
 * Breaking Point ABC medical drama as Malcolm in episode "Glass Flowers Never Drop Petals" (1964)
 * The Defenders as Paul Tasso in "All The Silent Voices" (1964)
 * A Distant Trumpet (1964)
 * Bonanza (TV Series) "A Man To Admire" (1964)
 * Gunsmoke in "Two Tall Men" (1965)
 * The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
 * A Man Called Shenandoah as Jake Roberts in "The Last Diablo" (1965)
 * The Big Valley "The Pursuit" (1966) as Simon Carter
 * The Wild, Wild West (1965–1969) as Ulysses S. Grant
 * F Troop "Too Many Cooks Spoil The Troop" (ABC, March, 29th, 1966)
 * F Troop "Lieutenant O'Rourke, Front And Center" (ABC, April 26, 1966)
 * The Silencers (1966)
 * Hogan's Heroes Episode "Hogan Gives A Birthday Party" as German General Biedenbender (1966)
 * Murderers' Row (1966)
 * The Fugitive Episode "Wine Is A Traitor" (1966)
 * Star Trek "Dagger of the Mind" (1966) (TV series)
 * The Virginian Episode "Without Mercy" (TV Series) 1967
 * F Troop "Carpetbagging, Anyone?" (ABC, March 16, 1967)
 * The Ambushers (1967)
 * The Secret Wars (1968)
 * The Mod Squad - Episode "A Quiet Weekend in the Country" (1968)
 * The Love God? (1969)
 * Bonanza "Company of Forgotten Men" (1969)
 * Beneath the Planet of the Apes as gorilla General Ursus (1970)
 * Million Dollar Duck (1971)
 * Shoot Out (1971)
 * All in the Family- One episode "Edith Flips Her Wig" (1972) (TV)
 * Ironside - One episode "Programmed for Panic" (1972) (TV) as TV show host
 * Columbo: Short Fuse (1972) (TV)
 * Columbo "The Most Crucial Game" (1972) (TV) as Coach Rizzo (Season 2, episode 3)
 * Mission: Impossible "The Bride" (1972) (TV series)
 * Miracle On 34th Street (1973)(TV) as Deputy District Attorney Thomas Mara
 * M*A*S*H "Iron Guts Kelly" (1974)(TV)
 * Emergency! "Prestidigitation" (1975) (TV) - Season 4, Episode 18 - Dr. Brackett's father
 * Barney Miller (1975–1982) as Inspector Frank Luger (TV series)
 * The Strongest Man in the World (1975)
 * The Bastard (1978)
 * The Main Event (1979)
 * The Flight of Dragons (1982, voice role)
 * Wait Till Your Mother Gets Home! (1983)(TV)
 * Mr. Belvedere "Grandma" (1986) (final role)