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James Westerfield
James Westerfield

James Westerfield

Mar 22, 1913 — Sep 20, 1971 (58 years) Nashville, Tennessee, USA
47 Movies 27 Series
A career spanning 86+ years and 74+ titles makes James Westerfield one of the trade's long-distance runners. his Big Mac in 'On the Waterfront' ranks among the most remembered of his filmography. Drama has been his most frequent territory.
58R.I.P.
47Movies
27Series
A career spanning 86+ years and 74+ titles makes James Westerfield one of the trade's long-distance runners. his Big Mac in 'On the Waterfront' ranks among the most remembered of his filmography. Drama has been his most frequent territory.
58 R.I.P.
R.I.P.
47
Movies
27
Series
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The Love God?
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The Love God?
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Full Filmography
Dead Aim
Dead Aim
John Applebee
1971
Film
Bartleby
Bartleby
The Lawyer
1969
Film
The Love God?
The Love God?
Rev. Wilkerson
1969
Film
Smith!
Smith!
Sheriff
1969
Film
Mayberry R.F.D.
Mayberry R.F.D.
Sheriff Matson
1971
TV
Blue
Blue
Abe Parker
1968
Film
Hang 'em High
Hang 'em High
Prisoner
1968
Film
A Man Called Gannon
A Man Called Gannon
Amos
1968
Film
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round
Jack Balter
1966
Film
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is James Westerfield still alive?
James Westerfield passed away on September 20, 1971 at age 58.
What are the most famous roles of James Westerfield?
James Westerfield is best known for roles in On the Waterfront, True Grit, Hang 'em High.
How many movies has James Westerfield been in?
Over a 31-year career (since 1940), James Westerfield has appeared in 57 movies and 54 TV shows.
What was James Westerfield's first movie?
The career of James Westerfield began with The Howards of Virginia (1940).
What is James Westerfield's most recent movie or series?
James Westerfield's most recent release is Set This Town on Fire, which premiered on January 8, 1973.
What TV shows has James Westerfield appeared in?
On television, James Westerfield has appeared in The Twilight Zone, Bewitched, Bonanza, Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
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James Westerfield
James Westerfield
1913-03-22 · Nashville, Tennessee, USA

James A. Westerfield (22 March 1913 – 20 September 1971) was an American actor of stage, film, and television.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, to candy-maker Brasher Omier Westerfield and his wife Dora Elizabeth Bailey, he was raised in Detroit, Michigan. (A news story in the June 12, 1949, issue of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle calls the information in the preceding sentence into question. It describes Westerfield as "the son of a famous producer-director" and says that he was "a youngster in Denver, Col.")

He became interested in theatre as a young man and in the 1930s joined Gilmor Brown's famed Pasadena Community Playhouse, appearing in dozens of plays. He played in numerous films following his debut in 1940, then went to New York City and appeared on Broadway, winning two New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for his supporting roles in The Madwoman of Chaillot and Detective Story. He then returned to Hollywood and made more than 40 more films. Westerfield maintained an interest in the theatre. He directed more than 50 musicals in a summer-musical tent he owned in Danbury, Connecticut, and was the original stage director and producer for the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. He directed three seasons of "Theatre Under the Stars" in Vancouver, British Columbia, and appeared in musical roles with the Detroit Civic Light Opera, the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, and the San Francisco Civic Light Opera.

On film, Westerfield had roles in The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), On The Waterfront (1954), Lucy Gallant (1955), the 1957 Budd Boetticher-directed Western Decision at Sundown starring Randolph Scott, Cowboy (1958), a repeating role in The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and its sequel Son of Flubber (1963), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), Man's Favorite Sport (1964), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), Hang 'Em High (1968) and True Grit (1969).

Westerfield had many roles on television, including seven episodes as John Murrel from 1963 to 1964 on ABC's The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, starring child actor Kurt Russell in the title role. He made two guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Sheriff Bert Elmore in the 1957 episode, "The Case of the Angry Mourner." He also appeared in an episode of The Lone Ranger in 1954 entitled "Texas Draw."

Westerfield's other appearances were on such series as The Rifleman, The Californians, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, The Alaskans, The Rebel, Straightaway, Going My Way, The Asphalt Jungle, Hazel, The Andy Griffith Show, Daniel Boone, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Gunsmoke. He played the circus leader, Dr. Marvello, in an episode of Lost in Space "Space Circus" (1966).

Westerfield as a young man was a roommate of fellow Pasadena Playhouse actor George Reeves. The two remained close friends until Reeves's death in 1959.

Westerfield was married to Alice G. Fay (an actress under the name Fay Tracey), who, along with his mother, survived him. Westerfield died from a heart attack in Woodlands Hills, California, at the age of fifty-eight.

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