James Gregory
Known for: Acting
James Gregory (December 23, 1911 – September 16, 2002) was an American actor. His best-known roles include Schaffer in Al Capone (1959), the McCarthy-like Sen. John Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), and Inspector Frank Luger in the television sitcom Barney Miller (1975–1982). Gregory 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. 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, 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. He married Anne Miltner in 1944; they were married for 58 years (until his death). During his Broadway career, Gregory earned consistently favorable reviews by drama critics from the New York Press, Boston Globe, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Hollywood Reporter and Variety. 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, 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. 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). One of his final roles, perhaps his most acclaimed, was as Inspector Frank Luger for the entire run of Barney Miller (1975 - 1982). As the Inspector, he would be lovable, irritating, ingratiating, exasperating, and humorous, sometimes all at the same time. Gregory retired from acting in 1983, with over 100 TV and movie credits.
Filmography
Series
Columbo
David Buckner
1971
Series
Star Trek
Dr. Tristan Adams
1966
Series
Bonanza
Mulvaney
1959
Series
Bonanza
Sgt. Mike Russell
1959
Series
Bonanza
Whitney Parker
1959
Series
The Fugitive
Pete Crandall
1963
Series
The Love Boat
Milton Benson
1977
Series
Ironside
Herb Jarman
1967
Series
Ironside
TV Presenter
1967
Series
Ironside
Tony Hudson
1967
Series
Hawaii Five-O
Jonathan Kaye
1968
Series
Hawaii Five-O
Mike Finney
1968
Series
M*A*S*H
General Kelly
1972
Series
Quincy, M.E.
1976
Series
Quincy, M.E.
Tony Gordon
1976
Series
Climax!
Joe McCarthy
1954
Series
Climax!
Dr. Froelich
1954
Series
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950
Series
Mission: Impossible
1966
Series
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Fred Kruger
1962
Series
Hogan's Heroes
General Biedenbender
1965
Series
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
Series
The Philco Television Playhouse
Lester Thompson
1948
Series
The Philco Television Playhouse
Angus
1948
Series
The Twilight Zone
Confederate Sergeant
1959
Series
The Twilight Zone
Air Force General
1959
Series
Emergency!
1972
Series
The Virginian
Slim Jessup
1962
Series
The Virginian
Cal Young
1962
Series
Ben Casey
1961
Series
Barney Miller
Inspector Frank Luger
1975
Series
Barney Miller
Frank Luger
1975
Series
Cannon
1971
Series
My Three Sons
1960
Series
Studio One
Gas Man
1948
Series
Studio One
Mr. Black
1948
Series
Studio One
James Metcalf
1948
Series
Studio One
Mr. Bales
1948
Series
Studio One
George Monzo
1948
Series
Studio One
Corey
1948
Series
Studio One
Private Alan Pomeroy
1948
Series
Rawhide
Owen Spencer
1959
Series
Rawhide
Mister Brothers
1959
Series
Rawhide
Lash Whitcomb
1959
Series
Daniel Boone
Captain Asa Webb
1964
Series
The Wild Wild West
1965
Series
The F.B.I.
Bert Anslem
1965
Series
The Big Valley
Simon Carter
1965
Series
The Big Valley
Senator Jim Bannard
1965
Series
The Big Valley
Harry Bodine
1965
Series
Medical Center
Col. Whittendale
1969
Series
The Defenders
Paul Tasso
1961
Series
The High Chaparral
Jake Stoner
1967
Series
Night Gallery
1970
Series
Gunsmoke
Scanlon, Sr.
1955
Series
Gunsmoke
Judge Calvin Strom
1955
Series
Gunsmoke
Wes Martin
1955
Series
That Girl
1966
Series
Thriller
Howard Yates
1960
Series
McCloud
1970
Series
The Streets of San Francisco
1972
Series
Sanford and Son
1972
Series
All in the Family
William R. Kirkwood
1971
Series
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Mr. Wescott
1955
Series
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Wayne Campbell
1955
Series
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John Gregory
1955
Series
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Lieutenant Wade
1963
Series
Suspense
1949
Series
Suspense
Jerry
1949
Series
The Partridge Family
Claude Tubbles
1970
Series
Laramie
1959
Series
The Mod Squad
1968
Series
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Martin Burke
1958
Series
Lancer
1968
Series
Kraft Television Theatre
Steve
1947
Series
Police Story
1973
Series
Tarzan
1966
Danger
1950
Danger
Willie
1950
Series
Judd, for the Defense
1967
Series
F Troop
1965
Lux Video Theatre
Mac
1950
Lux Video Theatre
Mr. Randolph
1950
Series
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Captain Quill
1974
Series
Cimarron Strip
1967
Series
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
John Kramer
1959
Series
The New Breed
Father Al
1961
Series
Target: The Corruptors!
1961
Series
Sam Benedict
1962
Series
The Outsider
1968
Series
Temperatures Rising
James Jerome
1972
Series
The Lieutenant
1963
Series
Flying High
1978
Series
The Loner
1965
Series
Search
1972
Series
The Lawless Years
Barney Ruditsky
1959
Series
Letter to Loretta
Jim Patton
1953
Series
Inner Sanctum
1954
Series
The Outcasts
1968
Series
Supertrain
Griswald
1979
Playwrights '56
1955
Series
My World and Welcome to It
1969
Series
The Paul Lynde Show
1972
Film
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Ursus
1970
Series
All's Fair
1976
Film
The Manchurian Candidate
Sen. John Yerkes Iselin
1962
Series
General Electric Theater
Sandy Green
1953
Series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Morgan
1951
Series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Lieutenant Billy Kyle
1951
Series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Series
Detective School
1979
Film
Clambake
Duster Heyward
1967
Film
The Hawaiians
Dr. Whipple Sr. (uncredited)
1970
Film
The Sons of Katie Elder
Morgan Hastings
1965
Film
Shoot Out
Sam Foley
1971
Series
The Headmaster
1970
Film
The Ambushers
MacDonald
1967
Film
The Naked City
Patrolman Albert Hicks (uncredited)
1948
Series
The Bastard
Will Campbell
1978
Film
Al Capone
Schaefler (narrator)
1959
Film
X-15
Tom Deparma
1961
Film
The Strongest Man in the World
Chief Blair
1975
Film
The Silencers
MacDonald
1966
Film
PT 109
Commander C.R. Ritchie
1963
Film
Nightfall
Ben Fraser
1956
Film
The Flight of Dragons
Bryagh / Smrgol (voice)
1982
Film
Two Weeks in Another Town
Brad Byrd
1962
Film
Murderers' Row
MacDonald
1966
Film
The Million Dollar Duck
Rutledge
1971
Film
Twilight of Honor
Norris Bixby
1963
Film
Gun Glory
Grimsell
1957
Film
The Main Event
Gough
1979
Film
The Abduction of Saint Anne
Pete Haggerty
1975
Film
Captain Newman, M.D.
Col. Edgar Pyser
1963
Film
Onionhead
Lt. Cmdr. Fox aka The Skipper
1958
Premiere
1968
Film
Gridlock
Gen. Caribou Caruthers
1980
Film
A Distant Trumpet
Maj. Gen. Alexander Upton Quaint
1964
Film
Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident
James Donovan
1976
Film
The Frogmen
Chief Petty Officer Lane
1951
Film
The Secret War of Harry Frigg
Gen. Homer Prentiss
1968
Film
The Hunted
Buckman
1967
Film
The Love God?
Darrell Evans Hughes
1969
Film
A Rage to Live
Dr. O'Brien
1965
Film
The Young Stranger
Sergeant Shipley
1957
Film
Miracle on 34th Street
District Attorney
1973
Film
Cocoon
Jonathan Kaye
1968
Film
The Late Liz
Sam Burns
1971
Film
The Scarlet Hour
Ralph Nevins
1956
Film
A Very Missing Person
Oscar Piper
1972
Film
The Weekend Nun
Sid Richardson
1972
Film
The Comeback Kid
Scotty
1980
Film
The Marshal of Madrid
Oil Tycoon
1972
Film
Quick, Before It Melts
Vice Admiral
1965
Underwater Warrior
Lt. William Arnold
1958
Film
The Big Caper
Flood
1957
Film
The Things People Want
Pete
1948
Film
Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood
Leo Hackett
1981
Film
A Town Has Turned to Dust
Hennify
1958
Film
Wait Till Your Mother Gets Home
Dan Peters
1983
Film
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
Editor
1960
Film
At This Moment
Bill Ritter
1954
Film
Journey to the Day
Endicott
1960
Film
Hey Boy! Hey Girl!
Father Burton
1959