James Griffith

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James Griffith (February 13, 1916 – September 17, 1993) was an American actor specializing in character roles.

Griffith was born in Los Angeles, but yearned from a young age to be a musician rather than an actor. Instead, he managed to find work in little theatres around Los Angeles, where the budding musician eased into a duel career of acting. He hit it big in the production They Can't Get You Down in 1939, but put his career on-hold during World War II to serve with the U.S. military. Following the war, Griffith switched from the stage to films when he appeared in the 1948 film noir picture Black Ice.From then on, he enjoyed a lengthy career of supporting and bit roles (sometimes uncredited) in westerns and detective films. Though Griffith was generally cast as the outlaw in western pictures, he managed to garner a few memorable "good guy" roles over his many years in Hollywood – Abraham Lincoln in both 1950's Stage to Tucson and 1955's Apache Ambush, sheriff Pat Garrett in 1954's The Law vs. Billy the Kid, and Davy Crockett in 1956's The First Texan. Griffith also made more than 70 guest appearances on TV shows like The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, and Little House on the Prairie.

Throughout his acting career, Griffith continued to practice his original love of music, performing in Spike Jones' band and composing music for the 1958 film Bullwhip and the 1964 film Lorna.

He died of cancer in Avila Beach, California in 1993.