James Franciscus

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James Franciscus

Born

James Grover Franciscus
January 31, 1934
Clayton, Missouri

Died

July 8, 1991 (aged 57)
North Hollywood, California

Other name(s)

James Francicus

Years active

1961-1991

Spouse(s)

Carla Ankney Franciscus (1980-1991) (his death)
Kathleen 'Kitty' Wellman (1960-?) (div)

Awards won
Other Awards
Golden Apple Award 1963 Least Cooperative Actor

James Grover Franciscus (January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991) was a leading and supporting American actor. He was born in Clayton, Missouri. His first big role was as Detective Jim Halloran in the TV version of The Naked City. He was born and raised Roman Catholic.

Although he performed in many feature films and television programs throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Franciscus is probably best known for his title roles in two TV series, Mr. Novak (1963–65) and Longstreet (1971–72), and for his vocal performance in the big-screen version of Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973). In 1976, he starred another TV series, Hunter, a series about espionage where Franciscus played a secret agent (not to be confused with the detective show "Hunter" which starred Fred Dryer and Stefanie Kramer.

James Franciscus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes

He was also frequently seen in feature films of the 1960s and 1970s that included Snow Treasure, The Amazing Dobermans, Marooned, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, City on Fire, and When Time Ran Out.

It's a fact, James Franciscus was involved for awhile with film actress Jane Fonda. She is on record explaining her relationship with the actor in articles and books. There was a time that James had even proposed to her. This was very early in their College drama days. Jane had got fed up with waiting for his first big writing project to finish and left him.

Over the years, Franciscus found film work with Italian cinema. In 1971 he accepted the lead role in Dario Argento's second film, The Cat o' Nine Tails. 1979 saw him appear in Antonio Margheritti's Killer Fish, and in 1980 he starred in director Enzo G. Castellari's notorious Jaws rip-off, Great White (film). This movie was pulled from distribution after Universal Studios successfully sued for copyright infringement, and to this day it has never received an official video release in the United States.

He was a co-founder of a successful production company that began in the 1960s, and was known to raise money for charity with the sport of tennis. He continued appearing in roles on the screen and television. When less important roles were offered Franciscus turned to writing screenplays and producing. During the year of 1991, James worked as an associate producer and writer on the television program "29th Street". It was the final project Franciscus worked on.

James Franciscus died at the age of 57 from emphysema.