Jack Grimes (actor)
Encyclopedia
Jack Grimes was an American voice and radio actor who played Jimmy Olsen in the last three years of The Adventures of Superman
radio program, the 1966 Filmation
TV series The New Adventures of Superman, and the 1967 anime
, Speed Racer
.
. His acting career began at age seven, during the depression
, when he helped earn money for his family. He appeared as Jackie Grimes in the Broadway
play, The Old Maid
, which won a Pulitzer Prize
and ran for ten months in New York
. It then went on tour for another eleven months.
Grimes worked on radio
, beginning with the CBS
program, "Let's Pretend
." He was also a regular on "The Fred Allen Show", "The Philip Morris Playhouse", "Second Husband", "CBS Radio Mystery Theater
", and "Death Valley Days." By age 12, he was appearing on between 35 to 40 radio shows a week.
In 1944, he moved to California
to work for Universal
. His credits include "Fairytale Murder", "Lady on a Train", and "Weekend at the Waldorf". In the early 1950s, he switched to television
. His credits include "Alcoa Presents", "Love of Life
", "The Aldrich Family
", "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet
", "Maude", "On the Rocks", and "All in the Family
".
In 1962 Grimes and Peter Fernandez
worked together on a series of records for MGM. Five years later, Fernandez hired him to do the voices of Sparky and Chim Chim on Speed Racer.
Grimes died in Queens, New York in 2009 at the age of 82.
The Adventures of Superman (radio)
The Adventures of Superman was a long running radio serial that originally aired from 1940 to 1951, adapted from the DC Comics character. ....
radio program, the 1966 Filmation
Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
TV series The New Adventures of Superman, and the 1967 anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, Speed Racer
Speed Racer
Speed Racer is an English adaptation name of the Japanese manga and anime, which centered on automobile racing. Mach GoGoGo was originally serialized in print form in Shueisha's 1958 Shōnen Book, and was released in tankōbon book form by Sun Wide Comics, re-released in Japan by Fusosha...
.
Biography
Grimes was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His acting career began at age seven, during the depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, when he helped earn money for his family. He appeared as Jackie Grimes in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play, The Old Maid
The Old Maid (play)
The Old Maid is a 1935 play adapted by American playwright Zoe Akins from Edith Wharton's 1925 novel, The Mother's Recompense.The Irish dramatist Arthur Murphy also wrote a play of the same name, which was first produced in 1761.-External links:...
, which won a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
and ran for ten months in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It then went on tour for another eleven months.
Grimes worked on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, beginning with the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
program, "Let's Pretend
Let's Pretend
This article is on the US radio series. For the UK TV series see Let's Pretend .Let's Pretend, created and directed by Nila Mack , was a long-run CBS radio series for children....
." He was also a regular on "The Fred Allen Show", "The Philip Morris Playhouse", "Second Husband", "CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater was a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS affiliates from 1974 to 1982....
", and "Death Valley Days." By age 12, he was appearing on between 35 to 40 radio shows a week.
In 1944, he moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to work for Universal
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
. His credits include "Fairytale Murder", "Lady on a Train", and "Weekend at the Waldorf". In the early 1950s, he switched to television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. His credits include "Alcoa Presents", "Love of Life
Love of Life
Love of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
", "The Aldrich Family
The Aldrich Family
The Aldrich Family, a popular radio teenage situation comedy , was also presented in films, television and comic books. In the radio series' well-remembered weekly opening exchange, awkward teen Henry's mother called, "Hen-reeeeeeeeeeeee! Hen-ree Al-drich!", and he responded with a breaking...
", "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet
Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett — Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books and View-Master reels in the 1950s....
", "Maude", "On the Rocks", and "All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
".
In 1962 Grimes and Peter Fernandez
Peter Fernandez
Peter Fernandez was an American actor, voice actor, and director. Despite a career extending from the 1930s, he is probably best known for his uncredited roles in the 1967 anime Speed Racer. Fernandez co-wrote the scripts, was the voice director, and translated the English language version of the...
worked together on a series of records for MGM. Five years later, Fernandez hired him to do the voices of Sparky and Chim Chim on Speed Racer.
Grimes died in Queens, New York in 2009 at the age of 82.