James Brown (Rin Tin Tin)
Encyclopedia
James E. Brown was an American
film and TV actor best known for his role as Lieutenant Ripley "Rip" Masters in all 166 episodes of the 1954-1959 ABC
Western
television series, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
.
In Rin Tin Tin, the story of a boy and his German shepherd, Brown appeared as a young officer at a remote US Cavalry outpost called Fort Apache. Child actor Lee Aaker
appeared as Rusty, who had been orphaned in an Indian
raid and was adopted by the troops at the fort. In two Rin Tin Tin episodes, "Forward Ho" and "The White Buffalo," Brown sang in his rich baritone
voice.
In 1976, he hosted a revival of Rin Tin Tin reruns, which extended until the 1980s.
boomtown of Desdemona
in Eastland County
east of Abilene
, Texas
. He attended elementary and some of his high school years in Waco
, the seat of McLennan County
in central Texas. He also attended Schreiner Institute in Kerrville, Texas where he learned to play tennis and sang in the glee club. After high school he enrolled at Baptist-affiliated Baylor University
in Waco.
After a brief period as a competitive tennis
player, Brown launched a four-decade career as an actor, having landed roles in more than forty films, including Wake Island (1942), Air Force (1943), Bing Crosby
's Going My Way
(1944), Objective, Burma!
(1945), The Fabulous Texan (1947), John Wayne
's Sands of Iwo Jima
(1949), The Charge at Feather River
(1953), Five Guns to Tombstone (1960), Gun Street (1961)., and a film noir, When the Clock Strikes (1961)
(as Jim Carson in the 1954 episode "Around the World with Superman"), Sky King
and The Lone Ranger
. He made two guest appearances on ABC-TV's
Ozark Jubilee
in 1955 and 1957.
In 1959, Brown appeared as Andy Clinton in two episodes of the ABC Walt Disney Presents miniseries
entitled Moochie of the Little League, starring Kevin Corcoran
and Russ Conway
. In 1960, Brown appeared in the NBC
-TV series, Laramie
, as Lon MacRae in the episode "Strange Company". From 1962-1966, he appeared three times in different roles in another NBC western
, The Virginian
. In 1964, he appeared as Sergeant Quincy in the episode "Not in Our Stars" of the NBC Western Daniel Boone
. In the fall of 1966, he appeared as the recurring character Luke in the ABC Western sitcom, The Rounders
.
From 1960-1964, he guest starred eight times in different roles in the CBS adventure/drama series, Route 66
. In 1966, he appeared on ABC's Honey West
, and in 1969, he guest starred on ABC's The F.B.I.. He also appeared on Lassie
(as Forest Ranger Mike McBride), Gunsmoke
(as Mark Feeney in the 1963 episode "Quint's Indian"), and the ABC crime drama Starsky and Hutch
(as R.J. Crow in the 1977 episode "Bloodbath"). From 1980-1988, he appeared in 27 episodes as detective Harry McSween on CBS-TV's Dallas
.
.
Brown died at the age of 72 of lung cancer
in Woodland Hills, California
. He was survived by his wife, Betty; three daughters, Carol (Thies), Wendy, and Barbara, and a niece, Cynthia Brown, whom he reared as a fourth daughter.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film and TV actor best known for his role as Lieutenant Ripley "Rip" Masters in all 166 episodes of the 1954-1959 ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
television series, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin is an American children's television program which originally aired in 166 episodes on ABC from October 1954 until August 1959. It starred child actor Lee Aaker as Rusty, a boy orphaned in an Indian raid, who was being raised by the soldiers at a US Cavalry post known...
.
In Rin Tin Tin, the story of a boy and his German shepherd, Brown appeared as a young officer at a remote US Cavalry outpost called Fort Apache. Child actor Lee Aaker
Lee Aaker
Lee William Aaker is a former American child actor known for his appearance as Rusty "B-Company" in the television program The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin.- Biography :...
appeared as Rusty, who had been orphaned in an Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
raid and was adopted by the troops at the fort. In two Rin Tin Tin episodes, "Forward Ho" and "The White Buffalo," Brown sang in his rich baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
voice.
In 1976, he hosted a revival of Rin Tin Tin reruns, which extended until the 1980s.
Early years
Brown was born to carpenter Floyd Brown and wife in the petroleumPetroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
boomtown of Desdemona
Desdemona, Texas
Desdemona is a former oil boomtown and virtual ghost town located in Eastland County east of Abilene in West Texas. The community is located on Texas State Highway 16 at Farm-to-Market Roads 8 and 2214, approximately twenty miles southeast of the county seat of Eastland and twenty miles west of...
in Eastland County
Eastland County, Texas
*Carbon*Cisco*Desdemona, a ghost town*Eastland*Gorman*Mangum*Olden*Ranger*Rising Star*Romney-See also:*National Register of Historic Places listings in Eastland County, Texas*Santa Claus Bank Robbery-External links:** at the University of Texas*...
east of Abilene
Abilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He attended elementary and some of his high school years in Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, the seat of McLennan County
McLennan County, Texas
McLennan County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. In 2000, its population was 213,517; in 2008 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population to be 230,213. Its seat is Waco. The county is named for Neil McLennan, an early settler....
in central Texas. He also attended Schreiner Institute in Kerrville, Texas where he learned to play tennis and sang in the glee club. After high school he enrolled at Baptist-affiliated Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
in Waco.
After a brief period as a competitive tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player, Brown launched a four-decade career as an actor, having landed roles in more than forty films, including Wake Island (1942), Air Force (1943), Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
's Going My Way
Going My Way
Going My Way is a 1944 film directed by Leo McCarey. It is a light-hearted musical comedy-drama about a new young priest taking over a parish from an established old veteran . Crosby sings five songs in the film. It was followed the next year by a sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's. This picture was...
(1944), Objective, Burma!
Objective, Burma!
Objective, Burma! is an Oscar-nominated 1945 war film which was loosely based on the six month raid by Merrill's Marauders in the Burma Campaign during the Second World War...
(1945), The Fabulous Texan (1947), John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
's Sands of Iwo Jima
Sands of Iwo Jima
Sands of Iwo Jima is a 1949 war film that follows a group of United States Marines from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. It stars John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara and Forrest Tucker. The movie was written by Harry Brown and James Edward Grant and directed by Allan Dwan...
(1949), The Charge at Feather River
The Charge at Feather River
The Charge at Feather River is a 1953 Western film directed by Gordon Douglas, was originally released in 3D with lots of arrows, lances, and other weapons flying directly at the audience in several scenes....
(1953), Five Guns to Tombstone (1960), Gun Street (1961)., and a film noir, When the Clock Strikes (1961)
Other television credits
In addition to The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, he appeared in such children's programs as Adventures of SupermanAdventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
(as Jim Carson in the 1954 episode "Around the World with Superman"), Sky King
Sky King
Sky King is a 1940s and 1950s American radio and television adventure series. The title character is Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King...
and The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
. He made two guest appearances on ABC-TV's
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and was the centerpiece of a strategy for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as America's country music capital...
in 1955 and 1957.
In 1959, Brown appeared as Andy Clinton in two episodes of the ABC Walt Disney Presents miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
entitled Moochie of the Little League, starring Kevin Corcoran
Kevin Corcoran
Kevin Anthony "Moochie" Corcoran is an American director, producer, and former child actor. He appeared in numerous Disney projects between 1957 and 1963, frequently as an irrepressible character with the nickname Moochie...
and Russ Conway
Russ Conway (actor)
Russ Conway was a Canadian-American character actor who appeared on film and television between 1947 and 1975.-Early years:...
. In 1960, Brown appeared in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
-TV series, Laramie
Laramie (TV series)
Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1963. Laramie was a Revue Studios production which originally starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy and Robert Crawford, Jr...
, as Lon MacRae in the episode "Strange Company". From 1962-1966, he appeared three times in different roles in another NBC western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
, The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
. In 1964, he appeared as Sergeant Quincy in the episode "Not in Our Stars" of the NBC Western Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (TV series)
Daniel Boone is an American action/adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Native American friend, for the...
. In the fall of 1966, he appeared as the recurring character Luke in the ABC Western sitcom, The Rounders
The Rounders (TV series)
The Rounders is a 17-episode western-style situation comedy about two cowboys on the fictitious J.L. Ranch in Texas, starring Ron Hayes , as Ben Jones and Patrick Wayne , a son of John Wayne, as Howdy Lewis. The M-G-M television series aired on ABC from September 6, 1966, to January 3, 1967...
.
From 1960-1964, he guest starred eight times in different roles in the CBS adventure/drama series, Route 66
Route 66 (TV series)
Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod...
. In 1966, he appeared on ABC's Honey West
Honey West (TV series)
Honey West is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC during the 1965-1966 television season. The series stars Anne Francis as female private detective Honey West and John Ericson as her partner Sam Bolt....
, and in 1969, he guest starred on ABC's The F.B.I.. He also appeared on Lassie
Lassie (1954 TV series)
Lassie is an American television series that follows the adventures of a female Rough Collie named Lassie and her companions, human and animal. The show was the creation of producer Robert Maxwell and animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax and was televised from September 12, 1954, to March 24, 1973...
(as Forest Ranger Mike McBride), Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
(as Mark Feeney in the 1963 episode "Quint's Indian"), and the ABC crime drama Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...
(as R.J. Crow in the 1977 episode "Bloodbath"). From 1980-1988, he appeared in 27 episodes as detective Harry McSween on CBS-TV's Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
.
Final role and death
Brown's final screen role was as Dr. Gordon Church in the 1988 episode "Mourning Among the Wisterias" of the CBS series, Murder, She WroteMurder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
.
Brown died at the age of 72 of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in Woodland Hills, 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...
. He was survived by his wife, Betty; three daughters, Carol (Thies), Wendy, and Barbara, and a niece, Cynthia Brown, whom he reared as a fourth daughter.