James Philbrook
Encyclopedia
James Philbrook was an American
actor
who appeared in supporting roles in three short-lived television series between 1959 and 1963: The Islanders
on ABC
and The Investigators
and The New Loretta Young Show
, both on CBS. He also appeared in several major film
s, as Bruce King in I Want to Live!
(1958) and Henri in Woman Obsessed
, both with Susan Hayward
, and as Colonel
Tall in the 1964 police
picture, The Thin Red Line
, with Jack Warden
.
, Iowa
. His first screen role was at the age of thirty-two on CBS's Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as a town clerk in the 1957 episode "The West Warlock Time Capsule", with Henry Jones
in the starring role. A few months later, Philbrook appeared in "The Les Rand Story" of NBC
's western
series, Wagon Train
, with Eduard Franz
in the episode lead role. He also appeared in the 1957 episode "Decoy" of the syndicated
western series Man Without a Gun
, starring Rex Reason
. In 1958, Philbrook guest starred in two ABC and Warner Brothers western series, Maverick
in the role of Sloan in the episode "The Seventh Hand" and Sugarfoot
as Smokey in "A Wreath for Charity Lloyd". He portrayed Clem Harrison in the 1958 episode "Manhunt" of ABC's Broken Arrow
, starring John Lupton
and Michael Ansara
.
In 1958, Philbrook played Charles Stewart in the episode "Hit and Run" of the syndicated television series, How to Marry a Millionaire
, based on the earlier Marilyn Monroe
film and starring Barbara Eden
and Merry Anders
. In 1959, Philbrook appeared as Yancey Lewis in "Return to Friendly" of the CBS western The Texan
, starring Rory Calhoun
. He starred too as Hank in "The Trap" of the syndicated series Rescue 8
, starring Jim Davis
and Lang Jeffries
. He also appeared as Bender in the 1959 episode "Domestic Katy" of the CBS sitcom. The Ann Sothern Show
. That same year, he appeared as an unidentified man, with Sothern and Pat Carroll
, in the CBS anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson
.
Philbrook procured his first recurring role in a series as Zack Malloy on The Islanders, with co-star William Reynolds
(born 1931) in the role of Sandy Wade. The two played owners of an airplane that can land in water. The series is set in the Spice Islands
of Indonesia
. Diane Brewster
appeared in a few of the twenty-five episodes of the series. Reynolds later co-starred on ABC's war drama, The Gallant Men
(1962–1963) and with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
, on The F.B.I. from 1967-1973.
After The Islanders, Philbrook portrayed Steve Banks, a New York City
insurance
investigator, in all thirteen episodes of The Investigators, with co-stars James Franciscus
, Mary Murphy
as Maggie Peters, and Alan Austin as Bill Davis.
" and Wainwright Tyler in "Doesn't Everybody?" In 1962, he was cast as magazine
publisher and romantic interest of Loretta Young
on The New Loretta Young Show. The couple married in the twenty-sixth and final episode of the series. Young played Christine Massey, a widowed mother of seven children, some grown, and Philbrook, according to the story line, adapted to the idea of becoming a stepfather to so many. Actors playing the Massey children included twins Dack Rambo
and Dirk Rambo, Beverly Washburn
, and Sandy Descher
.
Philbrook's other appearances were as Jim Costain in the 1961 segment "Triple C" of NBC's anthology series The Barbara Stanwyck Show
and as McWhorter in the 1962 episode "Inger, My Love" on Bonanza
. He also guest starred twice in 1959 and 1963 on CBS's Perry Mason
, starring Raymond Burr
. He appeared in two 1965 films, as Adam Hyde in Finger on the Trigger
and as James "Ace" Ketchum in Son of a Gunfighter.
Philbrook's last English language
role was as Dr. Keller in the 1966 episode "The Blind Man's Bluff Raid" of ABC's The Rat Patrol
, a World War II
drama starring Christopher George
. His last film roles were in some dozen foreign westerns, primarily through 1969, with two others in 1975.
Philbrook died in Los Angeles
, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who appeared in supporting roles in three short-lived television series between 1959 and 1963: The Islanders
The Islanders (TV series)
The Islanders, an adventure television series on ABC from 1960-1961, starred William Reynolds , James Philbrook , and Diane Brewster ....
on 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...
and The Investigators
The Investigators (U.S. TV series)
The Investigators is a short-lived American adventure/drama television series that aired on CBS from October 5, to December 28, 1961.-Synopsis:...
and The New Loretta Young Show
The New Loretta Young Show
The New Loretta Young Show, which aired for twenty-six weekly episodes on CBS television from September 24, 1962 to March 18, 1963, featured Loretta Young in a combination drama and situation comedy about a free-lance writer in suburban Connecticut named Christine Massey, the widowed mother of...
, both on CBS. He also appeared in several major film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, as Bruce King in I Want to Live!
I Want to Live!
I Want to Live! is a 1958 film noir produced by Walter Wanger and directed by Robert Wise which tells the heavily fictionalized story of a woman, Barbara Graham, convicted of murder and facing execution. It stars Susan Hayward as Graham, and also features Simon Oakland, Stafford Repp, and Theodore...
(1958) and Henri in Woman Obsessed
Woman Obsessed
Woman Obsessed is a 1959 romantic drama film about the hardships faced by a widow and her eight-year-old son on a rugged Canadian ranch.The film stars Susan Hayward and Stephen Boyd with Barbara Nichols, Theodore Bikel, and James Philbrook. It was made in CinemaScope with DeLuxe Color.- Plot...
, both with Susan Hayward
Susan Hayward
Susan Hayward was an American actress.After working as a fashion model in New York, Hayward travelled to Hollywood in 1937 when open auditions were held for the leading role in Gone with the Wind . Although she was not selected, she secured a film contract, and played several small supporting...
, and as Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Tall in the 1964 police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
picture, The Thin Red Line
The Thin Red Line (1964 film)
The Thin Red Line is a 1964 Cinemascope film based on James Jones's novel of the same name. The film follows the life of a number of American soldiers during the battle of Guadalcanal.The black-and-white film was filmed in Spain...
, with Jack Warden
Jack Warden
Jack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
.
Early roles
Philbrook was born in DavenportDavenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. His first screen role was at the age of thirty-two on CBS's Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
as a town clerk in the 1957 episode "The West Warlock Time Capsule", with Henry Jones
Henry Jones (actor)
Henry Burk Jones was an American actor of stage, film and television.Jones was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Helen and John Francis Xavier Jones. He was the grandson of Pennsylvania Representative Henry Burk...
in the starring role. A few months later, Philbrook appeared in "The Les Rand Story" of 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...
's 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...
series, Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
, with Eduard Franz
Eduard Franz
Eduard Franz , born Eduard Franz Schmidt, was an American actor of theater, film, and television. Franz portrayed King Ahab in the 1953 biblical low-budget film Sins of Jezebel, Jethro in Cecil B...
in the episode lead role. He also appeared in the 1957 episode "Decoy" of the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
western series Man Without a Gun
Man Without a Gun
Man Without a Gun is a western television series produced by 20th Century Fox television and presented in first-run syndication in the United States from 1957 to 1959...
, starring Rex Reason
Rex Reason
Rex Reason is an American actor.He is the brother of actor Rhodes Reason, who is two years younger...
. In 1958, Philbrook guest starred in two ABC and Warner Brothers western series, Maverick
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
in the role of Sloan in the episode "The Seventh Hand" and Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot is the title of a TV western that aired from 1957 to 1961. The series featured Will Hutchins as fledgling frontier lawyer Tom Brewster and Jack Elam as sidekick Toothy Thompson...
as Smokey in "A Wreath for Charity Lloyd". He portrayed Clem Harrison in the 1958 episode "Manhunt" of ABC's Broken Arrow
Broken Arrow (TV series)
Broken Arrow is a Western series which ran on ABC-TV in prime time from 1956 through 1958 on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Repeat episodes were shown by ABC on Sunday afternoons during the 1959–60 season...
, starring John Lupton
John Lupton
John Rollin Lupton was an American film and television actor.Upon graduation from New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lupton secured immediate stage work. Then he was signed as a contract player at MGM in Hollywood...
and Michael Ansara
Michael Ansara
Michael Ansara is a Syrian-born American stage, screen, and voice actor best known for his portrayal of Cochise in the American television series Broken Arrow, Kane in the 1979-81 series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Commander Kang on three different Star Trek TV series.- Early life and...
.
In 1958, Philbrook played Charles Stewart in the episode "Hit and Run" of the syndicated television series, How to Marry a Millionaire
How to Marry a Millionaire (TV series)
How to Marry a Millionaire is an American sitcom that aired in syndication from 1957 to 1959. The series was based on the 1953 film of the same name which starred Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, and Lauren Bacall.-Synopsis:...
, based on the earlier Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
film and starring Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
and Merry Anders
Merry Anders
Merry Anders is an American actress who has appeared in a number of television programs and films since the 1950s. In 1954, she succeeded Ann Todd as Stuart Erwin's daughter in the final season of his TV series, The Stu Erwin Show.In the 1955-1956 season, she joined Janis Paige in the 26-week CBS...
. In 1959, Philbrook appeared as Yancey Lewis in "Return to Friendly" of the CBS western The Texan
The Texan (TV series)
The Texan is a Western television series starring popular B movie star Rory Calhoun. It aired on the CBS television network from 1958-1960.-Production notes:...
, starring Rory Calhoun
Rory Calhoun
Rory Calhoun was an American television and film actor, screenwriter and producer, best known for his roles in Westerns.-Early life:...
. He starred too as Hank in "The Trap" of the syndicated series Rescue 8
Rescue 8
Rescue 8 is a syndicated American action drama series about Los Angeles County Fire Department Rescue Squad Number 8. It premiered in 1958, and originally ran for two seasons with syndicated reruns continuing for almost a decade after. It starred Jim Davis as fireman Wes Cameron, and Lang Jeffries...
, starring Jim Davis
Jim Davis (actor)
Jim Davis was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap Dallas, a role which he held up until his death in April 1981.-Biography:...
and Lang Jeffries
Lang Jeffries
Lang Jeffries was a Canadian-American actor of television and film who was married to actress Rhonda Fleming from 1960-1962....
. He also appeared as Bender in the 1959 episode "Domestic Katy" of the CBS sitcom. The Ann Sothern Show
The Ann Sothern Show
The Ann Sothern Show is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for 93 episodes. The series began on October 6, 1958, and ended on September 25, 1961. The Ann Sothern Show was Sothern's second sitcom for CBS...
. That same year, he appeared as an unidentified man, with Sothern and Pat Carroll
Pat Carroll (actress)
Patricia Ann “Pat” Carroll is an American actress. She performed in numerous stage productions, and portrayed the roles of "Bunny Halper" on CBS's The Danny Thomas Show, Shirley Feeney's mother on ABC's Laverne and Shirley, and is the voice of the villainous Ursula in The Little Mermaid film...
, in the CBS anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
The DuPont Show with June Allyson is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959 to April 3, 1961 with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961...
.
Philbrook procured his first recurring role in a series as Zack Malloy on The Islanders, with co-star William Reynolds
William Reynolds (actor)
William Reynolds is a retired American television and film actor. He is best known for television roles in the 1960s and 1970s....
(born 1931) in the role of Sandy Wade. The two played owners of an airplane that can land in water. The series is set in the Spice Islands
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Diane Brewster
Diane Brewster
Diane Brewster was an American television actress most noted for playing three distinctively different roles in US TV series of the 1950s and 60s: confidence trickster Samantha Crawford in Maverick; pretty young second-grade teacher Miss Canfield in Leave It to Beaver; and doomed wife Helen...
appeared in a few of the twenty-five episodes of the series. Reynolds later co-starred on ABC's war drama, The Gallant Men
The Gallant Men
The Gallant Men is a 1962-1963 ABC television series which depicted an infantry company of American soldiers fighting their way through Italy in World War II.-Description:...
(1962–1963) and with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series 77 Sunset Strip and The F.B.I. He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the series Maverick and as the voice behind the character Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series...
, on The F.B.I. from 1967-1973.
After The Islanders, Philbrook portrayed Steve Banks, a New York City
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...
insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
investigator, in all thirteen episodes of The Investigators, with co-stars James Franciscus
James Franciscus
James Grover Franciscus was an American actor, known for his roles in the series The Naked City and The Investigators, and in feature films.-Life and career:...
, Mary Murphy
Mary Murphy (actress)
Mary Murphy was an American film actress of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She was born in Washington, D.C. and spent most of her early childhood in Cleveland, Ohio. Her father, James Victor Murphy, died in 1940. Shortly afterwards, she and her mother moved to Southern California...
as Maggie Peters, and Alan Austin as Bill Davis.
Later career
Philbrook appeared five times in different roles from 1958-1961 on the original NBC The Loretta Young Show, also called the Letter to Loretta anthology series. Among those roles are Mike Roberts in "A Visit to Sao PauloSão Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
" and Wainwright Tyler in "Doesn't Everybody?" In 1962, he was cast as magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
publisher and romantic interest of Loretta Young
Loretta Young
Loretta Young was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953...
on The New Loretta Young Show. The couple married in the twenty-sixth and final episode of the series. Young played Christine Massey, a widowed mother of seven children, some grown, and Philbrook, according to the story line, adapted to the idea of becoming a stepfather to so many. Actors playing the Massey children included twins Dack Rambo
Dack Rambo
Norman Jay Rambeau , professionally known as Dack Rambo, was an American actor, most notable for appearing as Walter Brennan's grandson Jeff in the ABC series The Guns of Will Sonnett, as Steve Jacobi in All My Children, as cousin Jack Ewing on CBS's Dallas, and as Grant Harrison on the NBC soap...
and Dirk Rambo, Beverly Washburn
Beverly Washburn
Beverly Washburn is an American actress who appeared as a young girl in NBC's The Loretta Young Show and as an older teenager in Loretta Young's 1962-1963 CBS family drama, The New Loretta Young Show...
, and Sandy Descher
Sandy Descher
Sandra "Sandy" Descher is an American former child actress of the 1950s.-Biography:Although born in Burbank, California, she was discovered by accident while on vacation. When Descher was about five years old, her family had travelled across country to New York City where the girl fell in love...
.
Philbrook's other appearances were as Jim Costain in the 1961 segment "Triple C" of NBC's anthology series The Barbara Stanwyck Show
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
The Barbara Stanwyck Show is an American anthology drama television series which ran on NBC from September 1960 to September 1961. Barbara Stanwyck served as hostess, and starred in all but four of the half-hour productions. The four she did not star in were actually pilot episodes of potential...
and as McWhorter in the 1962 episode "Inger, My Love" on Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
. He also guest starred twice in 1959 and 1963 on CBS's Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
, starring Raymond Burr
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
. He appeared in two 1965 films, as Adam Hyde in Finger on the Trigger
Finger on the Trigger (film)
Finger on the Trigger is a 1965 western film directed by Sidney W. Pink and starring Rory Calhoun. It was distributed on VHS by Troma Entertainment....
and as James "Ace" Ketchum in Son of a Gunfighter.
Philbrook's last English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
role was as Dr. Keller in the 1966 episode "The Blind Man's Bluff Raid" of ABC's The Rat Patrol
The Rat Patrol
The Rat Patrol is an American television program that aired on ABC during the 1966–1968 seasons. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers who are part of a long-range desert patrol group in the North African campaign during World War II...
, a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
drama starring Christopher George
Christopher George
Christopher John George was an American television and film actor who was perhaps best known for his starring role in the 1966-1968 TV series The Rat Patrol. He was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1967 as Best TV Star for his performance in the series...
. His last film roles were in some dozen foreign westerns, primarily through 1969, with two others in 1975.
Philbrook died in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, 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...
.