1882-05-23 New York City, New York, USA
James Gleason was born in New York City to William Gleason and Mina Crolius, who were both in the theatre. He was married to Lucile Gleason (born Lucile Webster), and had a son, Russell Gleason. As a young man James fought in the Spanish-American War. After the war he joined the stock company at the Liberty Theater in Oakland, California, which his parents were running. James and his wife then moved to Portland, Oregon, where they played in stock at the Baker Theater. For several years afterward they toured in road shows until James enlisted in the army during World War I. When he returned he appeared on the stage in "The Five Million." He then turned to writing, including "Is Zat So", which he produced for the NY stage. He also wrote and acted in "The Fall Guy" and "The Shannons on Broadway." Next he wrote The Broadway Melody (1929) for MGM. He collaborated, in 1930, on The Swellhead (1930), Dumbbells in Ermine (1930), What a Widow! (1930), Rain or Shine (1930) and His First Command (1929). He and his wife were then contracted to Pathe, Lucille to act, and James (or Jimmie as he was known) as a writer. Probably his most famous acting role was as Max Corkle, the manager of Joe Pendleton who was wrongly plucked from this life into the next, in the hit fantasy Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).
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Once Upon a Horse... | Postmaster | 1958-09-01 |
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The Last Hurrah | Cuke Gillen | 1958-12-31 |
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Money, Women and Guns | Henry Devers | 1958-10-01 |
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The Female Animal | Tom Maloney | 1958-01-22 |
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Rock-a-Bye Baby | Doc Simpkins | 1958-07-23 |
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Man or Gun | Sheriff Jim Jackson | 1958-05-30 |
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No Time at All | Dolph Grimes | 1958-02-13 |
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Spring Reunion | Collie | 1957-03-01 |
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Man in the Shadow | Hank James | 1957-12-12 |
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Loving You | Carl Meade | 1957-07-09 |
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Star in the Dust | Orval Jones | 1956-06-13 |
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The Night of the Hunter | Uncle Birdie Steptoe | 1955-07-26 |
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The Girl Rush | Ether Ferguson | 1955-09-16 |
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Hollywood Thrill-Makers | Risky Russell | 1954-01-15 |
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Suddenly | Peter 'Pop' Benson | 1954-09-17 |
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Forever Female | Eddie Woods | 1953-11-28 |
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The Story of Will Rogers | Bert Lynn | 1952-07-17 |
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We're Not Married! | Duffy | 1952-07-11 |
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What Price Glory | General Cokely | 1952-08-22 |
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Two Gals and a Guy | Max Howard | 1951-07-01 |
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I'll See You in My Dreams | Fred Townsend | 1951-12-06 |
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Come Fill the Cup | Charley Dolan | 1951-10-24 |
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Joe Palooka in Triple Cross | Knobby Walsh | 1951-09-16 |
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The Jackpot | Harry Summers | 1950-11-01 |
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The Yellow Cab Man | Mickey Corkins | 1950-03-25 |
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Riding High | Racing Secretary | 1950-04-12 |
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Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle | Knobby Walsh | 1950-11-04 |
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Key to the City | Sergeant Hogan | 1950-02-02 |
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The Life of Riley | Gillis | 1949-04-16 |
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Bad Boy | Chief | 1949-02-22 |
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Take One False Step | Captain Gledhill | 1949-08-14 |
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Miss Grant Takes Richmond | Timothy Gleason | 1949-10-20 |
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When My Baby Smiles at Me | Lefty Moore | 1948-11-10 |
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The Dude Goes West | Sam Briggs | 1948-05-30 |
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Smart Woman | Sam Corkle | 1948-04-30 |
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The Return of October | Uncle Willie Ramsey | 1948-10-26 |
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Down to Earth | Max Corkle | 1947-08-21 |
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Tycoon | Pop Mathews | 1947-12-27 |
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The Bishop's Wife | Sylvester | 1947-12-25 |
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The Homestretch | Doc Kilborne | 1947-05-04 |
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Home Sweet Homicide | Sgt. O'Hare | 1946-10-02 |
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The Well Groomed Bride | Captain Hornby | 1946-05-17 |
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The Hoodlum Saint | Snarp | 1946-04-04 |
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Lady Luck | Sacramento Sam | 1946-10-30 |
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The Clock | Al Henry | 1945-05-25 |
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | McGarrity | 1945-02-28 |
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Captain Eddie | Tom Clark | 1945-06-18 |
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This Man's Navy | Jimmy Shannon | 1945-01-04 |
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Arsenic and Old Lace | Lt. Rooney | 1944-09-01 |
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Once Upon a Time | Moke McGillicuddy | 1944-06-29 |
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The Keys of the Kingdom | Rev. Dr. Wilbur Fiske | 1944-12-15 |
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A Guy Named Joe | “Nails” Kilpatrick | 1944-02-25 |
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Crash Dive | Chief Mike 'Mac' McDonnell | 1943-04-22 |
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Manila Calling | Tim O'Rourke | 1942-10-16 |
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My Gal Sal | Pat Hawley | 1942-04-30 |
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A Date with the Falcon | Inspector Michael 'Mike' O'Hara | 1942-01-16 |
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Footlight Serenade | Bruce McKay | 1942-08-01 |
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Tales of Manhattan | Father Joe | 1942-08-05 |
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The Falcon Takes Over | Inspector Mike O'Hara | 1942-05-29 |
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Hay Foot | Colonel J. A. Barkley | 1942-01-02 |
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Meet John Doe | Henry Connell | 1941-03-14 |
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Breakdowns of 1941 | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1941-11-14 |
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Nine Lives Are Not Enough | Sergeant Daniels | 1941-09-20 |
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Affectionately Yours | 'Chet' Phillips | 1941-05-10 |
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Tanks a Million | Col. 'Spitfire' Barkley | 1941-09-12 |
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Babes on Broadway | Thornton Reed | 1941-12-31 |
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Here Comes Mr. Jordan | Max Corkle | 1941-08-07 |
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Grandpa Goes To Town | Joe Higgins | 1940-04-13 |
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Earl of Puddlestone | Joe Higgins | 1940-08-31 |
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Money To Burn | Joe Higgins | 1939-12-31 |
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The Covered Trailer | Joe Higgins | 1939-11-10 |
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My Wife's Relatives | Joe Higgins | 1939-05-20 |
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On Your Toes | Phil Dolan Sr. | 1939-10-14 |
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Should Husbands Work? | Joe Higgins | 1939-07-26 |
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Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 6 | Self | 1938-02-04 |
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The Higgins Family | Joe Higgins | 1938-03-28 |
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Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 12 | James Gleason | 1938-07-29 |
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Army Girl | Hennessy | 1938-08-11 |
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Cinema Circus | Himself | 1937-01-27 |
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Manhattan Merry-Go-Round | Danny The Duck | 1937-11-26 |
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Forty Naughty Girls | Police Insp. Oscar Piper | 1937-09-24 |
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Yours for the Asking | Saratoga | 1936-07-23 |
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The Ex-Mrs. Bradford | Inspector Corrigan | 1936-04-24 |
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Murder on a Bridle Path | Police Insp. Oscar Piper | 1936-04-17 |
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The Plot Thickens | Police Insp. Oscar Piper | 1936-12-11 |
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The Big Game | George Scott | 1936-10-09 |
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Don't Turn 'em Loose | Detective Daniels | 1936-09-18 |
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We're Only Human | Detective Danny Walsh | 1935-12-27 |
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West Point of the Air | Joe 'Bags' | 1935-03-23 |
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Murder on a Honeymoon | Police Insp. Oscar Piper | 1935-02-22 |
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Hollywood Hobbies | Himself | 1935-07-05 |
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Hot Tip | Jimmy McGill | 1935-08-20 |
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Helldorado | Sam Barnes | 1935-01-05 |
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Murder on the Blackboard | Police Insp. Oscar Piper | 1934-06-15 |
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Change of Heart | Hot Dog Vendor (uncredited) | 1934-05-18 |
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Search for Beauty | Dan Healy | 1934-02-02 |
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The Meanest Gal in Town | Duke Slater | 1934-01-12 |
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Orders Is Orders | Ed Waggermeyer | 1933-07-18 |
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The Billion Dollar Scandal | "Ratsy" Harris | 1933-01-06 |
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Clear All Wires! | Lefty Williams | 1933-02-24 |
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Hoopla | Jerry | 1933-11-30 |
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Fast Companions | Silk Henley | 1932-06-22 |
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The Penguin Pool Murder | Police Insp. Oscar Piper | 1932-12-09 |
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Rule 'Em and Weep | Spike Mc Gorey | 1932-05-02 |
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Blondie of the Follies | Pa McClune | 1932-09-01 |
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The Devil Is Driving | 'Beef' Evans | 1932-12-09 |
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Lady and Gent | Pin Streaver | 1932-07-10 |
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The Crooked Circle | Arthur Crimmer | 1932-09-25 |
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Off His Base | Picture in Opening Credits | 1932-09-18 |
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High Hats and Low Brows | Danny Ruff | 1932-07-10 |
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Yoo-Hoo | Jimmy Gleason | 1932-10-04 |
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The All-American | Chick Knipe | 1932-10-01 |
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A Free Soul | Eddie | 1931-06-02 |
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The Big Gamble | Fred 'Squint' Dugan | 1931-09-04 |
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Suicide Fleet | Skeets | 1931-11-20 |
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Beyond Victory | Jim Mobley | 1931-04-03 |
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It's a Wise Child | Cool Kelly | 1931-04-10 |
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Sweepstakes | Sleepy Jones | 1931-07-10 |
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Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 1 | Self | 1930-09-01 |
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Dumb-bells in Ermine | Mike | 1930-05-10 |
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Puttin' on the Ritz | James 'Jimmy' Tierney | 1930-02-19 |
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The Swellhead | Johnny Trump | 1930-03-20 |
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Don't Believe It | Jimmy | 1930-02-08 |
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Her Man | Steve | 1930-09-21 |
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Big Money | Tom | 1930-10-28 |
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The Matrimonial Bed | Gustave Corton | 1930-08-01 |
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The Shannons of Broadway | Mickey Shannon | 1929-12-08 |
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Meet the Missus | Bert La Motte | 1929-03-30 |
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Oh, Yeah! | Dusty | 1929-10-19 |
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The Broadway Melody | Music Publisher (uncredited) | 1929-02-08 |
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Fairways and Foul | Husband | 1929-10-19 |
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The Count of Ten | Johnny's Manager | 1928-03-10 |
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Polly of the Follies | Paul Gordon | 1922-01-30 |
