James Franciscus


Actor
James Franciscus

About

Also Known As
James Grover Franciscus
Birth Place
Clayton, Missouri, USA
Born
January 31, 1934
Died
July 08, 1991
Cause of Death
Emphysema

Biography

Blonde, handsome, golden boy TV star of the 1960s and 70s. After a brief stint in summer stock, Franciscus made his feature debut in "Four Boys and a Gun" (1956). Although he appeared in several films during the 1960s and 70s (most notably as the title character in "Youngblood Hawke" 1964), he is best known for his work on four TV series: as the rookie detective on "Naked City" (1958-59)...

Photos & Videos

Family & Companions

Kathleen Kent Franciscus
Wife
Married on March 28, 1960; divorced in 1980s; her father was film director William Wellman; both helped boost popularity of tennis in the 1960s with a series of "Celebrity Tennis Exhibitions" through the US with fellow actors Efrem Zimbalist Jr, Charlton Heston and Chad Everett.
Carla Franciscus
Wife
Married in the mid-1980s.

Biography

Blonde, handsome, golden boy TV star of the 1960s and 70s. After a brief stint in summer stock, Franciscus made his feature debut in "Four Boys and a Gun" (1956). Although he appeared in several films during the 1960s and 70s (most notably as the title character in "Youngblood Hawke" 1964), he is best known for his work on four TV series: as the rookie detective on "Naked City" (1958-59), as the idealistic high school English teacher "Mr. Novak" (1963-65), the blind insurance investigator on "Longstreet" (1971-72), and the New York physician who retreats to the backwoods of Colorado, "Doc Elliot" (1973-74).

A "social register" blueblood, Franciscus twice portrayed Kennedyesque presidents, opposite Jacqueline Bisset in the 1978 feature "The Greek Tycoon" and the 1981 TV movie "Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy" opposite Jaclyn Smith. Later he turned to producing classics on TV ("Heidi," "The Red Pony," "Jane Eyre") and made occasional guest appearances on TV series before his death at 57 from emphysema.

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

Secret Weapons (1985)
L' Ultimo Squalo (1982)
Peter Benton
Butterfly (1981)
Moke Blue
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (1981)
John F Kennedy
Nightkill (1980)
When Time Ran Out (1980)
City on Fire (1979)
Killer Fish (1979)
The Greek Tycoon (1978)
Good Guys Wear Black (1978)
Secrets of Three Hungry Wives (1978)
Mark Powers
One of My Wives Is Missing (1976)
Daniel Corban
The Amazing Dobermans (1976)
The Trial of Chaplain Jensen (1975)
Chaplain Andrew Jensen
Dream Makers (1975)
Aloha Means Goodbye (1974)
The 500-Pound Jerk (1973)
Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973)
Voice
Longstreet (1971)
Michael Longstreet
Cat O'Nine Tails (1971)
Carlo Giordani
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
Brent
Hell Boats (1970)
Lieut. Comdr. Tom Jeffords
The Valley of Gwangi (1969)
Tuck Kirby
Marooned (1969)
Clayton Stone
Snow Treasure (1968)
Lieutenant Kalasch
Youngblood Hawke (1964)
Youngblood Hawke
Miracle of the White Stallions (1963)
Major Hoffman
The Outsider (1961)
Jim Sorenson
I Passed for White (1960)
Frederick "Rick" Leyton
The Mugger (1958)
Eddie Baxter
Four Boys and a Gun (1957)
Johnny [Doyle]

Writer (Feature Film)

29th Street (1991)
From Story

Producer (Feature Film)

29th Street (1991)
Associate Producer

Cast (Special)

Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes (1977)
Male Team Member
Hunter (1976)
James Hunter
Doc Elliot (1973)
Dr Benjamin Elliot
Love Is a Lion's Roar (1961)
Bill Taylor
Six Guns for Donegan (1959)
Clay Darrow; Orville'S Son

Cast (TV Mini-Series)

Harold Robbins' The Pirate (1978)

Life Events

1957

Disney executive saw him in production of "The Great Gatsby" and asked him to read for a role in "A Light in the Forest"; didn't get part but signed for lead in the thriller "Four Boys and a Gun" (date approximate)

1957

Feature acting debut, "Four Boys and a Gun"

1958

Regular role on TV series, "Naked City"

1961

Played insurance company investigator in short-lived TV series, "The Investigators"

1968

Became vice president, producer of Omnibus Productions Inc. which he cofounded with with Fred Brogger

1969

Produced TV special, "Heidi" (also acted)

Photo Collections

Marooned - Movie Poster
Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for Marooned (1969), starring Gregory Peck, David Janssen, and Gene Hackman. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.
The Valley of Gwangi - Lobby Card Set
Here is a set of Lobby Cards from The Valley of Gwangi (1969), featuring visual effects by Ray Harryhausen. Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.

Videos

Movie Clip

Valley Of Gwangi, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Ain't That Somethin'! Our explorers enter the valley, young Lope (Curtis Arden) snatched from behind the professor (Laurence Naismith) by Ray Harryhausen's first major creature, a pterodactyl which, Carlos (Gustavo Rojo) finds, is a lot easier to wrangle once you bring it down, in The Valley Of Gwangi, 1969.
Valley Of Gwangi, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Bird On The Wing From the opening taking place "South of the Rio Grande... At the turn of the century," cocksure Tuck (James Franciscus) gets past Champ (Richard Carlson) to watch his ex-partner and girlfriend T.J. (Gila Golan) do a fancy horse stunt, in the Ray Harryhausen special effects vehicle The Valley Of Gwangi, 1969.
Valley Of Gwangi, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) You Should Be Extinct T.J. (dubbed Gila Golan), Wild West show girl-impresario, shows off her new main attraction, a mini-horse by Ray Harryhausen, to her sneaky boyfriend Tuck (James Franciscus), who then shares it with the professor (Laurence Naismith), who sees greater potential, in The Valley Of Gwangi, 1969.
Cat O'Nine Tails, The (1971) -- (Movie Clip) I Like Solving Puzzles Blind Franco (Karl Malden) reads a paper with help from his young ward (Cinzia De Carolis) and, convinced the murder is related to events he observed, visits reporter Giordano (James Franciscus), who then contacts his photographer (Vittorio Congia), in Dario Argento’s The Cat O’Nine Tails, 1971.
Marooned (1969) -- (Movie Clip) A Serious Decline John Sturges directs a transition from astronauts Richard Crenna, Gene Hackman and James Franciscus, giddy with their first spacewalk, to months later, mission control chief David Jansen and NASA administrator (Gregory Peck as “Keith,”), electing to terminate the mission, early in Marooned, 1969.
Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (1970) -- (Movie Clip) Not A Crackle After opening with the almost-exact ending of the original, the sequel proceeds with another American astronaut, Brent (James Franciscus), and his skipper (Tod Andrews) deducing that they’ve crashed on the same planet Taylor (Charlton Heston) found, in Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, 1970.
Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (1970) -- (Movie Clip) Milk Of Kindness Zira (Kim Hunter) and Cornelius (David Watson) flip when native human Nova (Linda Harrison) delivers just-arrived astronaut Brent (James Franciscus), who's rather like Charlton Heston from the original, boss Zaius (Maurice Evans) joining, in the sequel Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, 1970.
Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (1970) -- (Movie Clip) It's A City Of Apes! Mute native Nova (Linda Harrison), who can't explain, shows Astronaut Brent (James Franciscus) the apes,with Ursus (James Gregory) urging Zaius (Maurice Evans) and dissenting Zira and (the new!) Cornelius (Kim Hunter, David Watson) to war, in the sequel Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, 1970.
Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (1970) -- (Movie Clip) Get Out Of My Head! Poking around subterranean New York, astronaut Brent (James Franciscus) finds himself compelled to attack his native human friend Nova (Linda Harrison), the appearance of freaky Gregory Sierra, then Paul Richards, only sort-of explaining, in the sequel Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, 1970.
Outsider, The (1961) -- (Movie Clip) Esther Williams "Esther Williams" is a contemporary movie reference as drill sergeant Kiley (Gregory Walcott) commands recruit Ira Hayes (Tony Curtis) and pairs him with buddy Sorenson (James Franciscus) in Delbert Mann's The Outsider, 1961.

Trailer

Family

John Allen Franciscus
Father
Pilot. Killed in action in WWII.
Loraine Franciscus
Mother
John Fraciscus
Brother
Jamie Franciscus
Daughter
Kellie Franciscus
Daughter
Corie Franciscus
Daughter
Jolie Franciscus
Daughter

Companions

Kathleen Kent Franciscus
Wife
Married on March 28, 1960; divorced in 1980s; her father was film director William Wellman; both helped boost popularity of tennis in the 1960s with a series of "Celebrity Tennis Exhibitions" through the US with fellow actors Efrem Zimbalist Jr, Charlton Heston and Chad Everett.
Carla Franciscus
Wife
Married in the mid-1980s.

Bibliography