James Dunn (actor)

Born in New York City, Dunn was the son of a Wall Street stockbroker. He joined his father in his business for three years. Dunn started his entertainment career in vaudeville before progressing to films shot at Paramount's Astoria studios in Queens, New York during the late 1920s starting as an extra.[5] After a gap where he appeared in stock companies, he returned to films. He was signed by Fox in 1931, making 22 films and several more as a loan-out.[5]

Dunn made a strong first impression with his first role, in director Frank Borzage's Bad Girl.[5] He made several formula films, including Society Girl (1932), in which he played a boxer distracted by his girlfriend (Peggy Shannon) and whose manager, played by Spencer Tracy in a rare supporting role, walks out in frustration; and Hello, Sister! (1933), a butchered recutting and partial reshooting of Erich von Stroheim's film Walking Down Broadway with Boots Mallory and ZaSu Pitts. Dunn's early successes included four Shirley Temple films in Baby Take a Bow, Stand Up and Cheer!, Change of Heart and Bright Eyes (all 1934).[5] The roles that followed did nothing to advance his career, and during the late 1930s, his prospects were diminished by a battle with alcoholism.

His performance in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He portrayed an alcoholic but good-natured Irish-American father, a dreamer whose presence brought joy to those around him even though he was never a success in the traditional sense.

His success was short-lived and by the beginning of the 1950s, he was unemployed, bankrupt, and once again depending on alcohol. After 1950, he appeared in only three feature films, but continued working in television until his death. From 1954 to 1956, he appeared in the sitcom It's a Great Life as Earl Morgan, the deadbeat brother-in-law of the main character Amy Morgan (played by Frances Bavier) who always was concocting "get-rich-quick" schemes. Dunn also made appearances in many other television programs in the 1950s and 1960s, mostly in guest-starring roles.

Dunn was married three times. His first, to Edna O'Lier, ended in divorce.[6] He was married to the actress Frances Gifford from 1938 until 1942. He married his third wife, Edna Rush in 1945, who survived him at his death in 1967 at the age of 65 from complications following stomach surgery in Santa Monica, California.

Dunn has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to motion pictures at 6555 Hollywood Boulevard and television at 7010 Hollywood Boulevard. Both were dedicated on February 8, 1960.[7]

• Remembering Jimmy: The Life and Films of James Dunn
• James Dunn on IMDb
• James Dunn at the Internet Broadway Database
• James Dunn at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• James Dunn at Virtual History