biographyBorn James Meador in Nashville, Tennessee, on February 4, 1912, handsome second-string leading man James Craig enjoyed a lengthy career in films, spanning the 1930s through the early 1970s. When he was a child, Craig's family moved to Texas, where he grew up and went to college in Houston to study medicine. After a brief stint as a football player, Craig decided on an acting career and began working in regional theatre. He had just turned 25 when he was put under contract as James Mead with Paramount in early 1937, and after a few small roles in films, Craig jumped ship to Columbia. He fared better at the new studio, where he earned a starring role in the backlot drama North of Shanghai (1939; with Betty Furness and Morgan Conway) and appeared in several comedy short subjects, such as Trouble Finds Andy Clyde (1939; with Andy Clyde) and the Three Stooges vehicle Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise (1939). Tiring of the low budgets at Columbia, Craig left for RKO's greener pastures in 1940. His fortunes improved when he was cast in meaty roles in Kitty Foyle (1940; with Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan) and The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941; with Walter Huston and Simone Simon), probably the best films of his career. Craig hopped over to MGM with the onset of World War II. With many leading men going into the service, Craig's career flourished in comedies and dramas, such as The Heavenly Body (1944; with William Powell and Hedy Lamarr), Kismet (1944; with Ronald Colman and Marlene Dietrich), and Dangerous Partners (1945; with Signe Hasso). But after the war, Craig's star began to fade. He then moved to westerns, some of them low-budget affairs such as Last of the Desperados (1955; with Jim Davis), Massacre (1956; with Dane Clark), and Man or Gun (1958; with Macdonald Carey and Audrey Totter). |
the films of james craigThe Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)Valley of the Sun (1942)Lost Angel (1943)The Human Comedy (1943)Swing Shift Maisie (1943)Gentle Annie (1944)Craig plays the hero in MGM's western Gentle Annie. LEFT: With Donna Reed, Harry Morgan, Marjorie Main, and Paul Langton. RIGHT: With Marjorie Main and Donna ReedShe Went to the Races (1945)From MGM's comedy She Went to the Races with Frances GiffordLittle Mister Jim (1946)With Frances Gifford in the MGM tearjerker Little Mister JimThe Man from Texas (1948)Drums in the Deep South (1951)From RKO's western release Drums in the Deep South. LEFT: With Guy Madison and Barbara Payton. RIGHT: With scandal queen Barbara PaytonThe Strip (1951)With Sally Forrest in MGM's noir release The StripFort Vengeance (1953)The Cyclops (1957)From Bert I. Gordon's horror flick The Cyclops, released by Allied Artists. LEFT: With pretty scream queen Gloria Talbott. RIGHT: With Lon Chaney Jr.Four Fast Guns (1960)later yearsWhen his film career began to fizzle in the late 1950s, Craig turned to selling real estate and made a fortune; thereafter, he appeared in movies only sporadically. Aside from a few late 1960s westerns, the nadir of his career proved to be the low-budget productions Doomsday Machine (filmed in 1967 but released in 1972; with Denny Miller, Grant Williams, and Ruta Lee), Bigfoot (1970; with John Carradine and Joi Lansing), and The Tormentors (1971; with Anthony Eisley and Chris Noel). Following the latter title, Craig gave up show business for good. Sadly, James Craig passed away from lung cancer complications on June 27, 1985, at age 73. He was survived by his son and daughter.Wed four times, first wife Mary divorced him in 1958 after 19 years of marriage and three children. Craig then was briefly married to actress Jil Jarmyn from 1959 to 1962, and married third wife Jane in 1963 but divorced her the following year. In 1968, he married again but was divorced in 1983. |
filmographyFILM
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This page premiered May 20, 2005.
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