James Gregory (actor) - James Gregory Actor

James Gregory (December 23, 1911Â â€" September 16, 2002) was an American character actor known for his deep, gravelly voice and playing brash roles such as the McCarthy-like Sen. John Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), the audacious General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), and loudmouthed Inspector Frank Luger in Barney Miller (1975â€"1982).

Biography

Gregory was born in the Bronx, New York City, New York, and raised in New Rochelle north of the city. In high school he was president of the Drama Club. He briefly worked on Wall Street as a runner in 1929 and thought of being a stockbroker, but, by 1935, had become a professional actor instead. In 1939, he made his Broadway debut in a production of Key Largo and worked in about twenty-five more Broadway productions over the next sixteen years. Gregory served three years in the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps during World War II. His early acting work included Army training films; one such appearance is excerpted in The Atomic CafÃ© (1982).

Gregory was the lead in The Lawless Years, a 1920s crime drama entitled which aired forty-five episodes on NBC. In the series, which ran from 1959 to 1961, he played a New York City police detective named Barney Ruditsky. After his appearance as Sen. Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Gregory starred in the film PT 109 (1963) with Cliff Robertson.

He was also cast as Dean Martin's spy boss MacDonald, in the Matt Helm film series, and in the original Star Trek series in the episode, "Dagger of the Mind" (1966), as Dr. Tristan Adams, and the father of Scott Hayward in Elvis Presley's film Clambake (1967). Gregory was also a regular on the TV series Barney Miller as Deputy Inspector Frank Luger. His final role was as a special guest star on Mr. Belvedere in 1986, portraying Mr. Sparks.

Gregory died of natural causes in Sedona, Arizona. He and his wife, the former Anne Miltner, are interred at the Sedona Community Cemetery.