Personal info
Known for
Actor
Gender
Male
Date of Birth
1921-10-01
Location
New York, United States
Edit pageJames Whitmore
Biography
James Allen Whitmore, Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American stage and movie actor.
Born on October 1, 1921 in White Plains, New York. to Florence Belle (née Crane) and James Allen Whitmore, Sr.. Whitmore graduated from Yale University before serving in the United States Marine Corps during World War II.
Following the war, Whitmore appeared on Broadway, where he won a special Tony Award in 1948. His first major movie was Battleground, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Other major movies include; The Asphalt Jungle, The Next Voice You Hear, Kiss Me, Kate, Them!, Black Like Me, and Give 'em Hell, Harry, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as 33rd President of the United States Harry S. Truman.
Whitmore also appeared as General Oliver O. Howard in the 1975 TV movie I Will Fight No More Forever, is based on the 1877 conflict between the United States and the Nez Perce tribe, led by Chief Joseph.
Whitmore's last major role was as librarian Brooks Hatlen in the critically acclaimed and Academy Award-nominated 1994 movie The Shawshank Redemption.
Although not always politically active, in 2007, Whitmore received some publicity with his endorsement of Barack Obama for U.S. President. In January 2008, Whitmore appeared in television commercials for the First Freedom First campaign, which advocates preserving "the separation of church and state" and protecting religious liberty.
Whitmore died on February 6, 2009, in his Malibu, California home from lung cancer which he had since November 2008. He was 87 years old. Whitmore was later cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.
