James Warren (actor)
James Warren | |
|---|---|
 James Warren in Wanderer of the Wasteland 1945 | |
| Born | James Pringle Wittlig February 24, 1913 Marietta, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 28, 2001 (aged 88) Kihei, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
James Warren (February 24, 1913 – March 28, 2001) was an American film actor and artist. After a film career in Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s, mainly in Westerns, he moved to Hawaii and painted local subjects.
Early life
[edit]Born James Pringle Wittlig[1] in Marietta, Ohio, he was the son of Walter Wittlig, a watchmaker, and Florence Ione Pringle. He had two brothers, Laurence and David. The Wittligs had emigrated from Langenthal, Switzerland in the 1860s.[citation needed]
However, James did not follow in the family watchmaking tradition. His first love was art, which took him to the Pratt Art Institute of New York where he became a watercolorist and an illustrator for various magazines.[1]
Film career
[edit]Warren was sighted by an MGM talent scout, who offered him a contract. Changing his name to James Warren, he, his wife, Felice, and their six-week-old son moved to Hollywood, where over the course of several years he appeared in more than 30 movies. When his MGM contract expired, he moved to RKO.[citation needed]
His first picture at RKO, filmed in the spring of 1945, was Ding Dong Williams, a low-budget musical comedy with a Hollywood theme. He played a slow-witted movie cowboy alongside a palomino horse, Star Dust. RKO had been making Zane Grey westerns with Robert Mitchum in the leading roles, and with Mitchum now advancing to dramatic features, RKO producer Herman Schlom (who had made Ding Dong Williams) remembered how well James Warren photographed in western gear. James Warren (and Star Dust) took over RKO's Zane Grey series, starring in such films as Sunset Pass. His co-stars were Nan Leslie and Jane Greer. The previous Sunset Pass was made in 1933.[citation needed]
Warren's tenure as RKO's cowboy star was brief; the studio's resident star Tim Holt returned from military service and resumed his starring series. Warren returned to character roles. In 1952, he co-starred with Gloria Swanson in the comedy film Three for Bedroom "C".[citation needed]
Art career
[edit]During all his time in Hollywood, Warren had never lost his passion for painting. He produced several one-man shows throughout the US and found a patron in Vincent Price. At one of these shows, Katharine Hepburn purchased seven of Warren's large watercolor paintings which she kept in her private collection.[citation needed]
In 1968, an art commission from Ford Motor Company took him to Hawaii. There, he quickly settled into island life and became a highly respected member of the art community. He maintained an art gallery in Honolulu, as well as Maui.[2] Warren specialized in whimsical interpretations of the Hawaiian tutus (grandmothers)[3] as well as paintings of Maui onions.[4] Warren was a well-respected member of the Lahaina Art Society. He was usually a willing and gracious participant in all art shows. He continued his one-man shows well into his later life,[5] only stopping in his seventies.[citation needed]
Warren died in 2001, aged 88, in Kihei, Hawaii, leaving four children and several grandchildren.[citation needed]
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Ship Ahoy | Ship's Officer | Uncredited |
| 1942 | Pacific Rendezvous | FBI Agent | Uncredited |
| 1942 | Seven Sweethearts | Theodore Vaney, Albert's Beau | |
| 1942 | Tennessee Johnson | James Patterson | Uncredited |
| 1943 | The Human Comedy | Soldier | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Slightly Dangerous | Young Dancer | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Three Hearts for Julia | Program Vendor | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Swing Shift Maisie | Young Pilot | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Thousands Cheer | Soldier at Train Station | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Cry 'Havoc' | Wounded Soldier Beside Truck | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Girl Crazy | Radio Man | Uncredited |
| 1943 | A Guy Named Joe | Irish Guard | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Whistling in Brooklyn | Sound Man | Uncredited |
| 1944 | See Here, Private Hargrove | Executive Officer | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Meet the People | Marine | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Maisie Goes to Reno | Dr. Hanley Fleeson | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Marriage Is a Private Affair | Officer | Uncredited |
| 1945 | This Man's Navy | Bomber Pilot | Uncredited |
| 1945 | Main Street After Dark | Serviceman in Police Station | Uncredited |
| 1945 | Wanderer of the Wasteland | Adam Laney | |
| 1945 | Ding Dong Williams | Steve Moore | |
| 1946 | Badman's Territory | John Rowley | |
| 1946 | Sunset Pass | Rocky | |
| 1947 | Code of the West | Bob Wade | |
| 1948 | The Judge Steps Out | John Struthers III | |
| 1951 | Fourteen Hours | Thomas Edward Fuller | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Diplomatic Courier | Cafe Customer | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Three for Bedroom C | Professor Ollie J. Thruman | |
| 1953 | Port Sinister | Tony Ferris |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "New Male Actor Also an Artist; James Warren's Ability Discovered When He Paints on Set". Lansing State Journal. 1942-07-12. p. 14. Retrieved 2025-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Horton, Tom (1975-05-05). "Wizard of Odds". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sherman, Eddie (1971-05-18). "Hulapaluzas". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. 17. Retrieved 2025-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hillinger, Charles (1977-03-11). "The Maui Onion Brings No Tears Even at $1 a Pound". The Los Angeles Times. p. 57. Retrieved 2025-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Maui No Ka Oi". Contra Costa Times. 1970-12-13. p. 30. Retrieved 2025-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
[edit]- James Warren at IMDb
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