Actor
· Acting
James Gleason
Born 1882-05-23
Died 1959-04-12
📍 New York City, New York, USA
James Gleason was born in New York City to William Gleason and Mina Crolius, who were both in the theatre. He was married to Lucile Gleason (born Lucile Webster), and had a son, Russell Gleason. As a young man James fought in the Spanish-American War. After the war he joined the stock company at the Liberty Theater in Oakland, California, which his parents were running. James and his wife then moved to Portland, Oregon, where they played in stock at the Baker Theater. For several years afterward they toured in road shows until James enlisted in the army during World War I. When he returned he appeared on the stage in "The Five Million." He then turned to writing, including "Is Zat So", which he produced for the NY stage. He also wrote and acted in "The Fall Guy" and "The Shannons on Broadway." Next he wrote The Broadway Melody (1929) for MGM. He collaborated, in 1930, on The Swellhead (1930), Dumbbells in Ermine (1930), What a Widow! (1930), Rain or Shine (1930) and His First Command (1929). He and his wife were then contracted to Pathe, Lucille to act, and James (or Jimmie as he was known) as a writer. Probably his most famous acting role was as Max Corkle, the manager of Joe Pendleton who was wrongly plucked from this life into the next, in the hit fantasy Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).
Filmography 138
The Last Hurrah
as Cuke Gillen
1958
Money, Women and Guns
as Henry Devers
1958
Once Upon a Horse...
as Postmaster
1958
Rock-a-Bye Baby
as Doc Simpkins
1958
Man or Gun
as Sheriff Jim Jackson
1958
No Time at All
as Dolph Grimes
1958
The Female Animal
as Tom Maloney
1958
Man in the Shadow
as Hank James
1957
Leave It to Beaver
as Pete
1957
Loving You
as Carl Meade
1957
Spring Reunion
as Collie
1957
Star in the Dust
as Orval Jones
1956
Screen Director's Playhouse
as Ed Shafer
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Mr. Jorgy
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Howard Fieldstone
1955
Cheyenne
1955
The Girl Rush
as Ether Ferguson
1955
The Night of the Hunter
as Uncle Birdie Steptoe
1955
The Millionaire
as Charles Hartford Simpson
1955
Climax!
as Reverend Mr. McCarkle
1954
Suddenly
as Peter 'Pop' Benson
1954
Hollywood Thrill-Makers
as Risky Russell
1954
Forever Female
as Eddie Woods
1953
This Is Your Life
as Self
1952
Cavalcade of America
as Noah Larkin
1952
What Price Glory
as General Cokely
1952
The Story of Will Rogers
as Bert Lynn
1952
We're Not Married!
as Duffy
1952
I'll See You in My Dreams
as Fred Townsend
1951
Come Fill the Cup
as Charley Dolan
1951
Triple Cross
as Knobby Walsh
1951
Two Gals and a Guy
as Max Howard
1951
Racket Squad
1951
Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle
as Knobby Walsh
1950
The Jackpot
as Harry Summers
1950
The Colgate Comedy Hour
as Self
1950
Riding High
as Racing Secretary
1950
The Yellow Cab Man
as Mickey Corkins
1950
Key to the City
as Sergeant Hogan
1950
Miss Grant Takes Richmond
as Timothy Gleason
1949
Take One False Step
as Captain Gledhill
1949
The Life of Riley
as Gillis
1949
Bad Boy
as Chief
1949
When My Baby Smiles at Me
as Lefty Moore
1948
The Return of October
as Uncle Willie Ramsey
1948
The Dude Goes West
as Sam Briggs
1948
Smart Woman
as Sam Corkle
1948
Tycoon
as Pop Mathews
1947
The Bishop's Wife
as Sylvester
1947
Down to Earth
as Max Corkle
1947
The Homestretch
as Doc Kilborne
1947
Lady Luck
as Sacramento Sam
1946
Home Sweet Homicide
as Sgt. O'Hare
1946
The Well Groomed Bride
as Captain Hornby
1946
The Hoodlum Saint
as Snarp
1946
Captain Eddie
as Tom Clark
1945
The Clock
as Al Henry
1945
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
as McGarrity
1945
This Man's Navy
as Jimmy Shannon
1945
The Keys of the Kingdom
as Rev. Dr. Wilbur Fiske
1944
Arsenic and Old Lace
as Lt. Rooney
1944
Once Upon a Time
as Moke McGillicuddy
1944
A Guy Named Joe
as “Nails” Kilpatrick
1944
Crash Dive
as Chief Mike 'Mac' McDonnell
1943
Manila Calling
as Tim O'Rourke
1942
Tales of Manhattan
as Father Joe
1942
Footlight Serenade
as Bruce McKay
1942
The Falcon Takes Over
as Inspector Mike O'Hara
1942
My Gal Sal
as Pat Hawley
1942
A Date with the Falcon
as Inspector Michael 'Mike' O'Hara
1942
Hay Foot
as Colonel J. A. Barkley
1942
Babes on Broadway
as Thornton Reed
1941
Breakdowns of 1941
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1941
Nine Lives Are Not Enough
as Sergeant Daniels
1941
Tanks a Million
as Col. 'Spitfire' Barkley
1941
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
as Max Corkle
1941
Affectionately Yours
as 'Chet' Phillips
1941
Meet John Doe
as Henry Connell
1941
Earl of Puddlestone
as Joe Higgins
1940
Grandpa Goes To Town
as Joe Higgins
1940
Money To Burn
as Joe Higgins
1939
The Covered Trailer
as Joe Higgins
1939
On Your Toes
as Phil Dolan Sr.
1939
Should Husbands Work?
as Joe Higgins
1939
My Wife's Relatives
as Joe Higgins
1939
Army Girl
as Hennessy
1938
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 12
as James Gleason
1938
The Higgins Family
as Joe Higgins
1938
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 6
as Self
1938
Manhattan Merry-Go-Round
as Danny The Duck
1937
Forty Naughty Girls
as Police Insp. Oscar Piper
1937
The Plot Thickens
as Police Insp. Oscar Piper
1936
The Big Game
as George Scott
1936
Don't Turn 'em Loose
as Detective Daniels
1936
Yours for the Asking
as Saratoga
1936
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
as Inspector Corrigan
1936
Murder on a Bridle Path
as Police Insp. Oscar Piper
1936
We're Only Human
as Detective Danny Walsh
1935
Hot Tip
as Jimmy McGill
1935
West Point of the Air
as Joe 'Bags'
1935
Murder on a Honeymoon
as Police Insp. Oscar Piper
1935
Helldorado
as Sam Barnes
1935
Murder on the Blackboard
as Police Insp. Oscar Piper
1934
Change of Heart
as Hot Dog Vendor (uncredited)
1934
Search for Beauty
as Dan Healy
1934
The Meanest Gal in Town
as Duke Slater
1934
Hoopla
as Jerry
1933
Orders Is Orders
as Ed Waggermeyer
1933
Clear All Wires!
as Lefty Williams
1933
The Billion Dollar Scandal
as "Ratsy" Harris
1933
The Penguin Pool Murder
as Police Insp. Oscar Piper
1932
The Devil Is Driving
as 'Beef' Evans
1932
The All-American
as Chick Knipe
1932
The Crooked Circle
as Arthur Crimmer
1932
Blondie of the Follies
as Pa McClune
1932
Lady and Gent
as Pin Streaver
1932
High Hats and Low Brows
as Danny Ruff
1932
Fast Companions
as Silk Henley
1932
Rule 'Em and Weep
as Spike Mc Gorey
1932
Suicide Fleet
as Skeets
1931
The Big Gamble
as Fred 'Squint' Dugan
1931
Sweepstakes
as Sleepy Jones
1931
A Free Soul
as Eddie
1931
It's a Wise Child
as Cool Kelly
1931
Beyond Victory
as Jim Mobley
1931
Big Money
as Tom
1930
Her Man
as Steve
1930
Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 1
as Self
1930
The Matrimonial Bed
as Gustave Corton
1930
Dumb-bells in Ermine
as Mike
1930
Swellhead
as Johnny Trump
1930
Puttin' on the Ritz
as James 'Jimmy' Tierney
1930
The Shannons of Broadway
as Mickey Shannon
1929
Oh, Yeah!
as Dusty
1929
Meet the Missus
as Bert La Motte
1929
The Broadway Melody
as Music Publisher (uncredited)
1929
The Count of Ten
as Johnny's Manager
1928
Polly of the Follies
as Paul Gordon
1922