James Christopher Read (born July 31, 1953) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, best known for his role of George Hazard in the North and South television miniseries.

Early life

Read was born in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

, as the second of three children in family (has an older brother and a younger sister). He started acting as a student of law at the University of Oregon

University of Oregon

-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...

 that he graduated from in 1976. He studied acting in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and then did several off Broadway and regional theatre

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

s such as The Denver Center Theatre Company

Denver Center for the Performing Arts

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts ' is an organization in Denver, Colorado which provides a showcase for live theatre, a nurturing ground for new plays, a preferred stop on the Broadway touring circuit, a graduate-level training school for actors, acting classes for the community and rental...

, where he had a couple of leading roles and spent three seasons. In 1998 additionally, he earned his Masters Degree in psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

 from Pepperdine University

Pepperdine University

Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...

.

Career

Read is best known for his role as George Hazard in the three North and South

North and South (TV miniseries)

North and South is the title of three American television miniseries broadcast on the ABC network in 1985, 1986, and 1994. Set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War, they are based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes. The 1985 first installment, North...

TV miniseries

Miniseries

A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...

 (1985, 1986 and 1994) based on the John Jakes

John Jakes

John William Jakes is an American writer, best known for American historical fiction.-Early life and education:...

 trilogy

Trilogy

A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...

 of novels of the same name

North and South (trilogy)

North and South is a 1980s trilogy of bestselling novels by John Jakes which take place before, during, and after the American Civil War. The saga tells the story of the enduring friendship between Orry Main of South Carolina and George Hazard of Pennsylvania, who become best friends while...

 (his co-star; Patrick Swayze

Patrick Swayze

Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...

 taught him how to ride a horseback), and for his co-starring role in the movie Beaches

Beaches (film)

Beaches , is a 1988 American comedy-drama film adapted by Mary Agnes Donoghue from the Iris Rainer Dart novel of the same name...

.

He had a recurring role on The WB series Charmed

Charmed

Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...

as Victor Bennett and was also a regular during the first season of Remington Steele

Remington Steele

Remington Steele is an American television series, co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from 1982 to 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic...

. Recently, he could be seen as Ken Davis in the ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 family drama Wildfire

Wildfire (TV series)

Wildfire is a US television series that aired on ABC Family, which was produced by Lions Gate Television, Piller2 and The Segan Company . The show premiered June 20, 2005; its fourth and final season ended May 16, 2008 due to low ratings...

and an ambassador Franklin Fairchild in 2010 television series Persons Unknown. In 2008, he directed an episode of "Wildfire". In 2009, he performed in "Better Angels" as Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

 at the Colony Theatre in Burbank, California

Burbank, California

Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....

.

Personal life

The lefthanded, 6'2" Read is married to actress Wendy Kilbourne

Wendy Kilbourne

Wendy Kilbourne Read is a former American television actress who is no longer active.- Biography :...

, whom he met on the set of North and South. They live in Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

 and have two children - son Jackson (born 1990) and daughter Sydney (born 1995). Their middle child - daughter Willa - was stillborn

Stillbirth

A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...

 in 1994. After that event, Read thought of giving up acting (as he did in 1984, after his brother's unexpected death). Kilbourne is not his first wife; between 1973 and 1978, he was married to Lora Lee. He is interested in sailing

Sailing

Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

, tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 and music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

.

Movies

The following groups theatrical, television and special movies :

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Talker	CO	television movie
2010	All Signs of Death All Signs of Death All Signs of Death is a television pilot based on the 2009 novel The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston, who also wrote the teleplay. Huston served as executive producer along with Alan Ball who directed the pilot...	Westin Nye	television movie / Unaired Pilot
2009	Fame Fame (2009 film) Fame is a 2009 musical film and a loose remake of the 1980 film of the same title. It was directed by Kevin Tancharoen and written by Allison Burnett. It was released on September 25, 2009 in the USA, Canada, Ireland, and the UK.-Freshman year:...	Alice's dad
2005	A Lot Like Love A Lot Like Love A Lot Like Love is a 2005 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nigel Cole. The screenplay by Colin Patrick Lynch focuses on two individuals whose relationship slowly evolves from lust to friendship to romance over the course of seven years...	Brent Friehl
2004	The History of North and South	Himself / George Hazard	"the-making-of" DVD documentary / archive footage
2003	Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde	Elle's father	cut scenes (DVD edition)
2003	Charmed: Behind the Magic	Victor Bennett	DVD documentary (archive footage)
2001	Legally Blonde Legally Blonde Legally Blonde is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and produced by Marc E. Platt...	Elle's father
2001	Not Another Teen Movie Not Another Teen Movie Not Another Teen Movie is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Joel Gallen, released on December 14, 2001 by Columbia Pictures. It is a parody of teen movies which have accumulated in Hollywood over the last few decades...	Preston's father
1998	Indiscreet Indiscreet (1998 film) Indiscreet is a thriller TV movie starring Luke Perry and Gloria Reuben.- Plot :Zachariah Dodd, a rich lawyer, hires Michael Nash ,a private investigator, to obtain evidences that is wife, Eve Dodd is unfaithful so he can divorce her...	Zachariah Dodd	television movie
1997	Walking Thunder	Abner Murdock
1996	Full Circle	Judge Carter	television movie from Danielle Steel's novel
1996	Harvest of Fire Harvest of Fire Harvest of Fire is an American television movie that aired on CBS on April 21, 1996. Directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman, the film stars stars Lolita Davidovich, J.A...	Scott	television movie
1995	When the Dark Man Calls	Det. Michael Lieberman	television movie
1995	The Other Woman	Michael Bryan	television movie, also known as Mothers and Daughters
1992	The President's Child	Sen. James Guthrie	television movie
1992	Love Crimes Love Crimes (1992 film) Love Crimes is a 1992 thriller directed by Lizzie Borden starring Sean Young as an assistant district attorney who tries to seduce and apprehend a psychopath .The screenplay is by Allan Moyle and Laurie Frank, based on a story by Moyle...	Stanton Gray
1990	Lola	Peter Baltic	television movie / Pilot, also known as Escape from 212
1990	Web of Deceit	Paul Evanston	television movie, also known as Conspiracy to Kill
1990	Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn	Hugh	television movie, The Wonderful World of Walt Disney
1988	Beaches Beaches (film) Beaches , is a 1988 American comedy-drama film adapted by Mary Agnes Donoghue from the Iris Rainer Dart novel of the same name...	Michael Essex	also known as Forever Friends
1988	Eight Men Out Eight Men Out Eight Men Out is an American dramatic sports film, released in 1988 and based on Eliot Asinof 1963 book 8 Men Out. It was written and directed by John Sayles....	Claude "Lefty" Williams Lefty Williams Claude Preston "Lefty" Williams was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is probably best known for his involvement in the 1919 World Series fix, known as the Black Sox scandal.-Career:...
1987	Celebration Family Celebration Family Celebration Family is a made for television drama film. It is based on the real story of a married couple, James and Janet Marston, who, after discovering that they are not able to have more children naturally, start to adopt instead...	James Marston	television movie
1985	Midas Valley	Josh Landau	television movie
1985	Lace II	Daryl Webster	television movie
1984	The Initiation	Peter
1983	Blue Thunder Blue Thunder Blue Thunder is a 1983 feature film that features a high-tech helicopter of the same name. The movie was directed by John Badham and stars Roy Scheider...	Policeman
19xx	A Journey of Love	unknown	television movie, rumoured

Television series

The following groups miniseries and series with regular and semi-regular appearances :

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Persons Unknown	Franklin Fairchild	TV series 2010, 6 episodes
2005 - 2008	Wildfire Wildfire (TV series) Wildfire is a US television series that aired on ABC Family, which was produced by Lions Gate Television, Piller2 and The Segan Company . The show premiered June 20, 2005; its fourth and final season ended May 16, 2008 due to low ratings...	Ken Davis	TV series 2005-2008, 40 episodes
2002 - 2005	American Dreams American Dreams American Dreams is an American television comedy-drama program broadcast on the NBC television network, produced by Once A Frog and Dick Clark Productions in association with Universal Network Television and NBC Studios...	George Mason	TV series 2002-2005, 8 episodes
2001 - 2006	Charmed Charmed Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...	Victor Bennett	TV series 1998-2006, 14 episodes
1994	North and South, Book III	George Hazard	miniseries
1987	Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story is a 1987 television biographical drama starring Farrah Fawcett. The film chronicles the life of Barbara Hutton, who was one of the richest American socialite women, but was never happy. Released in two versions, as a TV miniseries and TV movie, the...	Cary Grant Cary Grant Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...	miniseries / television movie
1987	Shell Game	Riley/John Reid	TV series 1987
1986	North and South, Book II	George Hazard	miniseries
1985	North and South, Book I	George Hazard	miniseries
1985	Robert Kennedy & His Times Robert Kennedy & His Times Robert Kennedy & His Times is a 1985 American television miniseries directed by Marvin J. Chomsky. The miniseries was released in three parts and depicts the life of Robert F. Kennedy.-Cast:- Crew :-Awards and nominations:...	Teddy Kennedy	miniseries / television movie
1982-1983	Remington Steele Remington Steele Remington Steele is an American television series, co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from 1982 to 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic...	Murphy Michaels	TV series 1982-1987, 22 episodes (Season 1)

The following groups television series with his guest-appearances :

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Castle Castle (TV series) Castle is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on ABC on March 9, 2009. The series is produced by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios. On January 10, 2011, Castle was renewed for a fourth season...	Anton McHugh	TV series 2009-, 4.05 "Eye of the Beholder"
2010	In Plain Sight In Plain Sight In Plain Sight is an American dramatic television series on USA Network. The series revolves around Mary Shannon , a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office of the Federal Witness Security Program , more commonly known as the Federal Witness Protection Program...	Damon Schmidt	TV series 2008-, 3.11 "The Born Identity"
2008	Cold Case	Prof. Robert Boreki	TV series 2003-2010, 6.01 "Glory Days"
2006	Pepper Dennis Pepper Dennis Pepper Dennis is a comedy-drama television series that aired on The WB from April to July 4, 2006. It was quickly announced on May 17, 2006 that Pepper Dennis would not be one of the WB shows transferred to The CW Television Network....	Mr. Brinkman	TV series 2006, 1.10 "Dennis, Bulgari, Big Losers at ACoRNS: Film at Eleven"
2005	Crossing Jordan Crossing Jordan Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Medical Examiner's Office...	Dean William Hargrave	TV series 2001-2007, 4.12 "Family Affair"
2002	Sabrina the Teenage Witch	Ben, Josh's Father	TV series 1996-2003, 6.17 "The Competition"
2002	Becker Becker (TV series) Becker is an American television sitcom that ran from 1998 to 2004 on CBS. Set in the New York City borough of The Bronx, the show starred Ted Danson as John Becker, a misanthropic doctor who operates a small practice and is constantly annoyed by his patients, co-workers, friends, and practically...	Dan	TV series 1998-2004, 4.12 "The Ex-Files"
2002	Intimate Portrait Intimate Portrait (TV series) Intimate Portrait is a biographical television series on the Lifetime Television cable network focusing on different celebrities, which includes interviews with each subject....	Himself	TV series 1995-2004, "Finola Hughes"
2001	Star Trek: Voyager Star Trek: Voyager Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...	Jaffen	TV series 1995-2001, 7.16 & 17 "Workforce: Part 1 & 2"
2000	Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...	Nick	TV series 1994-2003, 6.11 "Millennium"
1999	Profiler Profiler (TV series) Profiler was an American crime drama that aired on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The series follows the exploits of a criminal profiler working with the fictional FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force based in Atlanta, Georgia....	James Lofton	TV series 1996-2000, 3.20 "Las Brisas"
1998	Push Push (TV series) Push is a short-lived American prime time soap opera about a group of young Olympic hopefuls in training at California Southern University. It aired on ABC from April 6, 1998 to August 6, 1998...	unknown	TV series 1998, unknown episode
1997	Diagnosis: Murder Diagnosis: Murder Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...	David McReynolds	TV series 1993-2001, 5.02 "Open and Shut"
1997	The Cape	Jeff	TV series 1996-1997, 1.19 "Just Like Old Times"
1997	7th Heaven 7th Heaven 7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...	Bill Sanders	TV series 1996-2007, 1.16 "Brave New World"
1996	Home Improvement	Captain Jenkins	TV series 1991-1999, 6.01 "At Sea"
1996	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action American television series based on the Superman comic books...	Jack Olsen	TV series 1993-1997, 3.13 "The Dad Who Came in from the Cold"
1995	Murder, She Wrote Murder, She Wrote Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...	Boyd Venton	TV series 1984-1996, 11.13 "Death 'N Denial"
1994	Heaven Help Us	Max	TV series 1994, 1.07 "The Last Great Hope"
1991	Princesses Princesses (TV series) Princesses was a short-lived American situation comedy that aired on CBS in 1991. The series was produced by Universal Television and only lasted five episodes because of low ratings, likely due to direct competition from ABC's Top 30 hit Family Matters and NBC's Top 40 show Matlock. The series...	Michael Decrow	TV series 1991, 1.01 "Pilot"
1990	Columbo	Dr Wesley Corman	TV series 1971-2003, 9.05 "Uneasy Lies the Crown" / television movie
1990	Midnight Caller Midnight Caller Midnight Caller is a dramatic NBC television series created by Richard DiLello, which ran from 1988 to 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growing phenomenon of talk radio...	Richard Clark	TV series 1988-1991, 2.22 "Nighthawk's Got the Blues"
1984	Matt Houston Matt Houston Matt Houston is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1985. Created by Lawrence Gordon, the series was produced by Aaron Spelling.-Synopsis:...	Fletcher / Jason Haywood	TV series 1982-1985, 3.08 "The High Fashion Murders"
1984	Jessie	The Streak	TV series 1984, 1.02 "The Lady Killer"
1984	Cover Up	unknown	TV series 1984-1985, rumoured appearance
1983	Trapper John, M.D. Trapper John, M.D. Trapper John, M.D. is an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH, concerning a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986....	Ace Bukowski	TV series 1979-1986, 5.08 "The Agony of D'Feet"
1983	Fantasy Island Fantasy Island Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...	Eddie Random	TV series 1977-1984, 7.08 "Random Choices/My Mother, the Swinger"
1983	Hotel Hotel (TV series) Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty....	Pike	TV series 1983-1988, 1.11 "Christmas"
1982	Cheers Cheers Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...	Herb Sawyer	TV series 1982-1993, 1.07 "Friends, Romans, and Accountants"

External links