Jim Hutton
Encyclopedia
Dana James Hutton usually credited as Jim Hutton, was an American actor in film and television probably best remembered for his role as Ellery Queen
in the 1970s TV series of the same name.
, Jim Hutton was performing in live theater in Germany while with the United States Army
when he was spotted by American film director Douglas Sirk
. One of his earliest screen appearances was in an episode of The Twilight Zone
(1959), in which he co-starred with Rod Taylor. In Hollywood, he gained recognition with teen audiences for his role in the college student film Where the Boys Are
(1960), where he appeared with Paula Prentiss
, an actress he would be teamed with in several of his early films, in part because they were the tallest contract players of their time (Hutton at 6'5" and Prentiss at 5'10"). He appeared with Prentiss in The Honeymoon Machine
Late in 1960, followed by 1961's Bachelor in Paradise
starring Bob Hope
and Lana Turner
, and finally The Horizontal Lieutenant
in 1962. In 1966, Hutton gained a wider audience in Walk, Don't Run with Samantha Eggar
and Cary Grant
(in his last feature-film appearance). Due to his tall, gangly frame and the absent minded quality of his delivery, Hutton was viewed as a successor to James Stewart
.
In addition to being a gifted comedic
actor, Hutton also took on dramatic roles such as Sam Peckinpah
's 1965 western Major Dundee
. In 1968 Hutton appeared in the John Wayne
acted/directed war drama, The Green Berets
, wherein Hutton played a Special Forces
sergeant
in a mix of comedy and drama, with a memorable booby trap
scene. Also in 1968 Hutton appeared with John Wayne in Hellfighters
, playing the role of Greg Parker. The movie was loosely based on the career of oil-well firefighter Red Adair
.
in the 1975 made-for-television movie
that led to the 1975–76 television series Ellery Queen
. Hutton's co-star was David Wayne
, who portrayed his widowed policeman father. In the series (set in New York in 1947), Hutton portrayed a crime novelist and amateur crime solver who assisted his father on murder cases and tried to find out "whodunit," with the added twist of breaking the fourth wall
and involving the viewer in solving the mystery.
He also starred in The Hallelujah Trail
.
, two days after his 45th birthday. A year and a half later, his son, actor Timothy Hutton
, dedicated his 1980 Academy Award
to his father.
Ellery Queen (TV series)
Ellery Queen is an American television detective mystery series that ran for one season from 1975 to 1976 on NBC. It starred Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen, and David Wayne as his father, Inspector Richard Queen...
in the 1970s TV series of the same name.
Early life and career
Born in Binghamton, New YorkBinghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
, Jim Hutton was performing in live theater in Germany while with the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
when he was spotted by American film director Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk was a Danish-German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas in the 1950s.-Life and work:...
. One of his earliest screen appearances was in an episode of The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
(1959), in which he co-starred with Rod Taylor. In Hollywood, he gained recognition with teen audiences for his role in the college student film Where the Boys Are
Where the Boys Are
The kind of cool modern jazz popularized by such acts as Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, and Chico Hamilton, then in the vanguard of the college music market, features in a number of scenes with Basil...
(1960), where he appeared with Paula Prentiss
Paula Prentiss
Paula Ragusa , better known by her stage name Paula Prentiss, is an American actress well-known for her film roles in Where the Boys Are, Man's Favorite Sport?, The Stepford Wives, What's New Pussycat?, The Black Marble, and The Parallax View and her co-starring role in the television situation...
, an actress he would be teamed with in several of his early films, in part because they were the tallest contract players of their time (Hutton at 6'5" and Prentiss at 5'10"). He appeared with Prentiss in The Honeymoon Machine
The Honeymoon Machine
The Honeymoon Machine is a 1961 film starring Steve McQueen, Brigid Bazlen, Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Jack Mullaney, and Dean Jagger, based on the 1959 Broadway play The Golden Fleecing by Lorenzo Semple Jr.. In the film, three men devise a plan to win at roulette with a United States Navy computer...
Late in 1960, followed by 1961's Bachelor in Paradise
Bachelor in Paradise
Bachelor in Paradise is a 1961 Metrocolor romantic comedy film starring Bob Hope and Lana Turner. It was directed by Jack Arnold, and written by Valentine Davies and Hal Kanter, based on story by Vera Caspary....
starring Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
and Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
, and finally The Horizontal Lieutenant
The Horizontal Lieutenant
The Horizontal Lieutenant is a 1962 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe. It is a military comedy about an unfortunate army intelligence lieutenant who finds himself isolated on a remote Japanese island army outpost during World War II....
in 1962. In 1966, Hutton gained a wider audience in Walk, Don't Run with Samantha Eggar
Samantha Eggar
Samantha Eggar is an English film, television and voice actress.-Early life:She was born Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar in Hampstead, London to an Anglo-Irish father and a mother of Dutch and Portuguese descent...
and 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...
(in his last feature-film appearance). Due to his tall, gangly frame and the absent minded quality of his delivery, Hutton was viewed as a successor to James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
.
In addition to being a gifted comedic
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
actor, Hutton also took on dramatic roles such as Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
's 1965 western Major Dundee
Major Dundee
Major Dundee is a 1965 Western film written by Harry Julian Fink and directed by Sam Peckinpah. It starred Charlton Heston and Richard Harris as officers from opposing sides in the American Civil War who band together to hunt down a band of Apaches....
. In 1968 Hutton appeared in the John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
acted/directed war drama, The Green Berets
The Green Berets (film)
The Green Berets is a 1968 war film featuring John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton and Aldo Ray, nominally based on the eponymous 1965 book by Robin Moore, though the screenplay has little relation to the book....
, wherein Hutton played a Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
in a mix of comedy and drama, with a memorable booby trap
Booby trap
A booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
scene. Also in 1968 Hutton appeared with John Wayne in Hellfighters
Hellfighters (film)
Hellfighters is a 1968 American film starring John Wayne, Katharine Ross, Bruce Cabot, Jim Hutton, Jay C. Flippen and Vera Miles. The movie, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, is about a group of oil well firefighters, based loosely on the life of Red Adair...
, playing the role of Greg Parker. The movie was loosely based on the career of oil-well firefighter Red Adair
Red Adair
Paul Neal "Red" Adair was an American oil well firefighter. He became world notable as an innovator in the highly specialized and extremely hazardous profession of extinguishing and capping blazing, erupting oil well blowouts, both land-based and offshore.-Life and career:Adair was born in...
.
The move to television
In the early 1970s Hutton began working almost exclusively in television and played the title role of Ellery QueenEllery Queen
Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay and Manford Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee , to write, edit, and anthologize detective fiction.The fictional Ellery Queen created by...
in the 1975 made-for-television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
that led to the 1975–76 television series Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen (TV series)
Ellery Queen is an American television detective mystery series that ran for one season from 1975 to 1976 on NBC. It starred Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen, and David Wayne as his father, Inspector Richard Queen...
. Hutton's co-star was David Wayne
David Wayne
David Wayne was an American actor with a career spanning nearly 50 years.-Early life and career:...
, who portrayed his widowed policeman father. In the series (set in New York in 1947), Hutton portrayed a crime novelist and amateur crime solver who assisted his father on murder cases and tried to find out "whodunit," with the added twist of breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
and involving the viewer in solving the mystery.
He also starred in The Hallelujah Trail
The Hallelujah Trail
The Hallelujah Trail is a 1965 Western spoof directed by John Sturges and starring Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Brian Keith, Donald Pleasence, and Martin Landau, amongst others.-Plot synopsis:...
.
Death and Academy Award dedication
On June 2, 1979, Jim Hutton died in Los Angeles from liver cancerHepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitide infection or cirrhosis .Compared to other cancers, HCC is quite a rare tumor in the United States...
, two days after his 45th birthday. A year and a half later, his son, actor Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
, dedicated his 1980 Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
to his father.
See also
- "And When the Sky Was OpenedAnd When the Sky Was Opened"And When the Sky Was Opened" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It was first aired on December 11, 1959.-Synopsis:...
", an episode of The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...