James Dunn
James Dunn worked on the stage, in vaudeville and as an extra in silent movies before he was signed by Fox in 1931. His first movie with Fox was 1931's Sob Sister (1931). While at Fox, he appeared with Shirley Temple in her first three features: Baby Take a Bow (1934), Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) and Bright Eyes (1934). Dunn's screen character was usually the boy next door or the nice guy. In 1935 musicals at the new 20th Century-Fox were out and Dunn would move to the "B" list, from which he would never return. In The Payoff (1935) he plays the nice guy newspaper columnist whose wife ruins his career. By the late 1930s he was drinking heavily and become unemployable. He would appear in small roles in films during the early 1940s, but those parts were few. In 1945 he was able to make a comeback and win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), but his rejuvenated career would not continue. By 1951 he would again be unemployed and bankrupt. Television would later supply some work and he would be a regular on the series It's a Great Life (1954).
Dunn was born 2 November 1901, New York City, New York, USA, and he died 1 September 1967, Santa Monica, California, USA (following abdominal surgery)
Known for
The Virginian
Congressman Matthew J. Cosgrove
The Fugitive
Lou Bragan
Rawhide
Rawhide
Dr. Soloman Flood
Matinee Theater
Climax!
Eldon Abernathy
Climax!
Warren
Robert Montgomery Presents
Naked City
Peter Wilkin
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Gabe Henshaw
Route 66
Ben Casey
Studio One
Studio One
Frank Gabriel
The Payoff
Joe McCoy
Branded
The Great Adventure
Indian Agent McLean
Living on Love
Gary Martin
Bright Eyes
Loop Merritt
Lux Video Theatre
Joey
Vacation Playhouse
P.J. Cunningham
The Daring Young Man
Don McLane
Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man
Telegrapher
Bad Boy
Eddie Nolan
We Have Our Moments
John Wade
Bad Girl
Eddie Collins
The Bramble Bush
Stew Schaffer
Have a Heart
James 'Jimmie' Flaherty
Screen Director's Playhouse
Sheriff Garrett
Take It or Leave It
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Society Girl
Johnny Malone
Killer McCoy
Brian McCoy
George White's 1935 Scandals
Eddie
That Brennan Girl
Denny Reagan
Two-Fisted Gentleman
Mickey
Over the Hill
Johnny Shelby as an Adult
Dance Team
Jimmy Mulligan
Going My Way
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
Mike
The Caribbean Mystery
Mr. Smith
Welcome Home
Richard Foster
Mr. Broadway
The Ghost and the Guest
Webster Frye
The Girl in 419
Dr. Daniel French
Shadows Over Shanghai
Johnny McGinty
Jimmy and Sally
Jimmy O'Connor
Take a Chance
Duke Stanley
Hollywood’s Children
Self (archive footage)
Leave It to the Irish
Terry Moran
A Wonderful Life
Henry Wood
The Oscar
TV executive
The Investigators
Chief Reynolds
Shadow Over Elveron
Luke Travers
The Wonderful World of Disney
J. Henry Newman
Change of Heart
Mark McGowan
Government Girl
Sergeant Joe Blake
It's a Great Life
Earl Morgan
Sailor's Luck
Jimmy Fenimore Harrigan
Pride of the Navy
Speed Brennan
The Living Ghost
Nick Trayne
Sob Sister
Garry Webster
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Johnny Nolan
General Electric Theater
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Dan McLain
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
Mercy Plane
'Speed' Leslie
Hello, Sister!
Jimmy
Stand Up and Cheer!
Jimmy Dugan
Hearts in Bondage
Lt. Kenneth Reynolds
The Song Plugger
Man in Record Shop
Handle with Care
Bill Gordon
Hold That Girl
Barney Sullivan
Baby Take a Bow
Eddie Ellison
In the Nick of Time
The Ninth Day
Hold That Woman!
Jimmy Parker
Venus Makes Trouble
Buzz Martin
Journey to the Day
Melville Cooper
Arizona to Broadway
Smiley Wells
365 Nights in Hollywood
James 'Jimmy' Dale
Mysterious Crossing
Addison Francis Murphy
Come Closer, Folks
Jim Keene
The Golden Gloves Story
Joe Riley
Son of the Navy
Chief Gunners Mate Mike Malone
Hold Me Tight
Chuck Evans
The Biggest Little Star of the 30's
Self(archive footage)