Jim Davis profile
Actor profile

Jim Davis

26th August 1909 Edgerton, Platte County, Missouri, USA Acting

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jim Davis (born Marlin Davis, August 26, 1909 – April 26, 1981) was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap opera, Dallas, a role which continued until he was too ill from a terminal illness to perform. He was known as Jim Davis by the time of his first major screen role, which was opposite Bette Davis in the 1948 melodrama Winter Meeting,[3] a lavish failure for which he was lambasted in the press as being too inexperienced to play the part properly. His subsequent film career consisted of mostly B movies, many of them westerns, although he made an impression as a U.S. senator in the Warren Beatty conspiracy thriller The Parallax View. Davis performed in numerous television series episodes in the 1950s-1970s. After years of relatively low-profile roles, Davis was cast as family patriarch Jock Ewing on Dallas, which debuted in 1978. During season four, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma but continued to film the show as long as he could. In many scenes as the season progressed he was shown seated, and his voice became softer and more obviously affected by his illness. He wore a hairpiece to cover the hair he'd lost from chemotherapy. A season four storyline regarding the Takapa development and Jock's separation from Miss Ellie was ended abruptly at the end of season four. The writers depicted the couple suddenly leaving to go on an extended second honeymoon when it became obvious that Davis could no longer continue to work. Their departure in a limousine in the episode "New Beginnings" was Davis' only scene in that episode, and his condition was so poor that close watching reveals (based on his unsynchronized lip movement) that he overdubbed his one last line of dialogue. It was his final appearance on the show. He died of complications from his illness while season four was being aired.

96 Movies 60 TV Shows 162 Credits
Filmography

Movies & TV Shows

Enigma poster
Enigma 27th May 1977 as Colonel Valentine
Big Jake poster
Big Jake 26th May 1971 as Head of Lynching Party
Pilot #5 poster
Pilot #5 24th June 1943 as Military Policeman
White Cargo poster
White Cargo 12th December 1942 as Seaplane Pilot (uncredited)
Dallas poster
Dallas 2nd April 1978 as Jock Ewing
Kung Fu poster
Kung Fu 14th October 1972 as Sheriff Grogan
Banacek poster
Banacek 13th September 1972 as Ed McKay
Branded poster
Branded 24th January 1965 as James Swaney
Laramie poster
Laramie 15th September 1959 as Hake Ballard
Bonanza poster
Bonanza 12th September 1959 as Sam Wolfe
Bonanza poster
Bonanza 12th September 1959 as Sam Butler
Gunsmoke poster
Gunsmoke 10th September 1955 as Clell Williams
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Gunsmoke 10th September 1955 as Ben Rawlins
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Gunsmoke 10th September 1955 as Wes Cameron
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Gunsmoke 10th September 1955 as Sheriff Shackwood
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Gunsmoke 10th September 1955 as Amos Carver
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Gunsmoke 10th September 1955 as Dave Carpenter
Gunsmoke poster
Gunsmoke 10th September 1955 as Luke Rumbaugh