James Flavin

Known For: Acting
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: May 14, 1906
Day of Death: April 23, 1976 (70 years old)
Place of Birth: Portland, Maine, USA
American character actor whose career lasted nearly half a century. James Wilson Flavin Jr. was the son of a hotel waiter of Canadian-English extraction and a mother, Katherine, whose father was an Irish immigrant. (Thus Flavin, well-known in Hollywood as an "Irish" type, was only one-quarter Irish.) Flavin was born and raised in Portland, Maine (a fact that may have enrichened his later working relationship with director John Ford, also a Portland native). He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, but (contrary to some sources) did not graduate. Instead he dropped out and returned to Portland where he drove a taxi. Then as now, summer stock companies flocked to Maine each year, and in 1929 he was asked to fill in for an actor. He did well with the part and the company manager offered him $150 per week to go with the troupe back to New York. Flavin accepted and by the spring of 1930 was living in a rooming house at 108 W. 87th Street in Manhattan. Flavin didn't manage to crack Broadway at this time (his Broadway debut would not occur for another thirty-nine years, in the 1971 revival of "The Front Page," in which Flavin played Murphy and briefly took over the lead role of Walter Burns from star Robert Ryan). He worked his way across the country in stock productions and tours, arriving in Los Angeles around 1932. He quickly made the transition to movies, landing the lead in his very first film, a Universal serial, The Airmail Mystery (1932). He also landed his leading lady, marrying the serial's female star Lucile Browne that same year. However, the serial marked virtually the last time that Flavin would play the lead in a film. Thereafter, he was restricted almost exclusively to supporting characters, many of them without so much as a name. He specialized in uniformed cops and hard-bitten detectives, but played chauffeurs, cabbies, and even a 16th-century palace guard with aplomb. Flavin appeared in nearly four hundred films between 1932 and 1971, and in almost a hundred television episodes before his final appearance, as President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident (1976). Flavin died of a heart ailment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on April 23, 1976. His widow Lucile died seventeen days later. They were survived by their son, William James Flavin, subsequently a professor at the United States Army War College. James and Lucile Brown Flavin were buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
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Actor Brophy
Blondie Hits the Jackpot

Actor Police Sergeant Briggs
The Devil's Henchman

Actor Schultz
Mighty Joe Young

Actor Det. Lt. Boylan
Homicide

Actor
Flamingo Road

Actor Guard Capt. Peter Butler
Prison Warden

Actor Stan Caldwell
Mississippi Rhythm

Actor Policeman in Park (Uncredited)
Shockproof

Actor Insp. Wellman
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
1948

Actor Guard (uncredited)
My Girl Tisa

Actor Lieutenant Mitchell
Sleep, My Love

Actor Lt. Sam Wilson
Bungalow 13

Actor Kerrigan
One Touch of Venus

Actor Sergeant Major
The Plunderers

Actor Traffic Cop (uncredited)
The Noose Hangs High

Actor Police Inspector Thorndyke
Secret Service Investigator

Actor Sgt. Oliphant
The Velvet Touch
1947

Actor Pat Johnson
Desert Fury

Actor District Attorney
Nora Prentiss

Actor First Policeman (uncredited)
It Happened on Fifth Avenue

Actor Villager (uncredited)
Unconquered

Actor Captain Danforth
Robin Hood Of Texas

Actor Policeman Reardon (uncredited)
Song of the Thin Man

Actor Det. Lt. 'Mac' Hennessey (uncredited)
My Favorite Brunette

Actor Police Sergeant Patella
Dishonored Lady

Actor Policeman
Joe Palooka in the Knockout

Actor Hoatley - First Carnival Owner (uncredited)
Nightmare Alley
1946

Actor Police Detective #1
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

Actor Shake Thomas
Nobody Lives Forever

Actor Col. Walsh
Cloak and Dagger

Actor Police Insp. Cardona
The Missing Lady

Actor Policeman (uncredited)
Boys' Ranch

Actor Investigator (uncredited)
A Stolen Life

Actor Detective Sgt. McFarland (uncredited)
Sentimental Journey

Actor Bellamy
Angel on My Shoulder

Actor Joe
Easy to Wed

Actor Chief Bosun Mate Gurney
Tars and Spars

Actor Turnkey (uncredited)
Rendezvous with Annie

Actor Subway Conductor (Uncredited)
Young Widow

Actor Woods
Step by Step
1945

Actor H.R. Jarvis
The Shanghai Cobra

Actor Major at Kweilin Airbase (uncredited)
God Is My Co-Pilot

Actor Radio Cop
Anchors Aweigh

Actor Detective (uncredited)
Mildred Pierce

Actor Guard
Circumstantial Evidence

Actor Police Officer (uncredited)
Murder, He Says

Actor Captain (uncredited)
Over 21

Actor Officer Johnny Tracy
The Spider
1944

Actor Sgt. Wiggins
Abroad with Two Yanks

Actor Policeman
Christmas Holiday

Actor Captain of Mobile Guard
Uncertain Glory

Actor Det. McEveety (uncredited)
Laura

Actor Man in Subway (uncredited)
Once Upon a Time

Actor Bank Security Guard (Uncredited)
Strange Affair

Actor Marine Sergeant (uncredited)
Hollywood Canteen
1943

Actor Captain O'Brien (Uncredited)
So Proudly We Hail

Actor Federal Agent (uncredited)
I Dood It

Actor Cmdr. Kalin
Murder on the Waterfront

Actor Maj. A.M. Bagley
Air Force

Actor Policeman (uncredited)
Thank Your Lucky Stars

Actor Merchant Marine School Lieutenant-Commander (uncredited)
Action in the North Atlantic

Actor 1st Lt. Bill Gardner
Corvette K-225

Actor Policeman
Something to Shout About

Actor Policeman (uncredited)
Heaven Can Wait

Actor American Senator (uncredited)
Mission to Moscow

Actor Cop (uncredited)
It Ain't Hay

Actor Train Conductor
Riding High

Actor Radio Policeman (Uncredited)
Swing Shift Maisie
1942

Actor Police Lieutenant Schaeffer
Fingers at the Window

Actor Girl's Father (uncredited)
Reap the Wild Wind

Actor Police Dispatcher
A Yank on the Burma Road

Actor Policeman
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty
Actor Joe Trosper
Treat 'Em Rough

Actor Motorcycle Cop (voice) (uncredited)
Saboteur

Actor Thomas
Thru Different Eyes

Actor George Corbett (uncredited)
Gentleman Jim

Actor Process Server
Tough as They Come

Actor Railroad Detective #2 (uncredited)
Ride 'Em Cowboy

Actor Capt. Luddy
Ten Gentlemen from West Point

Actor Egan (Uncredited)
Night in New Orleans

Actor Keenan - Detective Grilling Eddie (uncredited)
Kid Glove Killer
1941

Actor Orderly About to Give Bath (uncredited)
Manpower

Actor Moving Man
Kathleen

Actor Sergeant
Belle Starr

Actor Police Lt. Bardette
We Go Fast

Actor Sheriff Bud Connolly (uncredited)
Pot o' Gold

Actor Policeman
The Wild Man of Borneo

Actor Hotel Guest in Room 625 (uncredited)
Bedtime Story

Actor Immigration Guard (uncredited)
Hold Back the Dawn

Actor Policeman Kelly
The Night of January 16th

Actor Officer Johnson
Ride on Vaquero

Actor Demolition Man (uncredited)
Four Mothers

Actor Deputy Sheriff
Western Union

Actor Abilene Fight Announcer
Texas

Actor Recruiting Sergeant (uncredited)
New York Town

Actor Detective (uncredited)
I Wake Up Screaming

Actor Tomassetti
Affectionately Yours

Actor Recruiting Sergeant (uncredited)
Buck Privates

Actor Sheriff Bud Connolly
Pot o' Gold

Actor Buck (uncredited)
Ziegfeld Girl
1940

Actor Buck Miller
Youth Will Be Served

Actor Dowling
The Devil's Pipeline

Actor Clancy (uncredited)
Broadway Melody of 1940

Actor Truck Driver
Manhattan Heartbeat

Actor Ranch Foreman
Lucky Cisco Kid

Actor Cafe Customer
South of Pago Pago

Actor Guard (uncredited)
The Grapes of Wrath

Actor Court Attendant (uncredited)
Remember the Night

Actor Supply Sergeant (uncredited)
The Fighting 69th

Actor Parking Attendant at Fat Dutchy's (uncredited)
Brother Orchid

Actor Prison Guard In Library (uncredited)
Johnny Apollo

Actor Annabella's Brother
When the Daltons Rode

Actor Mountie
North West Mounted Police

Actor Army Sergeant (uncredited)
Tin Pan Alley

Actor Dock Policeman
The Long Voyage Home

Actor Death Row Guard (uncredited)
Castle on the Hudson

Actor Roaring 90's Club Doorman (uncredited)
It All Came True

Actor Army Assistant Coach (uncredited)
Knute Rockne All American

Actor Policeman
Florian

Actor Cop (uncredited)
The Golden Fleecing

Actor McRafferty
And One Was Beautiful

Actor Det. Carvin
Girl in 313

Actor Hotel Porter (uncredited)
The Ghost Breakers

Actor Detective
Rhythm on the River

Actor Policeman
The Way of All Flesh

Actor Detective
The Great Profile

Actor Guard
Women Without Names

Actor Grogin
La Conga Nights

Actor Patrolman Johnson
Double Alibi

Actor Doorman (uncredited)
Private Affairs

Actor Third FBI Director
Queen of the Mob

Actor Storm Swenson
Hot Steel
1939

Actor Police Sgt. Jerry
Mr. Wong in Chinatown

Actor Sergeant
The Cisco Kid and the Lady

Actor Officer (uncredited)
They All Come Out

Actor Fluger
Irish Luck

Actor Officer Simmons (uncredited)
Tell No Tales

Actor Cavalry Captain (uncredited)
Jesse James

Actor Doorman
The Ice Follies of 1939

Actor Paddy (uncredited)
Union Pacific

Actor Guard (uncredited)
Rose of Washington Square

Actor Turnkey
The Gracie Allen Murder Case

Actor Police Sergeant (uncredited)
They Shall Have Music

Actor Policeman (uncredited)
Each Dawn I Die

Actor Police Interrogator
Sergeant Madden

Actor Policeman Guarding Entrance (uncredited)
Fast and Furious

Actor Policeman (uncredited)
The Roaring Twenties

Actor Police Announcer (uncredited)
Everybody's Baby

Actor Doorman
Code of the Streets

Actor George Mitchell
Big Town Czar

Actor Policeman
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President

Actor Sanders
Mickey the Kid
1938

Actor Jack's Friend (uncredited)
Three Loves Has Nancy

Actor Burly Man (Uncredited)
Mannequin

Actor Army Captain (uncredited)
Alexander's Ragtime Band

Actor Striker (uncredited)
Born to Be Wild

Actor Jenks - Chauffeur (uncredited)
Wives Under Suspicion
Actor Detective Sgt. Berkovich
Convicts at Large

Actor Justice Department Agent
Lightning Carson Rides Again

Actor 2nd Cop
While New York Sleeps

Actor Policeman in Accident Car (uncredited)
Blondie

Actor Kidnapper
Night Spot

Actor Detective Hayes
Everybody's Doing It

Actor Gas Station Attendant
Start Cheering

Actor Jailer (uncredited)
You Can't Take It with You

Actor George - Witness (uncredited)
I Am the Law

Actor Cop (uncredited)
Miracle Money

Actor Guard
Gateway

Actor Plebe Hockey Coach
The Duke of West Point

Actor Pilot (uncredited)
Test Pilot
1937

Actor Det. Bill O'Malley
Girls Can Play

Actor Dr. Spitzy Calahan (uncredited)
My Dear Miss Aldrich

Actor Detective McCormick
Midnight Taxi

Actor Marine Who Likes Painting (uncredited)
Live, Love and Learn

Actor Driver
Dangerously Yours

Actor State Trooper
Big Town Girl

Actor Detective
Angel's Holiday

Actor Cab Driver
Dangerous Number

Actor Policeman (uncredited)
Hot Water

Actor Bill Seaver
I Promise to Pay

Actor State Trooper (uncredited)
You Only Live Once
1936
1935

Actor Ed
One Way Ticket

Actor Chauffeur (uncredited)
Man on the Flying Trapeze

Actor Policeman at Merry-Go-Round (uncredited)
The Murder Man

Actor 2st Military Policeman (uncredited)
Rendezvous

Actor Mac - Policeman (uncredited)
Woman Wanted

Actor Brandhma
Secrets of Chinatown

Actor Informant on Telephone
The Daring Young Man

Actor Detective
Chinatown Squad

Actor Freighter Officer
Captain Hurricane

Actor Lieutenant (uncredited)
Shipmates Forever

Actor Agent with Jean (uncredited)
'G' Men

Actor Flavin - Federal Agent (uncredited)
Public Hero Number 1

Actor Agent Arresting Julie (uncredited)
Special Agent