James Flavin

Biography

James Wilson Flavin Jr., born on November 14, 1906, in Portland, Maine, was a distinguished American character actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years. The son of a hotel waiter with Canadian-English roots and an Irish immigrant mother, Flavin became a familiar face in Hollywood as an "Irish" archetype, despite having only a quarter Irish heritage.

Flavin's journey into the performing arts began after a brief stint at the United States Military Academy at West Point, which he left without graduating. Returning to Portland, he took up taxi driving until an opportunity arose in 1929 to perform with a summer stock company. His talent quickly garnered him a weekly salary of $150, leading him to New York City by 1930. However, it wasn't until 1971 that he made his Broadway debut in the revival of "The Front Page," where he briefly took over the lead role from Robert Ryan.

Flavin transitioned to film in Los Angeles around 1932, making his debut in the Universal serial "The Airmail Mystery." Although he started as a leading man, he soon found his niche as a dependable supporting actor, appearing in nearly 400 films and almost 100 television episodes before his final role as President Dwight D. Eisenhower in "Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident" in 1976.

James Flavin passed away from heart complications on April 23, 1976, just days before his widow, Lucile Browne, who he married in 1932. They were interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, leaving behind their son, William James Flavin, a professor at the United States Army War College.