James Franciscus

James Franciscus
Born	James Grover Franciscus
Other names	James Francicus
Years active	1961-1991
Spouse(s)	Carla Ankney Franciscus (1980-1991; his death) Kathleen Wellman (1960-divorced)
Awards	Golden Apple Award 1963 Least Cooperative Actor

James Grover Franciscus (January 31 1934 – July 8 1991) was a leading and supporting American actor. He was born in Clayton, Missouri. His first big role was as Detective Jim Halloran in the half-hour version of ABC's The Naked City television series.

Franciscus was thereafter the lead star in the 13-week series The Investigators, which aired on CBS from October 5 to December 28, 1961. He played the insurance investigator Russ Andrews, with James Philbrook as a co-star.

Although he performed in many feature films and television programs throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including a minor role in an episode of The Twilight Zone titled Judgment Night in 1959. Franciscus is probably best known for his title roles in two television series, NBC's Mr. Novak (1963–65) and ABC's Longstreet (1971–72), and for his vocal performance in the big-screen version of Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973).

In 1976, he starred in yet another TV series, Hunter, a series about espionage in which he played a secret agent. This Hunter should not be confused with the later detective series Hunter, which starred Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer).

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James Franciscus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes

He was also frequently seen in feature films of the 1960s and 1970s such as Snow Treasure, The Amazing Dobermans, Marooned, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, City on Fire, and When Time Ran Out.

Over the years, Franciscus found film work with Italian cinema. In 1971 he accepted the lead role in Dario Argento's second film, The Cat o' Nine Tails. 1979 saw him appear in Antonio Margheritti's Killer Fish, and in 1980 he starred in director Enzo G. Castellari's notorious Jaws rip-off, Great White.

He continued appearing in roles on the screen and television. When less important roles were offered Franciscus turned to writing screenplays and producing. In 1991, the year of his death, he worked as an associate producer and writer on the TV program 29th Street; it was his final project.

Personal information

Franciscus' father, John Allen Franciscus, of a patrician background, was killed in action in World War II. In 1957, Franciscus received a bachelor of arts degree in English and theatre arts from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. On March 28, 1960, he married the former Kathleen Kent Wellman, the daughter of film director William Wellman. Franciscus helped to boost the popularity of "Celebrity Tennis Exhibitions" through the United States, along with fellow actors Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Charlton Heston, and Chad Everett. After his divorce from Kathleen, he married the former Carla Ankney during the 1980s. They were still married at the time of Franciscus's death from emphysema in North Hollywood, California, at the age of fifty-seven.

External links

• Hasslein Books, publishers of Rich Handley's Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology, which details the events of every Planet of the Apes film, episode, novel and comic ever published
• James Franciscus at IMDb
• Entry at NNDB
• Photo
• James Franciscus fan information site
• James Franciscus 1964 interview