James Stacy
James Stacy | |
|---|---|
| Born | Maurice William Elias |
| Other names | Jim Stacey Jim Stacy |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1957 – 1991 |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Website | http://www.jamesstacy.com/ |
James Stacy (born December 23, 1936)[1] is an American actor whose career was effectively ended in a motorcycle crash which left him a multiple amputee and took the life of his girlfriend. Returning to acting after his recovery, Stacy retired from acting in 1991.
Early life and career
Stacy was born Maurice William Elias in Los Angeles, California to an Irish-Scottish waitress and a Lebanese-American bookmaker.[2] Stacy made his film debut in 1957's Sayonara, and his television debut in Highway Patrol. He had a recurring role as "Fred" in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet from 1958-1963. In the 1960s he sporadically appeared in TV shows, including Gunsmoke, Hazel, The Donna Reed Show, Perry Mason, Have Gun - Will Travel, and Combat! As an actor, Stacy is best remembered as a star of the Western series Lancer on CBS from 1968-1970. He played the character "Johnny Madrid Lancer", a former gunslinger. Stacy was also in several motion pictures from the 1950s through the 1970s, including a minor part in the musical South Pacific.
Motorcycle accident
On September 27, 1973, Stacy lost his left arm and leg, and his girlfriend, waitress Claire Cox, was killed when they were struck by a drunk driver while riding on a motorcycle.[2][3] A 1974 celebrity gala, whose attendees included Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand, raised $118,000 for his expenses, and in 1976, he won a $1.9 million landmark lawsuit against the bar that had served the drunk driver.[3]
Comeback
After his recovery, Stacy appeared in roles created to accommodate his handicap. His comeback film was the 1975 Kirk Douglas Western Posse, in which he was cast as newspaper editor "Harold Hellman", a part Douglas had written for him. In 1977, he starred in the TV movie Just a Little Inconvenience, playing a double-amputee Vietnam veteran. The role earned him his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama or Comedy Special. In 1980, Stacy starred in and produced the TV movie, My Kidnapper, My Love. His brother, Louie Elias, a bit actor and stuntman, wrote the screenplay, based on the novel by Oscar Saul, to accommodate Stacy’s handicap. Elias was also the associate producer.
Other television appearances included Hotel, Cagney & Lacey (for which he was nominated for a second Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series), and Highway to Heaven. His last TV role was in five 1990 episodes of the cop series Wiseguy, playing "Ed Rogosheske."
Personal life
Stacy has married twice, to actress and singer Connie Stevens (1963-1966) and actress Kim Darby (1968-1969), with whom he had a daughter named Heather.[2]
Arrest and conviction
In November 1995, Stacy pled no contest to a charge of molesting an 11-year-old-girl[4] and entered a Ventura County rehab facility.
On December 7, 1995, he failed to appear for sentencing in Ventura County Superior Court. He was arrested the next day in a Honolulu, Hawaii, hospital after having fled. He attempted suicide by downing a pint of whiskey and leaping off a 1,200-foot (370 m) cliff. He actually landed on a ledge 45 feet (14 m) below, and his high-profile rescue from the peak by Hawaii authorities made the nightly news. After recovering, Stacy waived extradition and was returned to California. On March 5, 1996, he was sentenced to a six-year prison term. The prosecutor in the case said initially that she believed he might have been eligible for probation for the molestation, but his behavior after his arrest, coupled with two arrests in June 1995 for prowling at the homes of other girls, led her to seek a prison sentence.[5] He served his sentence at the California Institution for Men, at Chino.[4] Stacy currently resides in Ventura, California.[1]
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1957 | Sayonara | Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1958 | South Pacific | Sailor/Seabee | Credited as Jim Stacey |
| Lafayette Escadrille | Alan Nichols | Uncredited | |
| 1963 | Summer Magic | Charles Bryant | |
| 1965 | A Swingin' Summer | Mickey | |
| Like Father, Like Son | Art | Credited as Jim Stacey | |
| Winter A-Go-Go | Danny Frazer | ||
| 1969 | Flareup | Joe | |
| 1975 | Posse | Harold Hellman | |
| 1983 | Double Exposure | B.J. Wilde | Alternative title: Model Killer |
| Something Wicked This Way Comes | Ed, the Bartender | ||
| 1991 | F/X2 | Cyborg | Alternative title: F/X 2: The Deadly Art of Illusion |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1956-1963 | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | Fred | 19 episodes |
| 1957 | Highway Patrol | Young Man in Car | 1 episode |
| 1962 | Shannon | Cracker Coe | 1 episode |
| Have Gun – Will Travel | Johnny Tully | 1 episode | |
| The Donna Reed Show | Danny Steve |
2 episodes | |
| Cheyenne | Luther James | 1 episode | |
| 1963 | Hazel | 1 episode | |
| 1964-1966 | Perry Mason | Scott Everett Barry Conrad |
2 episodes |
| 1964-1973 | Gunsmoke | Various roles | 5 episodes |
| 1965 | Mister Roberts | 1 episode | |
| 1966 | Baby Makes Three | Dr. Peter Cooper | Television movie |
| The Monroes | Perry Hutchins | 1 episode | |
| Combat! | Farley | 1 episode | |
| 1968 | Premiere | Andrew Bass | 1 episode |
| Cimarron Strip | Joe Bravo | 1 episode | |
| 1968-1970 | Lancer | Johnny Madrid Lancer | 51 episodes |
| 1970 | Storefront Lawyers | Murph Collins | 1 episode |
| 1971 | Paper Man | Jerry | Television movie |
| 1972 | Love, American Style | 1 episode | |
| Heat of Anger | Gus Pride | Television movie | |
| Medical Center | Neil | 1 episode | |
| The Streets of San Francisco | Peter Forrest | 1 episode | |
| Marcus Welby, M.D. | Phil Darrow | 1 episode | |
| Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law | 1 episode | ||
| 1973 | Ordeal | Andy Folsom | Television movie |
| 1977 | Just a Little Inconvenience | Kenny Briggs | Television movie |
| 1980 | My Kidnapper, My Love | Denny | Television movie |
| 1985 | Hotel | Jeremy Hale | 1 episode |
| 1986 | Cagney & Lacey | Ted Peters | 1 episode |
| 1987 | Highway to Heaven | Joe Mason | 1 episode |
| 1990 | Wiseguy | Ed Rogosheske | 5 episodes |
| Matters of the Heart | Glen Harper | Television movie | |
References
- ^ a b "California Registered Sex Offender Profile - Maurice William Elias". Megan's Law - California Sex Offender Registry. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
- ^ a b c James Stacy Biography. James Stacy.com.
- ^ a b Misery Worth Millions. Time Magazine. 31 May 1976.
- ^ a b "Hitting Bottom". People. 45 (19): 62. 1996-05-13. ISSN 0093-7673.
- ^ Elias, Paul. Actor Stacy Sentenced in Molestation. L.A. Times. 6 March 1996.
External links
- 1936 births
- Living people
- Actors from Los Angeles, California
- Actors who attempted suicide
- American amputees
- American film actors
- American television actors
- American television producers
- American people convicted of child sexual abuse
- American people of Lebanese descent
- American people of Scotch-Irish descent