James Daly (actor)

James Daly
Daly in Medical Center, 1969
Born	James Firman Daly (1918-10-23)October 23, 1918 Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	July 3, 1978(1978-07-03) (aged 59) Nyack, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Cornell College
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1953–1978
Television	Medical Center, Twelve O'Clock High
Spouse	Hope Newell ​ (m. 1942⁠–⁠1965)​
Children	4 (including Tyne and Tim Daly)
Awards	Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Drama 1966 Eagle in a Cage

James Firman Daly (October 23, 1918 – July 3, 1978) was an American theater, film, and television actor, who is perhaps best known for his role as Paul Lochner in the hospital drama series Medical Center, in which he played Chad Everett's superior.

Early life

Daly was born in Wisconsin Rapids in Wood County in central Wisconsin, to Dorothy Ethelbert (Hogan) Mullen, who later worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, and Percifer Charles Daly, a fuel merchant. During the 1930s, Daly studied drama and acted in shows before he worked for the armed services, and served with the United States Navy as World War II ended.

Daly was a music major at the University of Wisconsin, a drama major at Iowa State University, and attended Carroll College before receiving a degree from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Cornell College later presented him with an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.

Career

Daly was an accomplished stage actor, starting out in 1946 as Gary Merrill's understudy in Born Yesterday. His starring roles on Broadway included Archibald MacLeish's Pulitzer Prize- winning J.B. and Tennessee Williams' Period of Adjustment.

Between 1953 and 1955, Daly appeared in the TV series Foreign Intrigue. He guest-starred on many television series, including Appointment with Adventure (two episodes), Breaking Point, Mission: Impossible, The Twilight Zone ("A Stop at Willoughby"), The Tenderfoot (1964) for Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, The Road West (1966 episode "The Gunfighter"), Custer, Gunsmoke, Combat!, The Fugitive, The Virginian, and Twelve O'Clock High. He portrayed Mr. Flint (an apparently immortal human) in the Star Trek episode "Requiem for Methuselah" (1969).

In 1958, Daly signed a contract with the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to do television commercials for Camel cigarettes. He served as the Camel representative for seven years, being flown by Reynolds throughout the United States to be filmed smoking a Camel cigarette at various locations.

In addition to his acting career, Daly was one of the hosts on NBC Radio's weekend Monitor program in 1963–1964.

Daly's last screen role was as Mr. Boyce in the mini-series Roots: The Next Generations.

Personal life

According to his son Tim Daly during an interview on CBS News Sunday Morning, James Daly came out to Tim as gay a decade after divorcing his wife Hope. His struggle to come to terms with his sexual orientation nearly put a rift between him and his family. As homosexuality was still considered a mental illness until the early 1970s, he and his wife tried and failed at "curing" him. After their divorce, Daly decided to limit his contact with his children out of fear that they would end up mentally ill themselves.

Two of Daly's children, Tyne Daly and Tim Daly, and his granddaughter, Kathryne Dora Brown, and grandson, Sam Daly, are actors. Tyne appeared on Daly's TV series, Foreign Intrigue, as a child. The elder Daly and his daughter both guest-starred separately in the original Mission: Impossible TV series. Tim appeared as a child with his father in Henrik Ibsen's play, An Enemy of the People. Daly had two other children: daughters Mary Glynn and Pegeen Michael.

Death

Daly died on July 3, 1978, of heart failure in Nyack, New York, two years after Medical Center ended, and while he was preparing to star in the play Equus in Tarrytown, New York. His ashes were sprinkled into the Atlantic Ocean.

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	The Sleeping City	Interne	Uncredited
1955	The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell	Lt. Col. Herbert White
1957	The Young Stranger	Thomas 'Tom' Ditmar
1960	I Aim at the Stars	U.S. Major William Taggert
1968	Planet of the Apes	Honorious
1968	Code Name, Red Roses	Major Mike Liston	(original Italian title: Rose rosse per il führer)
1969	The Big Bounce	Ray Ritchie
1969	The Five Man Army	Augustus
1971	The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler	Dr. Redding
1972	Wild in the Sky	The President
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	Westinghouse Studio One	Major Gaylord	Episode: The Strike
1957	Omnibus (US TV series)	General Robert E. Lee	Episode: "Lee at Gettysburg"
1960	The Twilight Zone	Gart Williams	Season 1, Episode 30: "A Stop at Willoughby"
1961–1967	Hallmark Hall of Fame	Barabbas, Owen Wister, Dr. O'Meara, Dunois	Episodes: "Give Us Barabbas,” "The Magnificent Yankee,” "Eagle in a Cage,” and “Saint Joan" Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1966
1966	An Enemy of the People	Dr. Thomas Stockmann	American Playhouse production
	The Fugitive	Michael Ballinger Arthur Brame	Episodes: "Running Scared", "The Evil Men Do"
1967	Mission: Impossible	Carl Wilson / Josef Gort	Episode: "Shock"
1967	Combat!	Capt. Cole	Episode: "Encounter"
1967	Mission: Impossible	Alfred Belzig	Episode: "The Bank"
1967	The Invaders	Alan Landers	Episode: "Beachhead"
1968	The Invaders	General Samuel ConCannon	Episodes: "The Peacemaker"
1969	Star Trek	Flint	Episode: "Requiem for Methuselah"
1969–1976	Medical Center	Dr. Paul Lochner
1970	Ironside	Judge McIntire	Episode: "People Against Judge McIntire"

Theatre

Year	Production	Role	Notes and awards
1963	Jenny Kissed Me by Jean Kerr "Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolf?" Co-starring with Colleen Dewhurst 1965		Performances: Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope, Pennsylvania

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Film	Result
1966	Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Hallmark Hall of Fame	Won

External links

• James Daly at IMDb
• James Daly at the Internet Broadway Database
• James Daly at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• James Daly at Memory Alpha
• James Daly at Find a Grave