James Gregory

One of the most beloved actors of all James Gregory was born December 23 1911 in the Bronx and grew up in New Rochelle NY In high school he was elected president of the Drama Club He went to work on Wall Street as a runner shortly after the 1929 crash James Gregory performed in drama groups and achieved pro status as a summer stock player in 1935 He performed in plays throughout New York New Jersey and Maryland His troupe of performers toured small towns in Pennsylvania and West Virginia towing a trailer full of theatre props they performed in school gyms churches and YMCAs earning 25 for a week of onenight stands In 1939 James Gregory made his Broadway debut in a production of Key Largo Over the next 16 years he performed in approximately 25 Broadway productions His career was interrupted by WWII he served for 3 years in the Navy and Marine Corps His tour of duty took him to the Pacific where he spent 83 days on Okinawa One good thing that came out of the war years is that he married Anne in 1944 and they would stay together always During his Broadway career James Gregory earned consistently favorable reviews by drama critics from the New York Press Boston Globe New York Times Chicago Tribune Hollywood Reporter and Variety James Gregory did a few TV spots as early as 1951 and in 1955 he made the transition from the Broadway stage to live television The following year after a couple of earlier uncredited movie appearances he would also begin his movie career in earnest He worked steadily throughout the early years of TV working for major live television productions from New York to Hollywood In 1959 James Gregory made television history by costarring in the pilot episode of the The Twilight Zone 1959 the episode Where Is Everybody concerning the relevant topic of the USA winning the space race by sending a manned spaceship to the moon sold the series James Gregory would play Dean Martins exasperated boss MacDonald in the first 3 of the Matt Helm movies The Silencers 1966 Murderers Row 1966 and The Ambushers 1967 But he won his biggest acclaim as Inspector Frank Luger for the entire run of the TV series Barney Miller 1974 19751982 This was his signature role as the Inspector he would be lovable irritating ingratiating exasperating and humorous sometimes all at the same time He was Barneys buddy for 7 years and the series ended with the Inspector getting himself a mailorder bride James Gregory retired from acting in 1983 with over 100 TV and movie credits He has entertained uplifted and captivated us with his performances He has endeared himself to a legion of fans When asked to define his lifes work he simply said I am an actor Fans would disagree with him James Gregory is so much more role model and inspiration