James Bush (actor)

The son of an actress,{{cite news |title=Mother Is Inspiration for Actor |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34139377/james_bush/ |access-date=23 July 2019 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=February 26, 1928 |page=48|via = Newspapers.com }} Bush moved to California with his mother and studied in a theatrical school and graduated from Los Angeles High School.

Bush first appeared on stage at age four. When he finished high school he began acting with the Morosco stock theater company. He also acted at the Pasadena Playhouse for four seasons, spent one season in St. Louis, and performed with the Henry Duffy Players at the Hollywood Playhouse.{{cite news |title=James Bush to Essay Leading Role in Drama |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34140424/james_bush/ |access-date=23 July 2019 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 5, 1929 |page=35|via = Newspapers.com}}

As a child, Bush appeared in some Paramount films that starred Mary Pickford.{{cite news |last1=Kingsley |first1=Grace |title=Former Child Actor Signed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34139960/james_bush/ |access-date=23 July 2019 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=October 7, 1932 |page=27|via = Newspapers.com}}

While the Internet Movie Database has him appearing as a child actor in 1917's Jack and the Beanstalk, the American Film Institute has his first film role as Bent Weymer in 1932's Wild Horse Mesa, directed by Henry Hathaway, which was a featured part.{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=1079 | title=Wild Horse Mesa : Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 17, 2015}} During his career, Bush appeared in more than 80 feature films.{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/SearchResult.aspx?s=&Type=PN&Tbl=&CatID=DATABIN_CAST&ID=77439&searchedFor=James_Bush_&SortType=ASC&SortCol=RELEASE_YEAR | title=James Bush, filmography | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 17, 2015}}

Although he appeared in many films in small, un-credited roles, he also appeared in featured roles in many notable films, including: as the adult Andrew Horn in The Great Jasper (1933);{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4743 | title=The Great Jasper: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} as Bill Radford in the 1933 drama, One Man's Journey;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=5888 | title=One Man's Journey: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} as Dick in the romantic comedy Young and Beautiful (1934);{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4155 | title=Young and Beautiful: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} as Byron Coates/John Meseraux in the 1935 mystery, A Shot in the Dark;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=2527 | title=A Shot in the Dark: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} as Orin Tallant in the 1935 western, The Arizonian;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4118 | title=The Arizonian: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} as Arthur Pennyward in The Lady in Scarlet (1935);{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=7116 | title=The Lady in Scarlet: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} as Don Adams in the 1937 war film, I Cover the War!;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=6661 | title=I Cover the War: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} as Johnny Eaton in the adventure film, Outlaws of the Orient (1937);{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=8422 | title=Outlaws of the Orient: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} as Henry Crusper in the 1939 comedy Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=8081 | title=Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} as Ken Morgan in West of Cimarron, a Three Mesquiteers western (1940);{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=26983 | title=West of Cimarron: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} as Joe Morgan in the Laurel and Hardy comedy, A-Haunting We Will Go;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=27111 | title=A-Haunting We Will Go: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} and as Hartman in another Laurel and Hardy film, The Big Noise (1944).{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=24289 | title=The Big Noise: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}}

Occasionally, Bush would appear in a starring role: as Ralph Nelson in House of Danger (1934);{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/AbbrView.aspx?s=&Movie=4825 | title=House of Danger: Movie Summary | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} and as Mark Twain in the 1937 western, Battle of Greed.{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/AbbrView.aspx?s=&Movie=6267 | title=Battle of Greed: Movie Summary | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} Other notable films in which he appeared include: Ceiling Zero, a 1935 drama starring James Cagney and Pat O'Brien;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4807 | title=Ceiling Zero: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} M'liss (1936), starring Anne Shirley and John Beal;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=3992 | title=M'liss: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} the 1937 drama, Internes Can't Take Money, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=3734 | title=Internes Can't Take Money: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} The Good Old Soak (1937), starring Wallace Beery;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=3734 | title=The Good Old Soak: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} the 1937 mystery Night of Mystery;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=6946 | title=Night of Mystery: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} Sky Giant (1938), a drama starring Richard Dix, Chester Morris and Joan Fontaine;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=5643 | title=Sky Giant: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} the W. C. Fields' comedy, You Can't Cheat an Honest Man;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4643 | title=You Can't Cheat an Honest Man: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} as one of the party guests at Twelve Oaks in the 1939 classic, Gone with the Wind;{{cite web | url=http://www.allmovie.com/artist/james-bush-p9855 | publisher=AllMovie | title=James Bush, Biography | last=Erickson | first=Hal | access-date=August 18, 2015}} the 1940 fantasy Beyond Tomorrow;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4210 | title=Beyond Tomorrow: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} the Academy Award-winning war drama, Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4210 | title=Sergeant York: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} the 1943 Fritz Lang war drama, Hangmen Also Die!;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=469 | title=Hangmen Also Die!: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} the 1944 biopic about Woodrow Wilson, Wilson, starring Charles Coburn, Alexander Knox, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell and Sir Cedric Hardwicke;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=24253 | title=Wilson: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} the 1947 docu-drama about the creation of the atom bomb, The Beginning or the End, starring Brian Donlevy, Robert Walker and Hume Cronyn;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=25074 | title=The Beginning or the End: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}} and the 1950 film noir, The Lawless, starring Macdonald Carey. Bush's last appearance in a feature film was in a small role in 1951's The Barefoot Mailman.{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=50023| title=The Beginning or the End: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 18, 2015}}

Bush also made infrequent appearances in film serials, such as Burn 'Em Up Barnes in 1934, and 1940's Mysterious Doctor Satan.Towards the end of his career, he made several guest appearances on television programs, including The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951), The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1952), and Dragnet in 1953, which was also his last acting performance.{{Citation needed |date=March 2021}}

Bush died on April 9, 1987, in Van Nuys, California.{{Citation needed |date=July 2019}}

(Per AFI database){{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/SearchResult.aspx?s=&retailCheck=&Type=PN&CatID=DATABIN_CAST&ID=77439&AN_ID=&searchedFor=James_Bush_ | title=James Bush, Filmography | publisher=American Film Institute | access-date=August 19, 2015}}

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• Wild Horse Mesa (1932) as Bent Weymer
• Central Airport (1933) as Amarillo Pilot (uncredited)
• The Great Jasper (1933) as Andrew Horn (adult)
• One Man's Journey (1933) as Bill Radford
• Crimson Romance (1934) as Fred von Bergen
• Young and Beautiful (1934) as Dick
• House of Danger (1934) as Ralph Nelson
• Beggars in Ermine (1934) as Lee Marley, Jim's Son
• Eight Girls in a Boat (1934) as Paul Lang
• The Merry Frinks (1934) as Oliver Gilfin
• Burn 'Em Up Barnes (1934, serial) as George Riley [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
• Against the Law (1934) as Bill Barrie
• Harmony Lane (1935) as Morrison Foster
• A Shot in the Dark (1935) as Byron Coates / John Meseraux
• The Return of Peter Grimm (1935) as James
• The Arizonian (1935) as Orin Tallant
• Freckles (1935) as Ralph Barton
• Strangers All (1935) as Lewis Carter
• The Lady in Scarlet (1935) as Arthur Pennyward
• Confidential (1935) as Lacey
• The Glory Trail (1936) as Lieutenant Dave Kirby
• O'Malley of the Mounted (1936) as Bud Hyland
• M'Liss (1936) as Jack Farlan
• Ceiling Zero (1936) as Buzz Gordon
• Absolute Quiet (1936) as Airport Radio Operator (uncredited)
• Crashing Through Danger (1936) as Eddie
• Internes Can't Take Money (1937) as Haines
• Battle of Greed (1937) as Mark Twain
• I Cover the War! (1937) as Don Adams
• Night of Mystery (1937) as Rex Greene
• The Good Old Soak (1937) as Tom Ogden
• Outlaws of the Orient (1937) as Johnny Eaton
• Sky Giant (1938) as Cadet Thompson
• I Am the Law (1938) as Law Student (uncredited)
• Come On, Leathernecks! (1938) as Dick Taylor
• Topa Topa (1938) as Jim Turner
• You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) as Roger Bel-Goodie
• Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President (1939) as Henry Crusper
• They Asked for It (1939) as Tucker Tyler
• The Family Next Door (1939) as Harold Warner
• Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939) as Bill Franklin (uncredited)
• Beyond Tomorrow (1940) as Jace Taylor
• Appointment for Love (1941) as Dr. Wade (uncredited)
• A Girl, a Guy and a Gob (1941) as Sailor Taking Address Book (uncredited)
• West of Cimarron (1941) as Dr. Ken Morgan
• You're in the Army Now (1941) as Lieutenant (uncredited)
• Sergeant York (1941) as Private (uncredited)
• So Ends Our Night (1941) as Herbert
• A-Haunting We Will Go (1942) as Joe Morgan
• Captains of the Clouds (1942) as Sergeant Pilot (uncredited)
• Iceland (1942) as Master Sergeant (uncredited)
• Sundown Jim (1942) as Ring Barr
• Hangmen Also Die! (1943) as Peacock
• He Hired the Boss (1943) as Clark
• Hers to Hold (1943) as Bomber Captain (uncredited)
• Jitterbugs (1943) as Henchman Jimmy O'Grady (uncredited)
• King of the Cowboys (1943) as Dave Mason
• Spotlight Scandals (1943) as Jerry
• Bomber's Moon (1943) as Radek - Czech Prisoner (scenes deleted)
• Air Force (1943) as Clark Field Control Officer (uncredited)
• Can't Help Singing (1944) as Cavalry Officer (uncredited)
• Call of the Jungle (1944) as Jim
• Shine on Harvest Moon (1944) as William R. Fowler (uncredited)
• The Big Noise (1944) as Hartman
• Wilson (1944) as Reporter (uncredited)
• Because of Him (1946) as Critic (uncredited)
• They Made Me a Killer (1946) as Frank Conley
• The Beginning or the End (1947) as Dr. Ernest O. Lawrence
• Out of the Past (1947) as Doorman (uncredited)
• Homecoming (1948) as Instructor (uncredited)
• The Man from Colorado (1948) as Cpl. Dixon (uncredited)
• Race Street (1948) as Male Nurse on Ward (uncredited)
• Massacre River (1949) as Eddie
• Armored Car Robbery (1950) as Control Tower Operator (uncredited)
• Convicted (1950) as Guard in Kitchen (uncredited)
• The Killer That Stalked New York (1950) as Hennick (uncredited)
• The Lawless (1950) as Anderson
• The Barefoot Mailman (1951) as Guard (uncredited)
• Chain of Circumstance (1951) as Office Help (uncredited)
• Never Trust a Gambler (1951) as Jim - State Trooper (uncredited)
• Saddle Legion (1951) as Gabe

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Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:1907 births

Category:1987 deaths

Category:American male child actors

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male stage actors