James Colby
{{short description|American actor (1961-2018)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = James Colby
| birth_name = James Leo Colby
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1961|09|20}}
| birth_place = Arlington, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|02|23|1961|09|20}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| years_active = 1993–2018
| occupation = Actor
| alma_mater = Bridgewater State University
Brooklyn College
| spouse = {{marriage|Alyssa Bresnahan|2008}}
| children = 1
}}
James Leo Colby (September 20, 1961 – February 23, 2018) was an American actor in film, television and stage. Colby appeared in multiple Broadway plays and few stage productions in Connecticut.
Colby was notable for his film roles in The Peacemaker (1997), Tower Heist (2011), Safe (2012), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) and in Patriots Day (2016).{{cite web|url=http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/james-colby-obituary_84224.html|title=Actor James Colby, Recently Seen in Sweat on Broadway, Dies at 56|publisher=Theatre Mania|date=February 26, 2018|access-date=February 26, 2018}} In television, he was known for his role as Sergeant Ray Dwyer in Chicago P.D., Burleson in Empire.
Early life
Colby was born in Arlington, Massachusetts. He studied at Bridgewater State University and Brooklyn College. He moved to Manhattan in the 1980s to pursue his stage career.{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/sweat-star-james-colby-dies-at-age-56|title=Sweat Star James Colby Dies at Age 56|publisher=Playbill|date=February 26, 2018|access-date=February 26, 2018}}
Career
In stage, Colby was seen in the 1992 Broadway production of Hamlet. He performed extensively Off-Broadway at The Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Westside Theatre and Symphony Space.
Colby had a long association with Hartford Stage included Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, Camino Real, The Night of the Iguana, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.{{cite web|url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/191308/james-colby-star-of-broadways-sweat-alum-of-hartford-stage-dies-at-56/|title=James Colby, Star of Broadway's Sweat & Alum of Hartford Stage, Dies at 56|publisher=Broadway Buzz|date=February 26, 2018|access-date=February 26, 2018}}
His stage roles include Blade to the Heat (1994), The Food Chain (1995), The Devils (1997), The Butterfly Collection (2000), The Day Emily Married (2004) and Dividing the Estate (2007). He originated the role of Stan in the off-Broadway production of Lynn Nottage's Sweat (2016), later reprising his turn in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play's Broadway premiere.
His non-stage credits include television roles ranging from Taxi Brooklyn, Law & Order, Limitless, Jessica Jones, Blue Bloods, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Deception, and The Blacklist.{{cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Actor-James-Colby-Dies-Age-56-20180226|title=Actor James Colby Passes Away at Age 56|publisher=Broadway World|date=February 26, 2018|access-date=February 26, 2018}} His film roles include Demolition, Tower Heist, Safe, Solitary Man, The Company Men, and in The Opponent. His last role was in the TV series Taken, Season 2, Episode 11.
Colby appeared as Lieutenant Bill Cranston in Gotham in 2014. In 2016, he starred as Ed Manion in the miniseries Madoff, from 2017 to 2018 Colby starred as Burleson in Empire and FBI SWAT Jackson in Tell Me a Story in season 2.
Colby starred as William B. Evans of the Boston Police Department in the 2016 true crime-drama-thriller film Patriots Day alongside Mark Wahlberg.
Personal life
Death
Colby died on February 23, 2018, in New York City at the age of 56.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0170357}}
- {{IBDB name|71162}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colby, James}}
Category:People from Arlington, Massachusetts
Category:Brooklyn College alumni
Category:Bridgewater State University alumni
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American male stage actors
Category:Male actors from Massachusetts