James Read
{{short description|American actor (born 1953)}}
{{for-multi|the British murderer and bigamist|James Canham Read|the president of Wilmington College|James Morgan Read|other uses|James Read (disambiguation)}}
{{BLP sources|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = James Read
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_name = James Christopher Read
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1953|7|31}}
| birth_place = Buffalo, New York, United States
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater = Pepperdine University
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1982–present
| known_for = North and South
Charmed
Days of Our Lives
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Lora Lee|1978|1983|end=divorced}}
- {{marriage|Wendy Kilbourne|1988}}
}}
| children = 3
}}
James Christopher Read (born July 31, 1953) is an American actor. He played the role of George Hazard in the North and South television miniseries,{{cite magazine|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20093608,00.html|title=Returning in North and South, James Read Steers His Career, and Love Life, in the Right Direction|first=Lois|last=Armstrong|magazine=People|date=May 12, 1986|access-date=June 4, 2018}} and had a recurring role as Victor Bennett on the supernatural series Charmed between 2001 and 2006.
Early life
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=February 2023}}
Read was born in Buffalo, New York. His family moved to Niskayuna, New York where he and his brother William Read III went to school. He started acting as a student of law at the University of Oregon where he graduated in 1976. He studied acting in New York City and then did several Off-Broadway and regional theaters such as The Denver Center Theatre Company, where he had a couple of leading roles and spent three seasons. In 1998, he earned his Master's degree in psychology from Pepperdine University.
Career
Read is best known for his role as George Hazard in the three North and South miniseries (1985, 1986 and 1994) based on the John Jakes trilogy of novels of the same name (his co-star, Patrick Swayze, taught him how to ride a horse), and for his co-starring role in the movie Beaches (1988).
He had a recurring role on The WB series Charmed as Victor Bennett and was also a regular during the first season of Remington Steele. Recently, he could be seen as Ken Davis on the ABC family drama Wildfire and as ambassador Franklin Fairchild on the 2010 television series Persons Unknown. In 2008, he directed an episode of "Wildfire". In 2009, he performed in Better Angels as Abraham Lincoln at the Colony Theatre in Burbank, California. Since 2014, he has played the role of drug lord Clyde Weston on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.{{cite web| url=http://soaps.sheknows.com/daysofourlives/update/id/22142/Days_Recap_Four_Dollar_Haircut/| title=Days Recap: Four Dollar Haircut.| website=Soaps.com| access-date=June 4, 2018| date=March 10, 2015}} On May 30, 2018, Michael Fairman TV and Soap Opera Digest announced Read joined the ABC Daytime soap opera General Hospital on June 6, 2018, as Gregory Chase.{{cite web| last=Fairman| first=Michael| title=James Read to GH as Finn and Chase's Dad| url=http://michaelfairmantv.com/james-read-to-gh-as-finn-and-chases-dad/2018/05/30/| website=Michael Fairman TV| access-date=June 4, 2018| date=May 30, 2018}}{{cite news| title=James Read to GH| url=https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/james-read-to-gh/| access-date=June 4, 2018| journal=Soap Opera Digest| date=May 31, 2018}}
Personal life
Read married Lora Lee in June 1978, and their marriage ended in divorce in 1983. He then married former actress/attorney Wendy Kilbourne in 1988, and the couple has two children: a son, Jackson (b. 1990), and a daughter Sydney (b. 1995). Another daughter, Willa, was stillborn in 1994.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-17-ls-16495-story.html|title=When the Perfect Pregnancy Goes Haywire|last=Abcarian|first=Robin|date=1994-07-17|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2018-07-18|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}} The family resides in Santa Barbara, California.
Filmography
= Film =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1983
|Policeman at Bridge | |
| 1984
|Peter | |
| 1988
|Claude "Lefty" Williams | |
| 1988
|Michael Essex | |
| 1992
|Stanton Gray | |
| 1997
|Abner Murdock | |
| 2001
|Elle's father | |
| 2001
|Preston's father | |
| 2003
|Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde |Elle's father | |
| 2005
|Brent Friehl | |
| 2009
|Fame |Alice's dad | |
= Television =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1982
|H. W. Sawyer |Episode: "Friends, Romans, and Accountants" |
| 1982–1983
|Murphy Michaels |Main role (season 1) |
| 1983
|Ace Bukowski |Episode: "The Agony of D'Feet" |
| 1983
|Eddie Random |Episode: "Random Choices/My Mother, the Swinger" |
| 1983
|Hotel |Pike |Episode: "Christmas" |
| 1984
|Jessie |The Streak |Episode: "The Lady Killer" |
| 1984
|Fletcher/Jason Haywood |Episode: "The High Fashion Murders" |
| 1985
|Miniseries |
| 1985
|Daryl Webster |Television movie |
| 1985
|Midas Valley |Josh Landau |Television movie |
| 1985
|George Hazzard |Miniseries |
| 1986
|George Hazzard |Miniseries |
| 1987
|Riley/John Reid |Recurring role, 6 episodes |
| 1987
|James Marston |Television movie |
| 1987
|Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story |Cary Grant |Television movie |
| 1990
|Dr. Wesley Corman |Episode: "Uneasy Lies the Crown" |
| 1990
|Richard Clark |Episode: "Nighthawk's Got the Blues" |
| 1990
|Lola |Peter Baltic |Television movie |
| 1990
|Web of Deceit |Paul Evanston |Television movie |
| 1990
|Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn |Hugh |Television movie; credited as Read James |
| 1991
|Michael Decrow |Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1992
|The President's Child |Senator James Guthrie |Television movie |
| 1994
|George Hazzard |Miniseries |
| 1994
|Max |Episode: "The Last Great Hope" |
| 1995
|Boyd Venton |Episode: "Death 'N Denial" |
| 1995
|Michael Bryan |Television movie |
| 1995
|Detective Michael Lieberman |Television movie |
| 1996
|Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman |Jack Olsen |Episode: "The Dad Who Came in from the Cold" |
| 1996
|Scott |Television movie |
| 1996
|Full Circle |Judge Carter |Television movie |
| 1996
|Captain Jenkins |Episode: "At Sea" |
| 1997
|Bill Sanders |Episode: "Brave New World" |
| 1997
|Jeff |Episode: "Just Like Old Times" |
| 1997
|David McReynolds |Episode: "Open and Shut" |
| 1998
|Indiscret |Zachariah Dodd |Television movie |
| 1999
|James Lofton |Episode: "Las Brias" |
| 2000
|Nick |Episode: "Millennium" |
| 2001
|Jaffen |2 episodes |
| 2001–2006
|Recurring role, 13 episodes |
| 2002
|Dan |Episode: "The Ex-Files" |
| 2002
|Ben |Episode: "The Competition" |
| 2002–2005
|George Mason |Recurring role, 10 episodes |
| 2005
|Dean William Hargrave |Episode: "Family Affair" |
| 2005–2008
|Ken Davis |Main role; also: director, episode "The Comeback" |
| 2006
|Mr. Brinkman |Episode: "Dennis, Bulgari, Big Losers at ACoRNS" |
| 2008
|Professor Robert Boreki '08 |Episode: "Glory Days" |
| 2010
|Damon Schmidt |Episode: "The Born Identity" |
| 2010
|Franklin Fairchild |Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 2010
|Westin Nye |Television movie |
| 2011
|Anton McHugh |Episode: "Eye of the Beholder" |
| 2012
|Robert Monroe |Episode: "Late Admissions" |
| 2014–2018,{{br}}2021–present
|Recurring role |
| 2017
|Duffy Collins |Episode: "Number One" |
| 2018
|NCIS |Alan Newhall |Episode: "Dark Secrets" |
| 2018
|Gregory Chase |Episode #1.14096 |
| 2022
|Admiral Paul Christie |Episode: "Shadow Realms" |
Theater
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2009
|Better Angels |play at the Colony Theatre in Burbank, California |
| 2012
|Albany |play at the Shakespeare & Co. in Lenox, Massachusetts |
| 2012
|Antonio |play at the Shakespeare & Co. in Lenox, Massachusetts |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, James}}
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American male stage actors
Category:Male actors from Buffalo, New York
Category:Male actors from Santa Barbara, California