James Whitmore, the many-faceted character actor who delivered strong performances in movies, television and especially the theater with his popular one-man shows about Harry Truman, Will Rogers and Theodore Roosevelt, died Friday, his son said. He was 87. _______________________ Always and enjoyable entertainer, thank you and may you rest in peace.
I looked up the name to see where I knew him from, but it turns out I've seen the name James Whitmore, Jr., as the director of many NCIS, 24, Enterprise, Quantum Leap and The Unit episodes.
RIP Mr. Whitmore. I just saw a good episode of The Twilight Zone with him in it called "On Thursday We Leave for Home". He played the leader of an Earth colony who didn't want to let his people go back to Earth when a rescue ship arrived.
This is very sad news. I loved him in Oklahoma!, The Majestic, and of course The Shawshank Redemption. Rest in peace, James Whitmore.
That closeup of his face on the bus as he leaves Shawshank is just about the saddest thing in the world. Goodbye Brooks.
Really a shame, though he left behind a tremendous body of work that was consistently good from beginning to end to remember us by. Hopefully this will mean Give 'em Hell Harry finally gets a DVD release.
You know... it's funny that when I heard about Mr. Whitmore's passing the first thing I thought of was his small roles in "Oklahoma!" and "The Shawshank Redemption". He was such a natural fellow who could blend right in.
Of course, where many of us will probably know him is from Shawshank Redemption. Not a huge role, but one that left an impact. R.I.P. Mr. Whitmore.
After some research, it turns out Mr. Whitmore WAS the gent I was thinking of upthread (I thought I'd confused him with his son). A tremendous character presence in whatever he appeared in. And a long, full life...bonus. I hate to have to remember someone who passed away relatively young.
Excellent character actor. Who really didnt get his due until later in life with Shawshank. Will be missed.