by Hal Erickson
biography
American actor John James spent most of WW II in uniform on the screen. Making his film debut in 1942, James played soldiers, sailors and marines of various ranks in several 1940s dramas. One of his few billed appearances was as an air force lieutenant in the newly-lensed prologue for the 1944 reissue of Cecil B. DeMille's 1932 epic Sign of the Cross. After the war, John James appeared with regularity in westerns; the last of these was 1953's Topeka. His credits should not be confused with those of the contemporary actor John James, who co-starred in TV's Dynasty and The Colbys.
