Missouri-born James Franciscus attended Yale University, where one of his fellow students was future talkshow host Dick Cavett. Franciscus came to the attention of casting directors after starring in a student musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby. He went into summer stock then in 1956 made his first film appearance in Four Boys and a Gun (1956). While few of Franciscus' film appearances were remarkable, he was probably at his best as Tony Curtis' army buddy in the 1961 Ira Hayes biopic The Outsider. Franciscus' fame rests on his TV work: he was starred in several series from 1959 onward, most notably as an idealistic young high-school teacher in Mr. Novak (1963-65) and as a visually handicapped detective in Longstreet (1971-72). His preppie good looks enabled James Franciscus to successfully portray JFK in the 1980 TV movie Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, as well as a clef President "James Cassidy" in the Jackie/Onassis derivation The Greek Tycoon (1979).
James Franciscus
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- O seu pai, John Allen Franciscus, era piloto e faleceu em combate durante a 2.ª Guerra Mundial.
- Foi companheiro de estudos de Dick Cavett e Bill Hinnant.
- Fez a sua estreia no grande ecrã no filme I Passed for White, de 1960.
- Durante as décadas de 70 e 80 participou em muitas obras de destaque. No entanto, nos anos 90, desiludido com os papéis que lhe ofereciam, resolveu apostar na escrita de argumentos.
- O ator faleceu em 1991, vítima de um enfisema, aos 57 anos.