James Whitmore: 1921-2009

Who didn’t like James Whitmore? Kind of rediscovered by director Frank Darabont and used winningly in his films The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Majestic (2001), it is as these kindly older men that we probably best know Whitmore. But James Whitmore was an active force on film, stage and television from the late 1940’s until only recently (2007 marked his last role), I‘ve even heard that James Dean had expressed admiration for him as an actor. Even in odd, not fully balanced pieces like The Next Voice You Here (1950), or a role that could be played by pretty much any one (the cop in Them (1954)), James Whitmore had a drawing presence, and a body of work I'm sure I’ve only scratched the surfice of. I must make point to remedy this in the future.