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R.I.P. Anthony James, actor in ‘Gunsmoke’ and ‘Return to Witch Mountain’
The frequent onscreen villain became an artist later in life.
Eighteen-year-old James Anthony moved with his mother, who had raised him by herself since he was eight, from South Carolina to Los Angeles. He dreamed of becoming an actor and would do anything to make that happen.
James Anthony realized there was already an actor named Jimmy Anthony, so he came up with a stage name that still rang true – Anthony James.
After struggling to make ends meet, including cleaning bathrooms to pay for acting classes, he got his big break as Ralph the diner cook in the pivotal 1967 film In the Heat of the Night, which inspired the TV show of the same name.
He then played many roles on television, appearing on Gunsmoke seven times between 1967-1969, recurring four times as Elbert Moses. He was also in Bonanza, The Mod Squad, Hawaii Five-O and Starsky and Hutch. In 1978, he starred alongside Bette Davis and Christopher Lee in Return to Witch Mountain.
His tall, 6’6” frame and distinguished face won him many villainous roles throughout his career. A year before he retired from acting, he lampooned his evil image as the over-the-top Hector Savage in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear.
After playing Skinny Dubois in Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winning 1992 western Unforgiven, James retired from acting and moved to New England. He spent his days painting and writing poetry, collecting both in the book Language of the Heart. He later released a memoir about his long career, appropriately titled Acting My Face. The book is as much about his beloved mother, Marika, as it is about himself, going against the advice of publishers.
James passed away on May 26. He was 77. In an obituary announcement, donations in his memory made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were encouraged.
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