Publicity still of Backus for The Jim Backus Show, 1962
Born
James Gilmore Backus
(1913-02-25)February 25, 1913
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died
July 3, 1989(1989-07-03) (aged 76)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation
Actor
Years active
1948–1984
Known for
Gilligan's Island Rebel Without a Cause Mr. Magoo Rescue from Gilligan's Island The Castaways on Gilligan's Island The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island
Spouses
Betty Kean
(m. 1939; div. 1942)
Henny Backus
(m. 1943)
Awards
Hollywood Walk of Fame
James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom Gilligan's Island, the father of James Dean's character in Rebel Without a Cause,[1] the voice of the near-sighted cartoon character Mr. Magoo,[2] the rich Hubert Updike III on the radio version of The Alan Young Show, and Joan Davis' character's husband (a domestic court judge) on TV's I Married Joan. He also starred in his own show of one season, The Jim Backus Show, also known as Hot Off the Wire.
An avid golfer, Backus made the 36-hole cut at the 1964 Bing Crosby Pro-Am tournament. He was inducted to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.[3]
^Rieder, Howard (1969). "Memories of Mr. Magoo". Cinema Journal. 8 (2): 17–24. doi:10.2307/1225373. ISSN 0009-7101. JSTOR 1225373.
^Cantor, David (2020). "Inside Magoo (1960)". Body, Capital, and Screens. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 181–204. doi:10.2307/j.ctv12sdvgj.10. JSTOR j.ctv12sdvgj.10. S2CID 240850992.
^"Jim Backus". Hollywood Walk of Fame. October 25, 2019.
starred in his own show of one season, The JimBackus Show, also known as Hot Off the Wire. An avid golfer, Backus made the 36-hole cut at the 1964 Bing Crosby...
Henny and JimBackus co-authored several humorous books, including What Are You Doing After the Orgy? (1962), Only When I Laugh (1965), Backus Strikes Back...
The JimBackus Show is a 39-episode American television sitcom that aired in broadcast syndication in 1960 and 1961. The series was also known as Hot Off...
Backus (born 1930), American geophysicist Gus Backus (1937–2019), American singer Henny Backus (1911–2004), Broadway showgirl and wife of JimBackus Henry...
slum environments. The film stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, JimBackus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen and William Hopper. Dennis Hopper made his film...
starring Dan Blocker and Nanette Fabray, with a supporting cast featuring JimBackus, Mickey Rooney, Wally Cox, Jack Elam, Noah Beery, Jr. and Don "Red" Barry...
and later in syndication. Howell, portrayed by veteran character actor JimBackus, took hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and several changes of...
Robertson, Jane Fonda, and Rod Taylor, with Robert Culp, Jo Morrow, and JimBackus. The score was composed and recorded by Peter Nero, who also appears as...
suspicious. Tony Randall as Fred Miller Janet Leigh as Vivian Miller JimBackus as T.R. Hollister Ken Berry as Mel Cheever Roddy McDowall as Nate Ashbury...
with her sister Jane Kean. She married four times, to actors including JimBackus and her last husband Lew Parker. She died in 1986 of cancer in Hollywood...
Beminger Charles Buchinski as Hank Tasling Frank Richards as Sam Garsell JimBackus as Charles Barry Chuck Connors as Police Captain Joseph E. Bernard as...
as the manic, scatterbrained wife of a mild-mannered community judge (JimBackus). The show, whose syndicated opening makes the claim "America's favorite...
Ayres JimBackus Raymond Bailey Joe Don Baker Ed Bakey Rayford Barnes Baynes Barron Norman Bartold Harry Basch Richard Basehart Ned Beatty Jim Beaver...
the leaders of a drug cartel, and gives minor roles to character actors JimBackus, Alan Hale, Jr., Pat Buttram and Arthur Godfrey (playing himself). Of...
George Raft, Ella Raines, and Pat O'Brien. The supporting cast features JimBackus. It was one of a series of thrillers Raft made in the late 1940s, with...
executive producer; Henry Silva of Ocean's 11 starred, with Mort Sahl and JimBackus in supporting roles) 4 for Texas (1963) (Sinatra and Martin) Robin and...
Garner (1960). She was the resourceful Girl-Friday, Dora Miles, on The JimBackus Show: 533 (also known as Hot Off the Wire), snooty socialite Judy Evans...
was produced by United Productions of America. The series' voices were JimBackus, Mel Blanc, Jerry Hausner, Benny Rubin, Paul Frees, and Frank Nelson....
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