James Whitmore dies at 87; Tony and Emmy Award- winning actor...

Los Angeles Times ^ | February 6, 2009 | Dennis McLellan

[EveningStar]

James Whitmore, the veteran Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor who brought American icons Will Rogers, Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt to life in one-man shows, died today. He was 87.

[LeavingNewYork]

Great film! The opening scene with the frightned girl was great. Was a pity he died at the end.

[rintense]

So was Red.

[Paul Heinzman]

Rest in peace Mr. Whitmore. For my money, you upstaged them all in The Shawshank Redemption.

[LeavingNewYork]

Masterful is a great description.
The role of the young soldier was very touching. In his confession, he told the “Priest” that he felt badly for praying for his own safety, his own concerns and not for those of his comrades and the people for whom he was fighting.
I sitll watch it on DVD,and it’s the most unappreciated TV series of all time.

I hope that sometime Vic Morrow will get the credit for creating a great TV character in Sgt. Saunders.

[BerryDingle]

[Radix]

"Possibly the best of the hour-long episodes."

 

Prophetic?

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734606/usercomments

 

Excerpt of a critic.....

 

When a good guy becomes a megalomaniac, the results lead to his destruction, but not to the destruction of his followers. Capain Benteen is a leader who has saved his followers from the elements and from each other, but could not save himself from his own inner shortcomings, and left himself marooned both physically and spiritually. Kind of like Moses who could save his people but never enter the promised land, or John Wayne in "The Searchers," a man needed to win the West, but once the West was won, a man who needed to be left behind. Clearly the best of the one hour long Twilight Zones, this episode had character and complexity. The setting could easily have been Antarctica or an Earthly desert as opposed to an alien one, and shows that people have the same feelings, needs, emotions, and failings both now and a hundred years from now.

[Richard Kimball]

Nice post. It also reminded me of Harvey Dent's line from the Dark Knight.

So, you either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain.

[billorites]

Year after year Whitmore would appear in productions of the Peterborough Players here in New Hampster.

Peterborough was where Edward Albee wrote "Our Town" when in residence at the local art's colony and Whitmore appeared for years playing the narrator in that play. He was here most recently performing in the summer of 2008. I was always surprised and pleased to learn that he was still alive and kicking.

I saw him perhaps 15 years ago performing at the Peterborough Players in a production of "You Can't Take it With You," the Kaufman and Hart comedy, which I think is the funniest piece of theater ever written.

R.I.P. He was very well thought of by the locals around here.

[GreyFriar]

My favorite Whitmore movie is “Battleground” where he place the SSGT Kinnie, the platoon sergeant. Van Johnson, who died this past December, had the lead role as PFC (Praying for Civilian) Holley. Ricardo Montalban was also in the movie, he played Rodriegues. The movie was based upon the experiences of Robert Pirosh, the screen writer, who was a First Sergeant of one of the companies of the 327th Glider Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

Check out the movie cast & details at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041163/

[Interesting Times]

Will do... thanks.

[mware]

Thanks but I will trust your memory of the episode. My brothers loved Combat, I recently bought my youngest brother the three seasons of Tour of Duty.

[mware]

I did not know Ricardo Montalbam passed on.

Sad

[laconic]

THEM was one of the three best sci-fi movies in my view: The Thing and Alien were the other two. It set a pattern for sci-fi: the brilliant scientist with the beautiful daughter, the everyday guy (Whitmore the New Mexico cop) who becomes pivotal, and a government that actually solved horrific problems (now that’s out of science fiction!)

[exit82]

Combat—my all time favorite series.

The bayonets and the dots in the opening.

I cried when Caje was shot—and thought he died, until next week came and the sequel showed it was just a wound.

Then Combat went to color it was even better.

Made a big impression on an eleven year old.

[freema]

[zot]

Thanks for the ping. We saw his Will Rogers show in Ford’s Theater, Washington, DC. He was a great actor — he became the character he was portraying. May he rest in peace.

[zot]

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

[Marine_Uncle]

May he RIP. He was a great actor that is for sure.

[wideminded]

In January 2008, Whitmore appeared in television commercials for the First Freedom First campaign, which advocated preserving the separation of church and state, and protecting religious liberty.

Checked out one of these on youtube. For some strange reason he insisted on speaking with a pipe in his mouth.

[murron]

I always thiught he looked like Spencer Tracy.