James Dunn
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James Dunn worked on the stage, in vaudeville and as an extra in silent movies before he was signed by Fox in 1931. His first movie with Fox was 1931's Sob Sister (1931). While at Fox, he appeared with Shirley Temple in her first three features: Baby Take a Bow (1934), Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) and Bright Eyes (1934). Dunn's screen character was usually the boy next door or the nice guy. In 1935 musicals at the new 20th Century-Fox were out and Dunn would move to the "B" list, from which he would never return. In The Payoff (1935) he plays the nice guy newspaper columnist whose wife ruins his career. By the late 1930s he was drinking heavily and become unemployable. He would appear in small roles in films during the early 1940s, but those parts were few. In 1945 he was able to make a comeback and win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), but his rejuvenated career would not continue. By 1951 he would again be unemployed and bankrupt. Television would later supply some work and he would be a regular on the series It's a Great Life (1954). Dunn was born 2 November 1901, New York City, New York, USA, and he died 1 September 1967, Santa Monica, California, USA (following abdominal surgery)
Known for
Credits
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
as Johnny Nolan
The Oscar (1966)
as TV executive
Bad Girl (1931)
as Eddie Collins
The Daring Young Man (1935)
as Don McLane
Government Girl (1943)
as Sergeant Joe Blake
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1975)
as Self (archive footage)
Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
as Telegrapher
Hello, Sister! (1933)
as Jimmy
Stand Up and Cheer! (1934)
as Jimmy Dugan
Mercy Plane (1939)
as 'Speed' Leslie
Pride of the Navy (1939)
as Speed Brennan
Leave It to the Irish (1944)
as Terry Moran
Bright Eyes (1934)
as Loop Merritt
Baby Take a Bow (1934)
as Eddie Ellison
Take It or Leave It (1944)
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
We Have Our Moments (1937)
as John Wade
A Wonderful Life (1950)
as Henry Wood
Don’t Get Personal (1936)
as Bob McDonald
George White's 1935 Scandals (1935)
as Eddie
Sob Sister (1931)
as Garry Webster
Son of the Navy (1940)
as Chief Gunners Mate Mike Malone
The Bramble Bush (1960)
as Stew Schaffer
Journey to the Day (1960)
as Melville Cooper
Deliverance (1919)
as Life Saver
The Golden Gloves Story (1950)
as Joe Riley
The Biggest Little Star of the 30's (1976)
as Self(archive footage)
The Girl in 419 (1933)
as Dr. Daniel French
Hollywood’s Children (1982)
as Self (archive footage)
Change of Heart (1934)
as Mark McGowan
Shadow Over Elveron (1968)
as Luke Travers
That Brennan Girl (1946)
as Denny Reagan
Sailor's Luck (1933)
as Jimmy Fenimore Harrigan
365 Nights in Hollywood (1934)
as James 'Jimmy' Dale
The Ghost and the Guest (1943)
as Webster Frye
Hold That Girl (1934)
as Barney Sullivan
The Living Ghost (1942)
as Nick Trayne
Two-Fisted Gentleman (1936)
as Mickey
Over the Hill (1931)
as Johnny Shelby as an Adult
Arizona to Broadway (1933)
as Smiley Wells
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948)
as Mike
The Payoff (1935)
as Joe McCoy
The Caribbean Mystery (1945)
as Mr. Smith
Society Girl (1932)
as Johnny Malone
Living on Love (1937)
as Gary Martin
In the Nick of Time (1929)
Actor
Mr. Broadway (1957)
as Jerry Cohan
Hold That Woman! (1940)
as Jimmy Parker
Killer McCoy (1947)
as Brian McCoy
The Ninth Day (1957)
Actor
The Song Plugger (1930)
as Man in Record Shop
Mysterious Crossing (1936)
as Addison Francis Murphy
Bad Boy (1935)
as Eddie Nolan
Handle with Care (1932)
as Bill Gordon
Shadows Over Shanghai (1938)
as Johnny McGinty
Jimmy and Sally (1933)
as Jimmy O'Connor
Come Closer, Folks (1936)
as Jim Keene
Have a Heart (1934)
as James 'Jimmie' Flaherty
Dance Team (1932)
as Jimmy Mulligan
The Last Stop (1956)
as Yigal
Hold Me Tight (1933)
as Chuck Evans
Hearts in Bondage (1936)
as Lt. Kenneth Reynolds
Venus Makes Trouble (1937)
as Buzz Martin
Welcome Home (1935)
as Richard Foster
Take a Chance (1933)
as Duke Stanley