James MacArthur
MacArthur in 1968
Born	James Gordon MacArthur (1937-12-08)December 8, 1937 Los Angeles,California, U.S.
Died	October 28, 2010(2010-10-28) (aged 72) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1955–2008
Known for	Hawaii Five-O Swiss Family Robinson
Spouse	Helen Beth Duntz ​ (m. 1984)​
Children	4
Parent(s)	Charles MacArthur Helen Hayes
Relatives	Mary MacArthur (sister) John D. MacArthur (uncle) J. Roderick MacArthur (cousin) John R. MacArthur (paternal first cousin once removed)

James Gordon MacArthur (December 8, 1937 – October 28, 2010) was an American actor and recording artist.

He had a long career in both movies and television, and his early work was predominantly in supporting roles in films. Later, he had a starring role as Danny "Danno" Williams in the long-running television seriesHawaii Five-O.^[1]

In 1963, hisspoken-word recording "The Ten Commandments of Love" charted on theBillboard Hot 100, peaking at number 94.^[2]

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MacArthur was born in Los Angeles, and was adopted by playwrightCharles MacArthur and his wife, actressHelen Hayes. He was raised inNyack, New York along with his elder sister, the MacArthurs' biological daughterMary, who died of polio in 1949.^[1] He was educated atAllen-Stevenson School in New York and later at theSolebury School inNew Hope, Pennsylvania, where he starred in basketball,football and baseball.^{[citation needed]}

In his final year at Solebury, MacArthur played guard on the football team, captained the basketball team, rewrote the school's constitution, edited the school paper, playedScrooge in a local presentation ofA Christmas Carol and was president of his class, the student government and the drama club. He also dated fellow student and future actressJoyce Bulifant, whom he married in November 1958 and divorced nine years later.^{[citation needed]}

MacArthur was raised among people of literary and theatrical talent.Lillian Gish was his godmother, and his family's guests includedJohn Steinbeck,John Barrymore,Harpo Marx,Ben Hecht,Beatrice Lillie and the humoristRobert Benchley.^{[citation needed]}

MacArthur's firstradio role was on theTheatre Guild on the Air in 1948, accompanying his mother Helen Hayes.

MacArthur made his stage debut inOlney, Maryland in 1949 with a two-week stint inThe Corn Is Green. His sister Mary, who was also in the play, had requested that he join the company. The following summer, he repeated the role inDennis, Massachusetts and his theatrical career was under way.^[1]

In 1954, he played John Day inLife with Father withHoward Lindsay andDorothy Stickney. He became involved in importantBroadway productions only after receiving his training insummer-stock theater. He worked as a set painter, lighting director and chief of the parking lot. During a Helen Hayes festival at the Falmouth Playhouse onCape Cod, he had a few walk-on parts. He also helped the theater's electrician and became so interested that he was allowed to remain after his mother's plays had ended. As a result, he lit the show forBarbara Bel Geddes inThe Little Hut and forGloria Vanderbilt inThe Swan.^[3][4]

In 1955, at the age of 18, MacArthur played Hal Ditmar in the television play '"Deal a Blow", an episode of the seriesClimax! directed byJohn Frankenheimer and starringMacdonald Carey,Phyllis Thaxter andEdward Arnold. The critical response was excellent, with theNew York Times saying that he "performed splendidly."^[5]

The following year, Frankenheimer directed the film version of the play, which was renamedThe Young Stranger (1957), with MacArthur again in the starring role. His performance was again critically acclaimed, earning him a nomination for Most Promising Newcomer at the 1958BAFTA awards.^[6]

In late 1956, it was announced that MacArthur would makeUnderdog, based on a novel byW. R. Burnett, along with his mother andSusan Strasberg, but the project never materialized.^[7]

MacArthur returned to television to appear inWorld in White (1957) and episodes ofGeneral Electric Theater,Studio One in Hollywood andWestinghouse Desilu Playhouse.

MacArthur was selected by Walt Disney to star inThe Light in the Forest (1958), playing a white man raised by Indians. In April 1957, he signed a three-picture deal with Disney. ForLight in the Forest he was paid $2,500 per week, which increased to $3,000 per week for the second film and $3,500 for the third. However, MacArthur was only available to work during his summer vacation fromHarvard, where he was studying history.^[8]

Disney executives liked his performance and cast him inThird Man on the Mountain (1959), playing a young man who climbs theMatterhorn. His mother had a cameo role.^[9]

Deciding to make acting his full-time career, he left Harvard in his second year to appear in two more Disney movies,Kidnapped (1960) andSwiss Family Robinson (1960). He was named a possibility forBon Voyage (1962) but did not appear in the film.^[10]

MacArthur made hisBroadway debut in 1960 playing oppositeJane Fonda inInvitation to a March, for which he received aTheatre World Award. Although he never returned to Broadway, he remained active in theater throughout his career, appearing in such productions asUnder the Yum Yum Tree,The Moon Is Blue,John Loves Mary (with his wife Joyce Bulifant),Barefoot in the Park andMurder at the Howard Johnson's.^[11]

He also released several records in the early 1960s,^[12] scoring two minor hits with "(The Story of) The In-Between Years" and "The Ten Commandments of Love", which peaked at number 94 on theBillboard Hot 100 in 1963.^[2]

MacArthur delivered a chilling performance as baby-faced opium dealer Johnny Lubin inThe Untouchables episode "Death For Sale". He also appeared in episodes of the television showsBus Stop andWagon Train. He returned to feature films as one of several young actors inThe Interns (1962), Columbia's popular medical drama.

He appeared in episodes ofThe Dick Powell Theatre,Sam Benedict andArrest and Trial, then madeSpencer's Mountain (1963) at Warner Bros. withHenry Fonda andCry of Battle (1963) in thePhilippines.^[13]

In 1963, MacArthur was nominated for the Top New Male Personality category of theGolden Laurel Awards. That year, he starred in and produced a pilot for a television series about a writer,Postmark: Jim Fletcher, but it was not sold.^[13]

He guest-starred on the television showsBurke's Law,The Eleventh Hour andThe Great Adventure,The Alfred Hitchcock Hour before appearing in the feature filmsThe Truth About Spring andThe Bedford Incident, both in 1965.

InBattle of the Bulge (1965), MacArthur again played the role of a young and inexperienced officer. He appeared inRide Beyond Vengeance (1966) and guest-starred onBranded,Combat!,Gunsmoke,Hondo,Insight,Death Valley Days,Bonanza,The Virginian,Twelve O'Clock High andTarzan.

MacArthur returned to Disney to appear inWillie and the Yank (1967) for television, released theatrically asMosby's Marauders. He also had a role inThe Love-Ins (1967) forSam Katzman^[14] and a brief but memorable appearance in theClint Eastwood filmHang 'Em High (1968) as a preacher.

Hang 'Em High was written byLeonard Freeman, who was producing a new police procedural,Hawaii Five-O.Tim O'Kelly was originally cast asJack Lord's assistant, but test audiences felt that he was too young, so MacArthur was offered the role.^[1] MacArthur said that Lord "said 'book him' to others in the cast, but I guess he said it to me the most. It wasn't anything we really thought about at first. But the phrase just took off and caught the public's imagination."^[1]

Appearing in the show made MacArthur wealthy,^[15] and he invested much of his earnings in Hawaiian real estate.^[1]

MacArthur left the show in 1979, feeling that it had become bland and predictable. It was canceled one year later. He later reflected: "It was just time. I called the producer from South America and told him I was heading down theAmazon River."^[16][17]

William Smith, who replaced him on the show, claimed that MacArthur quit "because Jack Lord wouldn't let him have a dressing room. He had to change in the prop truck for eleven years."^[18]

After leavingHawaii Five-O, McArthur guest-starred on television shows such asTime Express,Murder, She Wrote,The Love Boat,Fantasy Island,Walking Tall,The Littlest Hobo,Vega$ andSuperboy. He also appeared in the miniseriesAlcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980) andThe Night the Bridge Fell Down (1983).^[19] He returned to the stage, appearing inA Bedfull of Foreigners in Chicago in 1984 and in Michigan in 1985. He followed this withThe Hasty Heart before taking a year out of showbusiness.

In 1987, he again took to the stage inThe Foreigner, and then played Mortimer in the national tour ofArsenic and Old Lace. In 1989, he followed another stint inThe Foreigner withLove Letters and in 1990–1991,A Bedfull of Foreigners in Las Vegas.^[20]

From 1959 to 1960, MacArthur partnered with actorsJames Franciscus andAlan Ladd, Jr. in the ownership of a Beverly Hills telephone-answering service. In June 1972, he directed the Honolulu Community Theatre in a production of his father's playThe Front Page.

He appeared at conventions, collectors' shows and celebrity sporting events. A keen golfer, he won the 2002 Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament.

MacArthur also appeared in television and radio specials and on interview programs such asEntertainment Tonight,Christopher's Closeup and theBBC Radio 5 Live obituary programBrief Lives, in which he paid tribute to hisHawaii Five-O castmateKam Fong. In 1997, MacArthur returned withoutJack Lord (who was in declining health) to reprise his character, who had become Hawaii's governor, in the 1997 unaired reboot pilot ofHawaii Five-O.

In April 2003, he traveled to Honolulu's historic Hawaii Theatre for a cameo role inJoe Moore's playDirty Laundry. Negotiations were under way in Summer 2010 for MacArthur to make a cameo appearance in the new CBS primetimeremake ofHawaii Five-0 at the time of his death, a role that eventually was offered toAl Harrington. Before the start of the November 1, 2010, episode, MacArthur's death was mentioned in a short tribute.

In 2001, a Golden Palm Star on thePalm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to MacArthur.^[21]

From 1958 to 1968, he was married to actressJoyce Bulifant. From 1970 to 1975, he was married to actressMelody Patterson.^[22]At the time of his death, MacArthur was married to formerLPGA golfer Helen Beth Duntz. MacArthur had two daughters and two sons.^[23]

MacArthur died on October 28, 2010, at the age of 72 of unspecified causes in Florida.^[24][25]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toJames MacArthur.

• Official website
• James MacArthur atIMDb
• James MacArthur at theInternet Broadway Database
• James MacArthur discography atDiscogs
• James MacArthur atFind a Grave

• 1937 births
• 2010 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• American adoptees
• American male film actors
• American male stage actors
• American spoken word artists
• Harvard University alumni
• MacArthur family (Chicago, Illinois)
• Male actors from Los Angeles

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