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James Luisi
Acting
Biography
A native New Yorker, James Luisi attended St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights on a basketball scholarship. He served in the Army during the Korean War. He then played one season (1953-54) with the Baltimore Bullets in the National Basketball Association. His acting career began on the stage with early parts coming in the Broadway musicals "Sweet Charity" and "Zorba". His early movies were minor, though his "beefcake" appeal was evident in 1973's I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973) in which he rarely wore a shirt. Most of his later work was on TV. In 1976 he shared a "best actor" daytime Emmy for playing George Washington in a daytime drama special titled First Ladies Diaries: Martha Was…
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A native New Yorker, James Luisi attended St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights on a basketball scholarship. He served in the Army during the Korean War. He then played one season (1953-54) with the Baltimore Bullets in the National Basketball Association. His acting career began on the stage with early parts coming in the Broadway musicals "Sweet Charity" and "Zorba". His early movies were minor, though his "beefcake" appeal was evident in 1973's I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973) in which he rarely wore a shirt. Most of his later work was on TV. In 1976 he shared a "best actor" daytime Emmy for playing George Washington in a daytime drama special titled First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington (1975). Also in 1976 he started his four-season role as Jim Rockford's (James Garner) nemesis Lt. Chapman in The Rockford Files (1974). In 1983 he played the cop in charge of some street-gang-members-turned-undercover-agents in the short-lived series The Renegades (1983), which provided a boost for Patrick Swayze, who played one of the gang members. Along with guest spots on numerous TV shows, Luisi also appeared in the soap operas Days of Our Lives (1965) and Another World (1964). In the 1990s he returned to acting in and directing stage work in the Los Angeles area. Stricken with cancer he passed away on 7 June 2002 and is survived by his wife of 41 years, the former Georgia Phillips.
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BODY OF WORK
James Luisi's Filmography
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The Rockford Files: Friends and Foul Play
as Capt. Doug Chapman
The Rockford Files: If the Frame Fits...
as Capt. Doug Chapman
Lethal Woman
as Colonel Jerry Maxim
Feds!
as Sperry
The Hidden
as Ferrari Salesman
Murphy's Law
as Ed Reineke
The Red-Light Sting
as Renny Lucas
Star 80
as Roy
Sunset Limousine
as Angel
China Lake
as Watch Commander
The Renegades
as Lt. Joe Marciano
Our Family Business
as Frank
No Poster
The Asphalt Cowboy
as Lt. Lassiter
Fade to Black
as Capt. M.L. Gallagher
Norma Rae
as George Benson
Moment by Moment
as Dan Santini
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
as Jimmy Karalla
Love Is Not Enough
as Harry Foreman
Killer's Delight
as Sgt. Vince De Carlo
A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story
as Lazzeri
Contract on Cherry Street
as Al Palmini / Arnold Palmer
Stunts
as Alvin Blake
Future Cop
as Paterno
No Poster
First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington
as George Washington
The Take
as Benedetto
Honky Tonk
as Blackie
No Poster
The Man from Independence
as Stranger
Cry Rape
as Det. Kroger
I Escaped from Devil's Island
as Dazzas
Ben
as Ed
Cat Ballou
as Spider Levinsky