James Dunn – Updated January 2024

James Dunn is a legendary American stage, film and television actor and vaudeville performer. James Dunn is known for the role of Johnny Nolan, the dreamy alcoholic father in the 1945 film, “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.”

Early life

James Dunn was born in Manhattan, New York, United States, on November 2, 1901. His full name is James Howard Dunn and he had American citizenship. He died at the age of 65 years and had a birth sign of Scorpio. Furthermore, he belonged to the Irish ethnicity.

His parents’ names were Ralph H. Dunn and Jessie L. Archer. Her father was a member of the New York Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, he was the only child of her parents. Additionally, he grew up in New Rochelle, New York.

Education

Academically, he attended a local community school near his hometown. During her school days, she often skipped high school classes to hang around the film studios in the upper Bronx.

James Dunn – Death

He died at the age of 65, September 1, 1967, due to complications following stomach surgery at Santa Monica Hospital. About 200 people, including other actors, attended his memorial ceremony in Santa Monica.

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Career

James Dunn initially tried his hand at sales, selling lunch carts and also becoming a car demonstrator. Additionally, he spent three years working at his father’s brokerage company. But his true passion was theater. He left his father’s business in 1927 to join a small theater group.

He later obtained a film contract with Fox and traveled to Hollywood; The next year, his mother moved in with him. Additionally, he landed the male role in Sweet Adeline, a 1929 Broadway musical, opposite Helen Morgan. In 1931 he debuted on the big screen with the film “Bad Girl.”

He continued his successful career.

Fox immediately reteamed with Dunn and Eilers on Over the Hill (1931), followed by Dance Team (1932), Sailor’s Luck (1933), and Hold Me Tight (1933). She also starred in Sob Sister (1931), Society Girl (1932) and Hello Sister! (1933). By the end of 1932, Dunn was considered “one of the top ten box office draws.” In late 1933 he was nicknamed “America’s sweetheart.”

“Get up and cheer!” stars Dunn and Shirley Temple as a father and daughter who perform a singing and dancing performance. Their spectacular performance inspired studio executives to immediately cast them in a sequel, “Baby Take a Bow,” a remake of the 1928 silent film ‘Square Crooks.’ Their third filmed collaboration was on “Bright Eyes.” Temple was cast in a brief role as Dunn’s neighbor in “Change of Heart” the same year.

He broke the deal with Fox

Dunn acted in 30 films during his five-year contract with Fox. He broke his studio contract two years before it expired in 1935, at the height of his success. He was set to begin filming a version of “The Song and Dance Man” when Fox announced its merger with Twentieth Century Pictures.

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Subtitle: The poster for the 1945 film, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Source: Wikipedia)

After five years without working for a major studio, he was chosen by director Elia Kazan for the role of Johnny Nolan, the dreamy alcoholic father in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), for which he won the Academy Award. for the best film. Secondary actor.

However, the Oscar did not help his film career and, although he continued to work in Broadway musicals, he became a character actor on television. From 1954 to 1956, he was a regular on the hit sitcom It’s a Great Life and appeared in hundreds of episodes of popular television shows from the 1950s to the mid-1960s.

James Dunn – Awards

Dunn won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in ‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ in 1945. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: 7010 Hollywood Boulevard for his services to television and 6555 Hollywood Boulevard for his contributions to feature films.

Net worth

According to online websites, Dunn’s net worth was estimated to be around $2.3 million when he died. He has been able to earn such amount of money through his acting roles in movies and television series.

civil status

James Dunn has been married three times previously. He first married Edna O’Lier, but their marriage ended in divorce. Later, in 1938, he married actress Frances Gifford, but their marriage did not last and he ended in divorce in 1942.

James Dunn

Caption: James Dunn with his wife, Edna Rush (Source: WordPress)

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Edna Rush was his third wife and they married in 1945. She survived him when he died in 1967. There is no information available on the Internet about his children.

Body measurements

Caption: James Dunn posing for a photo (Source: Pinterest)

The late actor is 6 feet tall and has an average height. Furthermore, he has a pair of light brown eyes with light brown hair, while the other body measurements of him such as his dress size, shoe size, and others are still unknown.

James Dunn – Social Networks

The veteran actor is no longer alive in this world, so he is not active on social media like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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