Background
Gleason was born in New York City, the son of Mina, née Crolius, (1858-1931) and William L. Gleason (1850-1909).
Gleason was born in New York City, the son of Mina, née Crolius, (1858-1931) and William L. Gleason (1850-1909).
Not to be confused with people named James Gleeson. James Austin Gleason (May 23, 1882 – April 12, 1959) was an American actor born in New York City. He was also a playwright and screenwriter.
Coming from theatrical stock, as a schoolboy he made stage appearances while on holiday.
He began earning his living at the age of thirteen, being a messenger boy, printer"s devil, assistant in an electrical store and a lift boy. He enlisted in the United States Army at age 16 and served three years in the Philippines.
On discharge, he began his stage career, later taking it up professionally. He played in London for two years and following his return to the United States, he began in films by writing dialogue for "comedies".
He wrote a number of plays, several of which were performed on Broadway.
He also acted on Broadway, including in a couple of his own plays. When World War I broke out, Gleason reenlisted in the United States Army and served to the end of the war. His film debut was in Polly of the Follies (1922), starring Constance Talmadge.
Balding and slender with a craggy voice and a master of the double-take, Gleason portrayed tough but warm-hearted characters, usually with a New York background.
He also co-wrote and briefly appeared as a hot dog vendor in the 1934 Janet Gaynor vehicle Change of Heart. The same year, he played the bartender in the film adaptation of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
In the Frank Capra classic Meet John Doe, he played the cynical, "hard boiled" editor brought in to pump up the newspaper that runs with the "John Doe" story. Gleason also performed in other media.
In 1931, he co-starred with Robert Armstrong in the radio sitcom Gleason and Armstrong.
His television credits include several episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the Reed Hadley legal drama The Public Defender and American Broadcasting Company"s The Real McCoys. In "The Child", the Christmas 1957 episode of John Payne"s The Restless Gun on National Broadcasting Company, Gleason and Anthony Caruso played Roman Catholic priests who run an orphanage. Dan Blocker, just launching his acting career, also guest starred in the episode.
James and Lucille Gleason had a son, actor Russell On December 26, 1945, the younger Gleason was in New York City awaiting deployment to Europe with his regiment, when he fell out of a fourth story window in the Hotel Sutton, which the army had commandeered to house the troops, resulting in his death.
Reports varied, some saying the fall was accidental, while others stating it was a suicide. James Gleason was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.