James O. Anderson Jr. (July 13, 1920 – September 14, 1969), sometimes billed as Kyle James and known as Buddy Anderson, was an American television and film actor of the 1950s and 1960s. He is probably best known for his role as Bob E. Lee Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).
Early life Anderson was born to J. O. Anderson and his wife. His sister was Mary Anderson, who also had an acting career.
In 1938, while attending Shades-Cahaba High School, he played halfback on the football team. He later studied acting for a year at the University of Alabama.
Career After leaving Alabama for Los Angeles, Anderson trained under Max Reinhardt for six months. While there, he starred in the play Zero Hour, written by George Sklar and Albert Maltz. Weeks after starring in the play, in November 1940, Anderson signed a contract with Warner Bros.
He made more than 120 appearances, mostly in television and several films between 1941 and 1969. He made three guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of murder victim Frank Anderson in the 1958 episode, "The Case of the Pint-Sized Client," and murder victim Stanley Piper in the 1960 episode, "The Case of the Ill-Fated Faker." He appeared in a number of westerns throughout his career, often playing a gun-for-hire or outlaw...including "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs", the controversial 1963 episode of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series The Dakotas, that led to the series' cancellation, where he played the main antagonist.. He also appeared on Gunsmoke in 1963, playing an outlaw named "Harmon" in S12E7's "The Wrong Man". That same year he guest starred on Alfred Hitchcock Presents in the 1963 episode "Last Seen Wearing Blue Jeans" (S1E28).
Personal life Anderson was taken to the UCLA Medical Center with a serious injury - a skull fracture - in the summer of 1956. The hospital reported the injury to the police, but newspapers at the time reported that Anderson couldn't be questioned due to the severity of his injury. He was known to be an alcoholic who was "difficult" on the set and sometimes would not show up for work at all. Before he was cast in To Kill a Mockingbird, the film's director, Robert Mulligan, made him promise to stay sober while filming and not to cause any problems on the set. Anderson agreed.Shields, Charles J. (2006). Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. Henry Holt & Company. p.181. ISBN 978-1-250-11583-6
Death Anderson died suddenly on September 14, 1969 while on location for Little Big Man in Billings, Montana. He was two months past his 49th birthday and was survived by his mother and sister. His cause of death was reported as drug intoxication (barbiturate poisoning).Montana State Deaths 1907-2018
Legacy In 2010, Mary Badham, who starred alongside Anderson in To Kill a Mockingbird, praised his method acting style: "[W]hen he walked on the set, he was that character. He gave everybody the willies and we were all intimidated by him".
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1941 Sergeant York Eb Uncredited Dive Bomber Pilot Uncredited 1942 Reap the Wild Wind Callboy In Café Uncredited 1945 Mildred Pierce Diner Customer Uncredited1949 Bride of Vengeance Guard Uncredited The Great Sinner Nervous Young Gambler Uncredited1950 Johnny One-Eye Apartment House Switchboard Operator Uncredited The Fireball Strong Arm Man Uncredited Hunt the Man Down Richard Kincaid / William H. Jackson1951 Five Eric Along the Great Divide Dan Roden The Blue Veil Jim Tappan Uncredited1952 The Last Musketeer Russ Tasker Has Anybody Seen My Gal Chauffeur Uncredited The Duel at Silver Creek "Rat Face" Blake As Kyle James Hellgate Vern Brechene As Kyle James The Star Bailey – Actor playing Jed Garfield in The Fatal Winter Uncredited Ruby Gentry Jewel Corey1953 The Great Jesse James Raid Johnny Dorette Arrowhead Jerry August China Venture Corporal Walters Uncredited Donovan's Brain Chief Tuttle Flight to Tangier Dullah1954 Riot in Cell Block 11 Guard Acton Drums Across the River Jed Walker Pushover Beery—Mechanic Uncredited Dragnet Fred Kemp Uncredited Private Hell 36 Patrolman In Locker Room Uncredited The Bamboo Prison Progressive Uncredited They Rode West Wounded Trooper Uncredited The Violent Men Hank Purdue Uncredited1955 Highway Patrol Gus Montana Episode: "Phony Insurance" Seven Angry Men Henry Thompson An Annapolis Story Instructor Uncredited The Marauders Louis Ferber At Gunpoint Barlow Uncredited1956 Inside Detroit Reller Uncredited Fury at Gunsight Pass O'Neil The Rawhide Years Deputy Wade Tension at Table Rock Lerner Uncredited Friendly Persuasion Poor Loser Dunked By Jess Uncredited Running Target Strothers The Rack "Skinny" Uncredited1957 The Big Land Bob Cole Perry Mason (1957 TV series) (Season 1 Episode 9, "The Case of the Vagabond Vixen") Peter Handsell1958 The Thing That Couldn't Die Boyd Abercrombie As Young as We Are Barney Uncredited I Married a Monster from Outer Space Weldon1962 Pressure Point Father Uncredited To Kill a Mockingbird Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell 1966 The Chase Simmons Uncredited1969 Take the Money and Run Chain Gang Warden The Ballad of Cable Hogue Preacher 1970 Little Big Man Sergeant (final film role)
Television Year Title Role Notes1953 Dragnet Harold Young S3:66, The Big Trunk"1953 Dragnet Daniel Miller S3:76, "The Hit and Run Killer" as Kyle James1959 Rawhide Troxel S1:E8, "Incident West of Lano"1960 The Rifleman Johnny Denver S2:E23, "The Grasshopper"1961 Rawhide Morse S3:E25, "Incident of the Running Man"1961 Rawhide Sheriff S4:E7, "The Black Sheep"1963 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Vince Cates Season 1 Episode 28: "Last Seen Wearing Blue Jeans"1964 Gunsmoke Hewitt S10:E4, "The Violators" 1964 Rawhide Sheriff S7:E2, "The Enormous Fist"
References
External links
Jim Anderson entry at Bustersoft blog