James Allen Whitmore Jr

 James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009)

During his extensive career, Whitmore won a Tony, Grammy, Golden Globe, and an Emmy, and was nominated for two Academy Awards. He is one of only 78 performers to win three of the four EGOT honors. When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve while finishing his degree. He graduated from Yale University in 1944, then served in the United States Marine Corps in the South Pacific, and emerged from the Marines as a lieutenant. Following World War II, Whitmore appeared on Broadway in the role of the sergeant in Command Decision. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave Whitmore a contract, but his role in the film adaptation was played by Van Johnson. His first major picture for MGM was Battleground, in a role that was turned down by Spencer Tracy. Other major films included Angels in the Outfield, The Asphalt Jungle, The Next Voice You Hear, Above and Beyond, Kiss Me, Kate, Them!, Oklahoma!, Black Like Me, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, Tora! Tora! Tora!, and Give 'em Hell, Harry!, a one-man show for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of former U.S. President Harry S Truman. In the film Tora! Tora! Tora!, he played Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey. In 1968, he appeared as head of the Simian Assembly in the Planet of the Apes. In 1969, he played the leading character of Professor Woodruff in the TV series My Friend Tony, produced by NBC. Whitmore also made several memorable appearances on the classic ABC Western The Big Valley starring Barbara Stanwyck, and the classic NBC Western The Virginian starring James Drury, during the second half of the 1960s.

In April 2007, he made his last screen appearance in a C.S.I. episode titled "Ending Happy" as Milton, an elderly man who provides a clue of dubious utility. Whitmore was diagnosed with lung cancer in November 2008. He died from the disease at the age of 87 on February 6, 2009, at his Malibu, California home.