Jim Davis

 Jim Davis (August 26, 1909 – April 26, 1981)

Davis was best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap opera, Dallas, a role which continued until he was too ill from a terminal illness to perform. He was known as Jim Davis by the time of his first major screen role, which was opposite Bette Davis in the 1948 melodrama Winter Meeting, a lavish failure for which he was lambasted in the press as being too inexperienced to play the part properly. His subsequent film career consisted of mostly B movies, many of them westerns, although he made an impression as a U.S. senator in the Warren Beatty conspiracy thriller The Parallax View. From 1958-1960, Davis starred as Wes Cameron opposite Lang Jeffries in the role of Skip Johnson in the syndicated adventure series Rescue 8. About this time, he guest starred on the syndicated crime drama, U.S. Marshal, starring John Bromfield. Davis also appeared in an episode of The High Chaparral and in small roles in the 1971 John Wayne vehicles Rio Lobo (1970) and Big Jake (1971). After years of relatively low-profile roles, Davis was cast as family patriarch Jock Ewing on Dallas, which debuted in 1978. During season four, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma but continued to film the show as long as he could. In many scenes as the season progressed he was shown seated, and his voice became softer and more obviously affected by his illness. He wore a hairpiece to cover the hair he'd lost from chemotherapy. He died of complications from his illness while season four was being aired. The writers made the decision not to write his death into the Dallas story line right away. Initially, plans were made to replace him with another actor but were dropped because of audience awareness and because no suitable actor could be found for the role to be recast. Davis is interred at Forest Lawn-Glendale.