Dana James Jim Hutton (May 31, 1934 – June 2, 1979) was an American actor in film and television probably best remembered for his role as Ellery Queen in the 1970s TV series of the same name. He was the father of actor Timothy Hutton. Born in Binghamton, New York, Jim Hutton was performing in live theater in Germany while with the United States Army when he was spotted by American film director Douglas Sirk. Sirk used him in a small role in a film. When he got out of the army he tried his luck in Hollywood; he auditioned for MGM who put him under a long term contract. Described in the press as the heir apparent to James Stewart and Jack Lemmon, Jim Hutton broke-out of the pack with his funny, awkward TV Thompson in Where the Boys Are. Son of Col. Thomas R. Hutton and Helen Ryan, his parents divorced when he was an infant and Jim recalled seeing his father only twice before his death, and moved to Albany, New York, in 1938. A bright but troublesome child (claiming to have been in and out of six high schools including a boarding school), he excelled as a writer and won a journalism scholarship when he began writing sports for his high school newspaper. At Syracuse University, he lost his position in the school of journalism (& scholarship) when he was bitten by the acting bug & subsequently lost academic ambition, failing three classes as a freshman. He used his summers to train in summer stock, but his intentions to continue academic pursuits were ended when he was expelled from Syracuse as a sophomore and again at Niagara College as a junior. He lived in Greenwich Village for almost a year to pursue a career on the stage, but when out of money and unable to pay his rent or buy food, he joined the army and was assigned to special services to act in training films. He was later stationed in Berlin where he founded the first English language theater, American Community Theater, since World War II when he renovated an abandoned theater for a GI production of Harvey (which he starred in). Receiving high praise from officers including official commendation, his superior officer agreed to assign Hutton to manage the theater as part of his official duties and he produced, directed, and acted in five productions over 2 years, receiving the European Theater Award for Best GI Theater. One of his productions, The Caine Mutiny (1954), received the attention of director Douglas Sirk, who offered him the significant role of Hirschland in A Time to Love and a Time to Die; a young Nazi who commits suicide. Using his entire military leave to film for 22 days, Universal was so impressed they offered him a contract, but he still had 18 months of service. Within 5 days of his military discharge he had married and moved to Hollywood to pursue a career, but by then the offer was off the table from Universal. He eventually landed at MGM. The first role of significance to get attention, and use his new stage name Jim Hutton, was a first season episode of Twilight Zone, And When the Sky Was Opened, which earned the newbie good notice within the industry. Eventually he landed his breakout role of TV Thompson in Where the Boys Are, paired with newcomer Paula Prentiss. He came in third in 1960s Golden Laurel Awards Top Male New Personality, named one of Motion Picture Heralds Stars of Tomorrow, Photoplay Favorite Male Newcomer nominee, and Screen World Award winner for Most Promising Personality. Prentiss and Jim Hutton were immediately paired into three other films, The Honeymoon Machine (1961), Bachelor in Paradise (1961), and The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962). But despite their likable personalities and on screen chemistry, none of the films captured the magic of the first film. Frustrated, Hutton campaigned for the lead in Period of Adjustment and then refused jobs for 15 months until MGM agreed give him better roles or dissolve their exclusive contract. He agreed to appear with Connie Francis (I) in the film, Looking for Love (1964) if he were let go to pursue work independently. Once free from contracts he was selected by Sam Peckinpah for the role of the young Lieutenant in Major Dundee. Dundees turbulent production was the primary subject of reviews, yet the subsequent reassessment of the flawed film (particularly by Peckinpah scholars) has garnered Hutton posthumous praise for his youthful and exuberant performance. Dundee was followed by several acting veterans taking an interested in the underused actors career, including Burt Lancaster, in The Hallelujah Trail (1965), Cary Grant in Walk Dont Run (1966), and John Wayne (I) in The Green Berets (1968). Like his later appreciated performance in Dundee, his role in The Green Berets was overlooked due to the films controversial political stance on Vietnam. Yet it has become common to see Huttons performance as one of the bright spots in the film, thanks to his ability to incorporate his natural comic skills and cocky swagger into the role of war time cynical scavenger who becomes the heroic adoptive father of a Vietnamese orphan. His work in these films, and leading roles in the underrated heist farce Whos Minding the Mint showed his growth as an actor. However, when all three of his 1965 releases flopped at the box-office his Hollywood stock took a major tumble, particularly when Gene Kelly dropped him from the lead in of The Guide to the Married Man one month before production started. Film roles dried up and he was relegated to TV work, which coincided with what he called an eight year depression. It wasnt until 1975 that he experienced a career comeback with the cult detective series Ellery Queen, which coincided with an upturn of theater work and reunion with his son, actor Timothy Hutton, who moved in with him at this time at 15 years old. Going to the doctor with respiratory trouble and back pain, he was diagnosed with liver cancer, which had spread to his lungs, he was told he had no more than six months to live. Hoping to prolong his life with chemotherapy, he died 8 weeks after first checking into the hospital and only 4 weeks after his condition was made public.Tragically, he died of liver cancer in 1979, two days after his 45th birthday. Yvette Vickers, July 1959 Playboy Centerfold and actress in such films as Hud (1963) and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), whose mummified body was found alone in her Benedict Canyon home years later (2011), was divorced twice and had an on-and-off 15-year relationship with Hutton, who Vickers often referred to as the true love of my life.. Timothy Hutton wore Jim Huttons hat from Ellery Queen (1975) in Ordinary People (1980) and A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2000) . He dedicated his Best Supporting Actor Academy Award from Ordinary People to his father, who died four months before filming on Ordinary People began and five weeks after seeing his sons first leading role Friendly Fire (1979) from his hospital bed.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 15:51:56 +0000
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