
James Stephenson
- Date of Birth: 1889-04-13
- Date of Death: 1941-07-29
- Place of Birth: Selby, Yorkshire, England, UK
Biography
British stage actor James Stephenson made his film debut quite late in life, at the age of 49, in 1937, making four pictures that year. Warner Bros. got a glimpse of this distinguished gent and signed... British stage actor James Stephenson made his film debut quite late in life, at the age of 49, in 1937, making four pictures that year. Warner Bros. got a glimpse of this distinguished gent and signed him to a contract where he indulged himself in urbane villainy. Proving a reliable support in such films as Boy Meets Girl (1938), You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), and the classic adventure The Sea Hawk (1940), he was entrusted by director William Wyler and mega-star Bette Davis to play the sympathetic role of the family attorney Howard Joyce in The Letter (1940). It was the role of a lifetime and he didn't let them down for he earned an Oscar nomination in the process. Stephenson was soon on a roll, playing the titular sleuth in Calling Philo Vance (1940) and was first-billed in the above-average "B" movie Shining Victory (1941) when he died suddenly in 1941 of a heart attack at the rather young age of 53. Date of Death: 29 July 1941, Pacific Palisades, California (heart attack)

The Letter
Crime, Drama • 1940 November

The Old Maid
Drama • 1939 August

The Sea Hawk
Adventure, History, Romance • 1940 August

Wolf of New York
Drama • 1940 January

Beau Geste
Adventure, Drama, War • 1939 July

The Monroe Doctrine
War, Drama, History, Romance • 1939 October

Boy Meets Girl
Comedy • 1938 August

King of the Underworld
Romance, Crime, Drama • 1939 January

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
Drama, History, Romance • 1939 November

Nancy Drew… Detective
Comedy, Mystery • 1938 November