Character actor James Gammon died 16 July 2010 of cancer of the adrenal glands and the liver. Born 20 April 1940 in Newman, Illinois, he may be best known for his role as the gruff manager Lou Brown in Major League (1989). He was also a stage actor, and was featured in several Sam Shepard plays. He was nominated for a Tony Award for best featured actor in a play in 1996 (for Buried Child).
After his parents’ divorce, he lived in several places with relatives, and wound up in Orlando, Florida, where he got his start in the entertainment business at an Orlando television station. He directed locally produced programming, and acted in community theater. In his 20s, he drove to Hollywood to find acting work, and began appearing in television westerns in the mid-1960s. His film debut came in 1967, as a member of the chain gang in Cool Hand Luke. Later, he had a recurring role as Don Johnson’s father on Nash Bridges.
Gammon’s genre roles include: The New Daughter (2009), Altered (2006), The Cell (2000), The Iron Giant (1999), The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), Made in Heaven (1987), Silver Bullet (1985), Batman (1967), The Invaders (1967), and The Wild Wild West (1966).
His first marriage ended in divorce. He is survived by his second wife, Nancy Jane Kapusta (whom he married in 1972), two daughters, two grandchildren, a brother, and a sister.