James Whitmore 1921-2009Whitmore is probably known to most oeople today as Brooks from The Shawshank Redemption (1994). It was a plumb role in a plumb film, but Whitmore contributed quite a bit over his 87 years on this planet.
For me, the killer role came early in his career as Gus in The Asphalt Jungle (1950), John Huston's slice of fried gold. He'd also play the cop Ben Peterson in the awesome Them! (1954). How many of us (not suffering from mental illness) can say we fought off giant radioactive ants? Other films of note include The Eddie Duchin Story (1956), Planet Of The Apes (1968), and Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970). He also did enough TV to make you wonder how the guy lived so long in the first place. It seems he was always appearing in something. 146 TV appearances and films alone.
His IMDB resume doesn't even touch the acres of stagework that he did. He played Will Rogers, Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt and had takne home a Tony at one point. The guy was "An actor's actor", according to longtime friend and fellow actor James Arness. I'd have to agree.
Sure, Whitmore isn't James Cagney or Bogart or even Sterling Hayden. But what he brought to the screen was always fun to watch and as almost everyone will say that his performance in Shawshank is endearing, heartfelt and heart-breaking. Even if you didn't know his name, he touched your soul.
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