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Jim Backus
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Actor Born: February 25, 1913 in Cleveland, OH Death: July 3, 1989 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, CA Biography:Ohio-born actor Jim Backus's stage career began in summer stock, where, according to his then-roommate Keenan Wynn, he was as well known for his prowess with the ladies as he was for his on-stage versatility. Backus continued acting in New York, vaudeville, and especially radio in the 1930s and 1940s. He was a regular on radio's "The Alan Young Show", portraying Eastern Seaboard snob Hubert Updike III, the prototype for his "Thurston Howell III" characterization on the 1960s TV sitcom "Gilligan's Island". In 1949, Backus provided the voice of the nearsighted Mr. Magoo for the first time in the UPA cartoon Ragtime Bear; the actor later claimed that he based this character on his own businessman father. Also in 1949, Backus made his first film appearance in "Easy Living", which starred his childhood friend Victor Mature. Backus' most famous screen role was as James Dean's weak-willed, vacillating father... Full Biography
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