James Johnson Edwards (March 6, 1918January 4, 1970) was an American actor in films and television. His most famous role was as Private Peter Moss in the 1949 film '' Home of the Brave'', in which he portrayed a

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

soldier experiencing racial prejudice while serving in the South Pacific during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Career

Edwards majored in psychology at

Knoxville College Knoxville College is a historically black liberal arts college in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, which was founded in 1875 by the United Presbyterian Church of North America. It is a United Negro College Fund member school. A slow peri ...

in Tennessee and continued his education at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

where he received a master's degree in drama. While enrolled at Northwestern, he participated in student productions and in the Federal Theatre Project. During World War II, he was commissioned as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. After the war he appeared on the New York stage when he assumed the role of the war hero in the touring play ''Deep Are the Roots''. Throughout his early and mid acting career, Edwards portrayed African American soldiers, playing such characters in '' Home of the Brave'' (1949), ''

The Steel Helmet ''The Steel Helmet'' is a 1951 American war film directed, written, and produced by Samuel Fuller during the Korean War. The cast stars Gene Evans, Robert Hutton, Steve Brodie, James Edwards, and Richard Loo. It was the first American film abo ...

'' (1951), ''

Bright Victory ''Bright Victory'' is a 1951 American drama romance war film directed by Mark Robson and starring Arthur Kennedy and Peggy Dow. Plot During World War II, American sergeant Larry Nevins is blinded by a German sniper while fighting in North Afr ...

'' (1951), '' Battle Hymn'' (1957), '' Men in War'' (1957), Blood and Steel (1959), and '' Pork Chop Hill'' (1959) as well as an uncredited Messman in ''

The Caine Mutiny ''The Caine Mutiny'' is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard two destroyer-minesweepers in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Among its themes, it deals with the moral ...

''. (1954). It was believed he was originally cast in Universal's ''

Red Ball Express The Red Ball Express was a famed truck convoy system that supplied Allied forces moving quickly through Europe after breaking out from the D-Day beaches in Normandy in 1944. To expedite cargo shipment to the front, trucks emblazoned with red ...

'' but was replaced by Sidney Poitier when he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Other notable roles were in Stanley Kubrick's '' The Killing'' (1956) and

John Frankenheimer John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits were ''Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962), '' The Manchurian Candidate'' ( ...

's ''

The Manchurian Candidate ''The Manchurian Candidate'' is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a Communist conspiracy. Th ...

'' (1962). Edwards was prolific on TV in the 1960s, playing character roles in various series such as ''

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...

'', '' The Fugitive'', '' Burke's Law'', ''

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

'' and '' Mannix'', before his death of a heart attack at the age of 51 in 1970. One of his final roles was as General

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

's longtime personal valet, Sergeant Major William George Meeks, in the film ''

Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in Franc ...

''.

Death

James Edwards died on Sunday, January 4, 1970, in

San Diego, CA San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. He was working on a film script in a rented house in San Diego when he complained of chest pains. He was taken to

Sharp Memorial Hospital Sharp Memorial Hospital is a hospital in San Diego, California, in the United States. Opened in 1955, Sharp Memorial is Sharp HealthCare's largest hospital and the system's only designated Level II trauma center. Located in Serra Mesa, the hospi ...

, where he died. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that his age was given as 42.

Filmography

* '' The Set-Up'' (1949) as Luther Hawkins * '' Home of the Brave'' (1949) as Private Peter Moss * '' Manhandled'' (1949) as Henry, Bennet's Butler (uncredited) * ''

'' (1951) as Cpl. Thompson * ''

'' (1951) as Joe Morgan * ''

The Member Of The Wedding ''The Member of the Wedding'' is a 1946 novel by Southern writer Carson McCullers. It took McCullers five years to complete, although she interrupted the work for a few months to write the novella '' The Ballad of the Sad Café''.McDowell, Marga ...

'' (1952) as Honey Camden Brown * ''

The Joe Louis Story ''The Joe Louis Story'' is a 1953 American film noir drama sport film directed by Robert Gordon and starring Coley Wallace, Hilda Silmms and Paul Stewart. Plot Biographical film about the story of boxer Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (Ma ...

'' (1953) as Jack 'Chappie' Blackburn * ''

'' (1954) as Whittaker (uncredited) * '' African Manhunt'' (1955) as Native Guide * ''

Seven Angry Men ''Seven Angry Men'' is a 1955 American Western film directed by Charles Marquis Warren and starring Raymond Massey, Debra Paget and Jeffrey Hunter. It is about the abolitionist John Brown, particularly his involvement in Bleeding Kansas and hi ...

'' (1955) as Ned Green * ''

The Phenix City Story ''The Phenix City Story'' is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Phil Karlson for Allied Artists, written by Daniel Mainwaring and Crane Wilbur and starring John McIntire, Richard Kiley, and Kathryn Grant. It had an unusual "triple ...

'' (1955) as Zeke Ward * '' The Killing'' (1956) as Track Parking Attendant * '' Battle Hymn'' (1957) as Lt. Maples * '' Men in War'' (1957) as Sgt. Killian * '' Fräulein'' (1958) as Cpl. S. Hanks * '' Tarzan's Fight for Life'' (1958) as Futa * '' Anna Lucasta'' (1958) as Eddie * '' Night of the Quarter Moon'' (1959) as Asa Tully * '' Pork Chop Hill'' (1959) as Cpl. Jurgens * '' Blood and Steel'' (1959) as George * ''

'' (1962) as Corporal Allen Melvin * ''Legend of Bearheart'' (1964) released as ''Legend of the Northwest'' in 1978p. 188 Pitts, Michael R.''Western Movies: A Guide to 5,105 Feature Films, 2d edition'' McFarland 2012 * ''

The Sandpiper ''The Sandpiper'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Plot Laura Reynolds is a free-spirited, unwed single mother living with her young son Danny in an isolated beach house ...

'' (1965) as Larry Brant * '' The Virginian'' (1968, TV Series) as The Mustangers * '' The Young Runaways'' (1968) as Sergeant Joe Collyer * ''

Coogan's Bluff Coogan's Bluff is a promontory near the western shore of the Harlem River in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. Its boundaries extend approximately from 155th Street and the Macombs Dam Bridge viaduct t ...

'' (1968) as Sgt. Jackson * ''

'' (1970) as Sergeant Major William George Meeks * '' Doomsday Voyage'' (1972) as Coast Guard Officer * ''Legend of the Northwest'' (1978) (final film role)

Notes

References

* Deane, Pamala S. (8 December 2009) ''James Edwards: African American Hollywood Icon'', McFarland

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, James 1918 births 1970 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Indiana People from Muncie, Indiana African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army officers 20th-century African-American people Knoxville College alumni Northwestern University alumni Federal Theatre Project people