James V. Kern (September 22, 1909,

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

– November 9, 1966,

Encino, California Encino (Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulveda ...

) was an American singer, songwriter, screenwriter, actor, and director. Educated at the

Fordham Law School Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test tak ...

, Kern worked for a while as an attorney. He sang with the

George Olsen George Edward Olsen Sr. (March 18, 1893 - March 18, 1971) was an American bandleader. Born in Portland, Oregon, Olsen played the drums and attended the University of Michigan, where he was drum major. There he formed his band, George Olsen an ...

Trio, and appeared with the Olsen orchestra in the musical '' Good News''. From 1927 to 1939, he sang with and wrote for the

Yacht Club Boys The Yacht Club Boys were a quartet of American comic singers, popular in the 1920s and 1930s. The best-known set of Yacht Club Boys consisted of Charlie Adler, George Kelly, Billy Mann, and Jimmie Kern. They made recordings from the 1920s and appea ...

quartet, with whom he appeared in several motion pictures. He became a screenwriter and later a director. In film, he directed mainly "B" pictures, but after he moved to television, he directed hundreds of series episodes. He was one of the house directors on ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along wit ...

'' in the 1950s.
Monush, Barry & Sheridan, James, "Lucille Ball FAQ: Everything left to know about America's favorite redhead," Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2011. . Retrieved 31 Jan 2014 He directed ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seasons. ''My Three Sons'' chroni ...

'' for most of two seasons in the 1960s. When he died suddenly of a heart attack at age 57, several episodes of the show remained only partially completed for the 1966/67 season, so director

James Sheldon Leonard James Schleifer (November 12, 1920 – March 12, 2016) was an American television director. Sheldon directed for television programs including '' The Twilight Zone'', '' The Fugitive'', '' The Donna Reed Show'', '' The Millionaire'', '' ...

was brought in by series producers to round out the season. He joined ASCAP in 1955. His popular-song compositions include "Easy Street," "Lover, Lover," "Little Red Fox," and "Shut the Door."

Filmography

As director

* 1944: ''

The Doughgirls ''The Doughgirls'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by James V. Kern based on the 1942 hit Broadway play written by Joseph Fields. The film works around three newlywed couples, focusing on the Halstead couple, played by Jane Wyman and ...

'' * 1946: '' Never Say Goodbye'' * 1947: '' Stallion Road'' * 1948: '' April Showers'' * 1950: ''

The Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

'' (television series) * 1950: ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

'' (television series) * 1950: '' The Second Woman'' * 1951: '' Two Tickets to Broadway'' * 1953: '' Topper'' (television series) * 1955: '' The Millionaire'' (television series) * 1956: ''

Lum and Abner Abroad ''Lum and Abner Abroad'' is a 1956 European comedy film directed by James V. Kern and written by Carl Herzinger. The film stars Chester Lauck, Norris Goff, Jill Alis, Lila Audres, Gene Gary, and Chris Peters. The film was released on January 1, ...

'' * 1956: ''

The Gale Storm Show ''The Gale Storm Show'' is an American sitcom starring Gale Storm. The series premiered on September 29, 1956, and ran until 1960 for 125 half-hour black-and-white episodes, initially on CBS and in its last year on ABC. Its title is also seen ...

'' (television series) * 1956: ''

'' (television series) * 1957: ''

Date with the Angels ''Date with the Angels'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from May 10, 1957, to January 29, 1958. The series, which stars Betty White and Bill Williams, began as a late season replacement for '' The Ray Anthony Show'' for the same sponso ...

'' (television series) * 1957: ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

'' (television series) * 1958: ''

The Ann Sothern Show ''The Ann Sothern Show'' is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for three seasons from October 6, 1958, to March 30, 1961. Created by Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf, the series was the second starring vehicle for Sothern, who ...

'' (television series) * 1958: ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...

'' (television series) * 1958: ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary ...

'' (television series) * 1960: '' Pete and Gladys'' (television series) * 1960: ''

'' (television series) * 1961: '' The Joey Bishop Show'' (television series) * 1965: ''

My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totalin ...

'' (television series)

As writer

* 1939: '' That's Right – You're Wrong'' * 1940: ''

If I Had My Way ''If I Had My Way'' is a 1940 musical comedy film directed by David Butler and starring Bing Crosby and Gloria Jean. Based on a story by David Butler, the film is about a construction worker who takes charge of the daughter of a friend killed i ...

'' * 1940: '' You'll Find Out'' * 1941: ''

Look Who's Laughing ''Look Who's Laughing'' (aka ''Look Who's Talking'') is a 1941 film from RKO Radio Pictures. The film is built around a number of radio stars from the Golden Age of Radio and centers around radio personality Jim Jordan as Fibber McGee from the co ...

'' * 1941: '' Playmates'' * 1943: '' Thank Your Lucky Stars'' * 1944: ''

Shine On, Harvest Moon "Shine On, Harvest Moon" is a popular early-1900s song credited to the married vaudeville team Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth. It was one of a series of moon-related Tin Pan Alley songs of the era. The song was debuted by Bayes and Norworth in the Z ...

'' * 1944: ''

'' * 1945: ''

The Horn Blows at Midnight ''The Horn Blows at Midnight'' is a 1945 comedy fantasy film directed by Raoul Walsh, and starring Jack Benny. Following its poor box-office, Benny often exploited the film's failure for laughs over the next 20 years in his radio and television c ...

'' * 1946: '' Never Say Goodbye''

As actor

* 1935: ''

Thanks a Million ''Thanks a Million'' is a 1935 musical film produced and released by 20th Century Fox and directed by Roy Del Ruth. It stars Dick Powell, Ann Dvorak and Fred Allen, and features Patsy Kelly, David Rubinoff and Paul Whiteman and his band with si ...

'' – Member, The Yacht Club Boys (uncredited) * 1936: ''

The Singing Kid ''The Singing Kid'' is a 1936 American musical film directed by William Keighley and written by Warren Duff and Pat C. Flick. Starring Al Jolson, Sybil Jason, Beverly Roberts, Edward Everett Horton, Lyle Talbot and Allen Jenkins, it was released ...

'' – Member – The Yacht Club Boys (uncredited) * 1936: '' Stage Struck'' – Member – The Yacht Club Boys (uncredited) * 1937: '' Artists & Models'' – Yacht Club Boys Member * 1937: ''

Thrill of a Lifetime ''Thrill of a Lifetime'' is a television reality series (before that term was coined) created by Sidney M. Cohen (who also directed many of the episodes) and Willie Stein. It was telecast from 1981 to 1988 in Canada on the CTV network. ''Thril ...

'' – Jimmie * 1938: ''

Artists and Models Abroad ''Artists and Models Abroad'' (UK title: ''Stranded in Paris'') is a 1938 comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Jack Benny and Joan Bennett. It was made by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Ken Englund, Howard Lin ...

'' – Member – The Yacht Club Boys (uncredited) (final film role)

As producer

* 1950: ''

'' (television series) * 1956: ''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kern, James V. 1909 births 1966 deaths American male film actors American film directors American male screenwriters LGBT film directors Singers from New York City Fordham University School of Law alumni 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American LGBT people