James Franciscus' Main TV Roles Show Character(s) The Rifleman Phillip Sim… Longstreet Mike Longst…

Main Movie Roles 1982 - Butterfly 1980 - When Time Ran Out... 1979 - Killer Fish 1978 - Good Guys Wear Black 1971 - Il Gatto a nove code 1970 - Beneath The Planet of The Apes 1969 - Marooned 1969 - The Valley of Gwangi 1957 - Four Boys and a Gun

BIOGRAPHY:

James Grover Franciscus graduated magna cum laude from Yale University in 1957 with a B.A. in English and theater. His father, John Allen Franciscus, was a pilot killed in action during WWII. His mother was named Loraine (nee Grover) and he had one sibling, a brother named John. Mr. Franciscus is best known for his work in television, including "Naked City" (1958), "The Investigators" (1961), "Mr. Novak" (1963) and "Longstreet" (1971). He also made numerous guest appearances in other popular television programs, starred in numerous television movies, and appeared in numerous feature films. In the mid 1980s, he became dissatisfied with the roles offered to him and turned his attention to screen writing. As co-founder of Omnibus Productions, he produced many classic films, such as Heidi (1968) (TV), Jane Eyre (1970) (TV), "David Copperfield" (1986), Kidnapped (1986/I), and The Red Pony (1973) (TV). An avid tennis player, he founded the James Franciscus Celebrity Tennis Tournament in the mid 1970s to raise money for multiple sclerosis research and victims (his mother suffered from this disease). He also enjoyed sky diving and scuba diving. Married 'Kathleen 'Kitty' Wellman' , daughter of director William A. Wellman, March 28, 1960, and fathered four daughters (Jamie, Kellie, Corie and Jolie). A devoted family man, his contracts often stipulated that he not be required to work past 6:00 pm. After his divorce from Wellman, he married second wife Carla in 1980 and continued to live on his two acre North Hollywood estate until his death.


TRIVIA:

• Fathered four daughters with 'Kathleen 'Kitty' Wellman' (qv) (Jamie, Kellie, Corie and Jolie).
• A student under Jun Fan (Bruce) Lee, at his dojo of Chinese Gung Fu in California.
• Ex-brother-in-law of 'William Wellman Jr.' (qv).
• In 1959 'Norman Lear' (qv) produced a pilot for a situation comedy called "Band of Gold" in which James and 'Suzanne Pleshette' (qv) played a different couple each week. The program was considered too "experimental" and was never broadcast.
• Was the first choice to play Dr. Kildare in the 1961 TV series, but he was committed to another series (that never materialized) so the producers went with 'Richard Chamberlain (I)' (qv).
• Daughter born on 2 January 1975
• Ex-uncle-in-law of 'Cathy Wellman' (qv).
• Was cast as Brent in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) because of his resemblance to Charlton Heston, star of Planet of the Apes (1968).