Biography
Born in New York City, Dunn was the son of a Wall Street stockbroker. He joined his father in his business for three years. Dunn started his entertainment career in vaudeville before progressing to films at Paramount's Astoria studios in the late 1920s starting as an extra. After a gap where he appeared in stock companies, he returned to films. He was signed by Fox in 1931, making 22 films and several more on loan-out.
Dunn made a strong first impression with his first role, in Bad Girl. He went on to make several formula films, including Society Girl (1932) with Peggy Shannon and Hello, Sister! (1933) with Boots Mallory and ZaSu Pitts. Dunn's other early successes included four Shirley Temple films in 1934, Baby Take a Bow, Stand Up and Cheer!, Change of Heart and Bright Eyes.
The roles that followed did nothing to further his career, and during the late 1930s his prospects were further diminished by a battle with alcoholism. In 1945 his performance in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, playing an alcoholic, but good-natured Irish father, a dreamer whose presence brought joy to those around him even though he was never a success in the traditional sense.
His success was short-lived and by the beginning of the 1950s, he was unemployed, bankrupt, and once again depending on alcohol. After 1950, he appeared in only three feature films, but continued working in television until his death. From 1954 to 1956, he appeared as Earl Morgan, the deadbeat brother, always concocting "get-rich-quick" shemes, of the character Amy Morgan, played by Frances Bavier, in the NBC sitcom It's a Great Life. Michael O'Shea also appeared in the series as a tenant of landlady Amy Morgan.
Read more about this topic: James Dunn (actor)
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