James Edwards (actor)
| James Edwards | |
|---|---|
Edwards in the 1953 film, The Joe Louis Story.
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| Born |
James Johnson Edwards March 6, 1918 Muncie, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | January 4, 1970 (aged 51) San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | heart attack |
| Resting place | Evergreen Memorial Park, Hobart, Indiana, U.S. |
| Years active | 1949-1969 |
| Spouse(s) | Everdinne Edwards (?-1970) (his death) |
| Relatives | 1 child |
James Edwards (March 6, 1918 – January 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 an African American soldier experiencing racist prejudice while serving in the South Pacific during World War II.
He majored in psychology at Knoxville College in Tennessee and continued his education at Northwestern University 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, in the U.S. Army. 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 (1951), Bright Victory (1951), Men in War (1957), Blood and Steel (1959), and Pork Chop Hill (1959) as well as an uncredited Messman in The Caine Mutiny. (1954). It was believed he was originally cast in Universal's Red Ball Express but was replaced by Sidney Poitier when he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.
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