James Whitmore

James Whitmore
James Whitmore, November 1955
Born	James Allen Whitmore, Jr. (1921-10-01)October 1, 1921 White Plains, New York, U.S.
Died	February 6, 2009(2009-02-06) (aged 87) Malibu, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Lung cancer
Resting place	Cremains scattered into the Pacific Ocean
Alma mater	Yale University
Occupation	Actor, singer
Years active	1949–2005
Spouse(s)	Nancy Mygatt (1947–1971, divorced) Audra Lindley (1972–1979, divorced) Nancy Mygatt (1979–1981, divorced) Noreen Nash (2001–2009, his death)
Children	Three sons from first marriage: James Allen Whitmore III Stephen Whitmore Daniel Whitmore
Relatives	Matty Whitmore (grandchild)

James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American film, theatre, and television actor. During his extensive career, Whitmore won a Tony, Grammy, Golden Globe, and an Emmy, and was nominated for two Academy Awards. He is one of only 20 performers to win three of the four EGOT honors.

Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle (née Crane) and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, for three years, before transferring to the Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut, on a football scholarship. He went on to study at Yale University, but he had to quit playing football after severely injuring his knees. After giving up football, he turned to the Yale Dramatic Society and began acting. While at Yale, he was a member of Skull and Bones, and was among the founders of the Yale radio station (the student-run WOCD-AM, later renamed WYBC-AM). Whitmore planned on becoming a lawyer and graduated with a major in government from Yale University. When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserves while finishing his degree. He graduated from Yale University in 1944, then served in the United States Marine Corps in the South Pacific, and emerged from the Marines as a lieutenant.

After World War II, Whitmore studied acting at the American Theatre Wing and the Actors Studio in New York. At this time, Whitmore met his first wife Nancy Mygatt. They married in 1947, and the couple had three sons before their divorce in 1971. The eldest son, James III, found success as a television actor and director under the name James Whitmore, Jr. The second son, Stephen, became the public spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The youngest son, Daniel, was a Forest Service Snow Ranger and firefighter before he launched his own construction company. In 1979, Whitmore and Mygatt remarried, but they divorced again after two years.