Jim Hutton

Jim Hutton
Hutton as Ellery Queen.
Born	Dana James Hutton (1934-05-31)May 31, 1934 Binghamton, New York, U.S.
Died	June 2, 1979(1979-06-02) (aged 45) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Liver cancer
Resting place	Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Alma mater	Syracuse University Niagara University
Years active	1958–1979
Spouse(s)	Maryline Poole (m. 1958; div. 1963) Lynni M. Solomon (m. 1970; div. 1973)
Children	3; including Timothy Hutton

Dana James "Jim" Hutton (May 31, 1934 – June 2, 1979) was an American actor in film and television best remembered for his role as Ellery Queen in the 1970s TV series of the same name and his screen partnership with Paula Prentiss in five films, starting with Where the Boys Are. He is the father of actor Timothy Hutton.

Hutton was born in Binghamton, New York, the son of Helen and Thomas R. Hutton, an editor and managing editor of the Binghamton Press. Hutton's parents divorced while he was an infant, and he never knew his father. Hutton was expelled from five high schools due to behavior problems but had excellent grades and test scores. After starting his school newspaper's sports column, he earned a scholarship in journalism from Syracuse University. He was expelled from Syracuse after driving a bulldozer through a bed of tulips. Hutton then enrolled at Niagara University where he began pursuing an acting career.

Hutton served in the United States Army and starred in over forty Army training films before going to Berlin to serve in special service. Hutton personally founded the American Community Theater by spearheading the renovation of theaters abandoned during World War II. He established the first English-speaking theater in Berlin. Hutton was performing in live theater in Germany while with the United States Army when he was spotted by American film director Douglas Sirk. Sirk used him in a small role in a film and secured him the promise of a contract with Universal Studios. When Hutton got out of the Army that contract expired, but he was eventually signed to a long-term contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

One of his earliest screen appearances was in an episode of The Twilight Zone (1959), in which he co-starred with Rod Taylor. In Hollywood, he gained recognition with teen audiences for his role in the college student film Where the Boys Are (1960), where he appeared with Paula Prentiss, an actress with whom he would be teamed in several of his early films, in part because they were the tallest MGM contract players of their time (Hutton at 6'5" and Prentiss at 5'10"). He appeared with Prentiss in The Honeymoon Machine late in 1960, followed by 1961's Bachelor in Paradise starring Bob Hope and Lana Turner, and finally The Horizontal Lieutenant in 1962. In 1966, Hutton gained a wider audience in Walk, Don't Run with Samantha Eggar and Cary Grant (in Grant's last feature-film appearance). Due to his tall, gangly frame and the absent-minded quality of his delivery, Hutton was viewed as a successor to James Stewart.