I knew him up to the last three months of his life. A year later, in 1965, Jim's band, The Flamethrowers, was on a bill at Kiel Auditorium, opening for some other Muddy Waters acolytes, The Rolling Stones. By 1966, he was in Greenwich Village the night Chas Chandler of The Animals pitched Jimi Hendrix on managing the unknown guitarist's career in England. After two years in Toronto, Jim moved to Vancouver, and it was on Vancouver Island in 1972 that he lost his legs in a car accident. It was during this time that music gave him strength.
Music is such a gift.
I've been lucky because it's kept me from going insane. From the stage, I see people having a good time, falling in love, whereas making movies is a cut and paste affair. If I didn't have that outlet to get out and play, I'd kill myself. Yeah, right, forget about it. Acting, he says, was part of his education but it wasn't until he landed his role in Wiseguy in 1987 that it became a career.