James MacArthur

**James Gordon MacArthur** (December 8, 1937 – October 28, 2010) was an American actor best known for the role of Danny "Danno" Williams, the reliable second-in-command of the fictional Hawaiian State Police squad in the long-running television series *Hawaii Five-O*, and for playing the juvenile lead in a series of Disney movies.[1]

MacArthur was selected by Walt Disney to star in *The Light in the Forest* (1958), playing a white man raised by Native Americans. In April 1957 MacArthur signed a three picture deal with Disney as part of his casting. On *Light in the Forest* he was paid $2500 a week. This went up to $3,000 a week for the second film and $3,500 for the third, although he could not be forced to work other than during his summer vacation at Harvard, where he was studying history.[7]

Disney liked his performance and cast him in *Third Man on the Mountain* (1959), playing a young man who climbs the Matterhorn. His mother had a cameo.[8]

Deciding to make acting his full-time career, he left Harvard in his second year to make two more Disney movies, *Kidnapped* (1960) alongside Peter Finch, and *Swiss Family Robinson* (1960) with John Mills. The latter was especially popular. He was named a possibility for *Bon Voyage* but ended up not appearing in the final film.[9]

MacArthur made his Broadway debut in 1960, playing opposite Jane Fonda in *Invitation to a March*, for which he received a Theatre World Award. Although he never returned to Broadway, he would remain active in theatre throughout his career, appearing in such productions as *Under the Yum Yum Tree*, *The Moon Is Blue*, *John Loves Mary* (with his then wife, Joyce Bulifant), *Barefoot in the Park*, and *Murder at the Howard Johnson's*.[10]

He also released several records in the early 1960s,[11] scoring two minor hits with "(The Story of) The In-Between Years" and "The Ten Commandments of Love", both of which peaked at number 94 in the *Billboard* Hot 100.

MacArthur gave a particularly chilling performance as baby-faced opium dealer Johnny Lubin in *The Untouchables* episode, "Death For Sale". He was in *Bus Stop* and *Wagon Train*. He returned to features as one of several young actors in *The Interns* (1962), Columbia's popular medical drama.

He did episodes of *The Dick Powell Theatre*, *Sam Benedict* and *Arrest and Trial*, then made *Spencer's Mountain* (1963) at Warners with Henry Fonda and *Cry of Battle*(1963) in the Philppines.[12]

In 1963, he was nominated for the "Top New Male Personality" category of the Golden Laurel Awards 1963. That year he starred in and produced a pilot for a TV series about a writer, *Postmark: Jim Fletcher* (1963), but it was not picked up.[12]

He guest starred in *Burke's Law*, *The Eleventh Hour*, and *The Great Adventure*. After an episode of *The Alfred Hitchcock Hour* he did *The Truth About Spring* (1965) and John and Hayle Mills and *The Bedford Incident* (1965).

Though many of his movie roles were not starring roles, and some were quite brief, they were usually pivotal to the plot. His role in *The Bedford Incident* was that of a young ensign who became so rattled by the needling of his captain (Richard Widmark), that he accidentally fired an ASROC at a Soviet submarine, thus creating a nuclear incident when the submarine returned fire, resulting in the destruction of both vessels.

In *Battle of the Bulge* (1965), he again played the role of a young and inexperienced officer. However, this time, the officer found courage and a sense of responsibility.

MacArthur was in *Ride Beyond Vengeance* (1966) and guest starred in *Branded*, *Combat!*, *Gunsmoke*, *Hondo*, *Insight*, *Death Valley Days*, *Bonanza* and *The Virginian*. In 1966, he guest-starred as Lt. Harley Wilson in "The Outsider", episode 20 in the second season of *Twelve O'Clock High*. He co-starred with his mother Helen Hayes in the 1968 episode "The Pride of the Lioness" on the *Tarzan* television series.

MacArthur returned to Disney to make *Willie and the Yank* (1967) for television, released theatrically as *Mosby's Marauders*. He had a role in *The Love-Ins* (1967) for Sam Katzman.[13]

His had a brief but memorable appearance in the Clint Eastwood movie, *Hang 'Em High* then made *The Angry Breed* (1968), a low budget feature.