James Luisi

Profile

A native New Yorker, James Luisi attended St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights on a basketball scholarship. He served in the Army during the Korean War. He then played one season (1953-54) with the Baltimore Bullets in the National Basketball Association. His acting career began on the stage with early parts coming in the Broadway musicals "Sweet Charity" and "Zorba". His early movies were minor, though his "beefcake" appeal was evident in 1973's I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973) in which he rarely wore a shirt. Most of his later work was on TV. In 1976 he shared a "best actor" daytime Emmy for playing George Washington in a daytime drama special titled First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington (1975). Also in 1976 he started his four-season role as Jim Rockford's (James Garner) nemesis Lt. Chapman in The Rockford Files (1974). In 1983 he played the cop in charge of some street-gang-members-turned-undercover-agents in the short-lived series The Renegades (1983), which provided a boost for Patrick Swayze, who played one of the gang members. Along with guest spots on numerous TV shows, Luisi also appeared in the soap operas Days of Our Lives (1965) and Another World (1964). In the 1990s he returned to acting in and directing stage work in the Los Angeles area. Stricken with cancer he passed away on 7 June 2002 and is survived by his wife of 41 years, the former Georgia Phillips. Born : 11th-Nov-1928

Movie Credits

Star 80

Paul Snider is a narcissistic, small time hustler who fancies himself a ladies man. His life changes when he meets Dorothy Stratten working behind the counter of a Dairy Queen. Under his guidance Dorothy grows to fame as a Playboy Playmate. But when Dorothy begins pursuing an acting career, the jealous Paul finds himself elbowed out of the picture by more famous men.
Released : 10th-Nov-1983

Murphy's Law

A tough police detective escapes from custody after being framed and arrested for the murder of his ex-wife, and must now find the real killer and prove his innocence.
Released : 18th-Apr-1986

The Hidden

When average, law-abiding citizens suddenly turn to a life of hedonistic behavior and violent crime, Detective Tom Beck is tasked with helping young FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher determine the cause.
Released : 30th-Oct-1987

Fade to Black

A shy, lonely film buff embarks on a killing spree against those who browbeat and betray him, all the while stalking his idol, a Marilyn Monroe lookalike.
Released : 14th-Oct-1980

Future Cop

A veteran street cop is assigned a new partner. The partner is not exactly what he seems to be, though--he is an experimental android who has been programmed by the police lab.
Released : 1st-May-1976

Killer's Delight

A detective tracks a serial killer through San Francisco.
Released : 28th-Apr-1978

I Escaped from Devil's Island

In 1916, a group of prisoners plot their escape from the notorious fortress located in French Guiana.
Released : 1st-Sep-1973

The Man from Independence

The Story of Harry S. Truman as he begins his political career in 1929.
Released : 11th-Mar-1974

Moment by Moment

Trisha Rawlings, a Beverly Hills socialite suffering from loneliness following the separation from her womanizing husband, develops a May–December romance with a young drifter named Strip.
Released : 22nd-Dec-1978

Contract on Cherry Street

A policeman devises an unorthodox plan for bringing criminals to justice after his partner is brutally gunned down.
Released : 19th-Nov-1977

The Renegades

In this drama, undercover investigators are recruited from the streets to prevent arms smugglers from getting their weapons to street gangs.
Released : 11th-Aug-1982

Our Family Business

A syndicate mob boss doesn't realize that his eldest son, Gep, has been informing to the police on the family's dealings in exchange for protection, while Gep's younger brother, Phil, a bank vice president, tries to separate himself from the family's business.
Released : 20th-Sep-1981

Love Is Not Enough

A black family leaves the ghetto of Detroit to look for a better life in Los Angeles.
Released : 12th-Jun-1978

One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story

The true story of baseball star Ron LeFlore, from his days as a street-corner punk with no future to his days behind bars on a petty robbery conviction to his ultimate once-in-a-lifetime chance with the Detroit Tigers, where he became an outstanding baseball player.
Released : 26th-Sep-1978

The Take

A policeman in New Mexico takes payoff money but still manages to go after a racketeer.
Released : 1st-May-1974

Norma Rae

Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory.
Released : 2nd-Mar-1979

Lethal Woman

A group of men are told that they have won an "erotic vacation" at a fantasy island. In reality, they are being lured to the island by women they have wronged, and once there they are captured and set loose on the island to be hunted down.
Released : 30th-Apr-1989

Stunts

After a stunt man dies while he is involved in the making of a motion picture, his brother takes his place in order to find out what really happened.
Released : 1st-Jun-1977

The Rockford Files: Friends and Foul Play

An friend of Jim's continues to seek his help for her murdered son, but when she winds up dead not long after an altercation with the mafia man, Jim must must do what it takes to put both her soul and her son's, at rest, himself.
Released : 25th-Apr-1996

Ben

A lonely boy becomes good friends with Ben, a rat. This rat is also the leader of a pack of vicious killer rats, killing lots of people.
Released : 23rd-Jun-1972

The Red-Light Sting

Government agent Frank Powell is determined to bring down racketeering crime lord Oliver Sully but cannot find any evidence. Powell concocts a plan to have the Justice Department buy a brothel, set up a professional call girl named Kathy Dunn as a hostess, and get the crime boss on extortion.
Released : 5th-Mar-1984

Feds

Ellie DeWitt and Janis Zuckermann are admitted to the very strict FBI Training Academy. They get a hard course, in which they learn to deal with guns and to recognise crimes. They also get a physical training. It appears that Ellie is a real fighting- machine, in contrast with Janis, the great student. They have to help each other, all the way to graduation.
Released : 28th-Oct-1988

Sunset Limousine

Alan O'Black is a comic who wants to hit it big. But his endless attempts at stardom have worn down his relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Julie. Thinking she'll give him another chance if he gets a real job, Alan gets a gig as a limo driver, which promptly lands him in a slew of trouble when he meets and gets involved in the hijinks of a crooked entrepreneur, Bradley Coleman.
Released : 12th-Oct-1983

Cry Rape

A man who is arrested for rape swears it wasn't him but somebody who looks just like him, but the victim insists it was him.
Released : 27th-Nov-1973

Honky Tonk

In the wild west con-man 'Candy' Johnson heads to Nevada to set up his own gambling den and teams up with Lucy Cotton, a young woman he meets there. This failed television pilot film is loosely based on Honky Tonk (1941), which starred Clark Gable.
Released : 1st-Apr-1974

Cat Ballou

A pretty ranch owner hires an alcoholic gunfighter to protect her ranch and her adopted boy from an outlaw gang's depredations.
Released : 6th-Sep-1971

The Rockford Files: If the Frame Fits...

Jim Rockford, is framed for the murder of another rival detective with whom Jim was seen having an argument.
Released : 14th-Jan-1996

First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington

TV biopic about the first US President's wife.
Released : 23rd-Oct-1975

A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story

One of the most moving stories in the annals of sports is presented in this true drama documenting the love affair of baseball immortal Lou Gehrig and his wife Eleanor. Their romance spans the time period from his days of glory with Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees to his unsuccessful battle with an incurable disease. As the story begins, the talented but shy Gehrig is already a popular Yankee slugger when he meets the outgoing Eleanor. Their romance begins hesitantly, but blossoms as they exchange letters while Gehrig is on the road with the team. However, Gehrig's possessive mother becomes a formidable obstacle, first to their marriage and later to their happiness. But their love for one another proves triumphant. In the midst of their happiness, when Gehrig is at the peak of his career, he learns that he is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The courage and dignity exhibited by the Gehrigs during this crisis make this a powerful, memorable film.
Released : 15th-Jan-1978

TV Credits

Magnum, P.I.

- A private investigator who works when he wants, lives in a beachfront estate in Hawaii, drives a posh Ferrari, runs up an unlimited tab at a swank bar, and charms attractive women in peril - that's the lifestyle of Thomas Magnum, aka Magnum, P.I.
Released : 11th-Dec-1980

The Rockford Files

Lt. Doug Chapman - Cranky but likable L.A. PI Jim Rockford pulls no punches (but takes plenty of them). An ex-con sent to the slammer for a crime he didn't commit, Rockford takes on cases others don't want, aided by his tough old man, his lawyer girlfriend and some shady associates from his past.
Released : 13th-Sep-1974

The Rookies

- The Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department.
Released : 11th-Sep-1972

T. J. Hooker

Vincent Hazzard / George Laszlo - Sergeant Thomas Jefferson Hooker is a tough-as-nails veteran police officer with the LCPD who turns his back on a gold badge and goes back to patrolling the streets and training recuits. Along with his young partners in blue, Hooker take on Lake City's toughest criminals.
Released : 13th-Mar-1982

L.A. Law

Paul Viola - L.A. Law is an American television legal drama series that ran for eight seasons on NBC from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it contained many of Bochco's trademark features including a large number of parallel storylines, social drama and off-the-wall humor. It reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s, and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot-topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights, homophobia, sexual harassment, AIDS, and domestic violence. The series often also reflected social tensions between the wealthy senior lawyer protagonists and their less well-paid junior staff. The show was popular with audiences and critics, and won 15 Emmy Awards throughout its run, four of which were for Outstanding Drama Series.
Released : 15th-Sep-1986

The A-Team

Jimmy Durkee - A fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel work as soldiers of fortune while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit."
Released : 23rd-Jan-1983

Starsky & Hutch

- Streetwise Detective David Starsky partners up with a more intellectual partner, Kenneth 'Hutch' Hutchinson, to protect citizens and patrol the streets of Bay City.
Released : 10th-Sep-1975

The F.B.I.

Sam Kehoe - The F.B.I. is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from 1965 to 1974. It was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, and the characters almost always drove Ford vehicles in the series. Alcoa was co-sponsor of Season One only.
Released : 19th-Sep-1965

Baywatch Nights

Murray - Baywatch Nights is an American police and science fiction drama series that aired in syndication from 1995 to 1997. Created by Douglas Schwartz, David Hasselhoff, and Gregory J. Bonann, the series is a spin-off from the popular television series, Baywatch.
Released : 30th-Sep-1995

Knight Rider

D.G. Grebs - Michael Long, an undercover police officer, is shot while investigating a case and left for dead by his assailants. He is rescued by Wilton Knight, a wealthy, dying millionaire and inventor who arranges life-saving surgery, including a new face and a new identity--that of Michael Knight. Michael is then given a special computerized and indestructible car called the Knight Industries Two Thousand (nicknamed KITT), and a mission: apprehend criminals who are beyond the reach of the law. The series depicts Michael's exploits as he and KITT battle the forces of evil on behalf of the Foundation for Law and Government.
Released : 26th-Sep-1982

Quincy, M.E.

- Los Angeles County medical examiner Quincy routinely engages in police investigations.
Released : 3rd-Oct-1976

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Hood - 20th-century astronaut Buck Rogers awakens in the 25th century after a freak accident puts him in suspended animation for 500 years. Upon returning to Earth and discovering the planet is recovering from a nuclear war, Buck uses his combat skills and ingenuity to protect Earth and fight evil throughout the galaxy alongside starfighter pilot Colonel Wilma Deering and robot companion Twiki.
Released : 20th-Sep-1979

The Streets of San Francisco

- Two police officers, the older Lt. Stone and the young upstart Inspector Keller, investigate murders and other serious crimes in San Francisco. Stone would become a second father to Keller as he learned the rigors and procedures of detective work.
Released : 23rd-Sep-1972

Hawkins

Andy Tyler - Hawkins is a television series which aired for one season on CBS between 1973 and 1974. The mystery, created by Robert Hamner and David Karp, starred James Stewart as rural-bred lawyer Billy Jim Hawkins, who investigated the cases he was involved in, similarly to Stewart's earlier smash hit movie Anatomy of a Murder. Despite being critically well received and winning a Golden Globe Award, the series was cancelled after one season consisting of seven 90-minute episodes. Stewart requested the cancellation since he believed that the quality of scripts and directors in television could not continuously measure up to the level to which he was accustomed with theatrical films. Seen as part of The New CBS Tuesday Night Movies, it alternated with the TV movie adaptations of Shaft. Contemporary analysts suggested that since the two shows appealed to vastly different audience bases, alternating them only served to confuse fans of both series, giving neither one the time to build up a large viewership.
Released : 13th-Mar-1973

Naked City

Mark Andrew - Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”.
Released : 30th-Sep-1958

Knots Landing

Lieutenant Gilbert Garcia - The domestic adventures, misdeeds and everyday interactions of five families living on a cul-de-sac in a small California community.
Released : 27th-Dec-1979

Kojak

Det. Geno Alessi - A bald, lollipop sucking police detective with a fiery righteous attitude battles crime in New York City.
Released : 24th-Oct-1973

Silk Stalkings

- Silk Stalkings is a crime drama television series. The series portrays the daily lives of two detectives who solve sexually-based crimes of passion among the ultra-rich of Palm Beach, Florida.
Released : 7th-Nov-1991

Hart to Hart

- Wealthy couple Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a self-made millionaire and his journalist wife, moonlight as amateur detectives.
Released : 22nd-Sep-1979

Gunsmoke

Ivers - Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
Released : 10th-Sep-1955

Wonder Woman

George - With the strength of Hercules, the wisdom of Athena, the speed of Mercury and the beauty of Aphrodite, she’s Wonder Woman. Beautiful Amazon princess Wonder Woman travels to 1940s America disguised as Diana Prince, assistant to handsome but trouble-prone Major Steve Trevor. Using her golden belt, which imbues her with astonishing strength, her bullet-deflecting bracelets, a golden lasso that dispels dishonesty and an invisible supersonic plane, Wonder Woman combats evil.
Released : 7th-Nov-1975

Cannon

- Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976. The primary protagonist is the title character, private detective Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad. He also appeared on two episodes of Barnaby Jones. Cannon is the first Quinn Martin-produced series to be aired on a network other than ABC. A "revival" television film, The Return of Frank Cannon, was aired on November 1, 1980. In total, there were 124 episodes.
Released : 14th-Sep-1971

Another World

- Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC for 35 years from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. Set in the fictional town of Bay City, the show in its early years opens with announcer Bill Wolff intoning its epigram, “We do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand other worlds,” which Phillips said represented the difference between “the world of events we live in, and the world of feelings and dreams that we strive for.” Another World focused less on the conventional drama of domestic life as seen in other soap operas, and more on exotic melodrama between families of different classes and philosophies.
Released : 4th-May-1964

The Hogan Family

- The Hogan Family is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from March 1, 1986 to May 7, 1990, and on CBS from September 15, 1990 until July 20, 1991. It was produced by Miller-Boyett Productions, along with Tal Productions, Inc., and in association with Lorimar Productions, Lorimar-Telepictures and Lorimar Television. The show was originally titled Valerie and starred Valerie Harper as a mother trying to juggle her career with raising her three sons by her often-absent airline-pilot husband. Harper was written out of the series after the second season because of a dispute with the show's producers. Sandy Duncan joined the cast as the boys' aunt, who moved in and became their surrogate mom. During the show's third season, the series was known as Valerie's Family: The Hogans, then simply as The Hogan Family.
Released : 1st-Mar-1986

The Fall Guy

- Hollywood stuntman Colt Seavers picks up some extra pocket money by using his rough-and-tumble skills to track and capture bail jumpers.
Released : 4th-Nov-1981

Vega$

- Vega$ is an American detective television drama series that aired on ABC between 1978 and 1981. It was produced by Aaron Spelling. The series was filmed in its entirety in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is believed to be the first television series produced entirely in Las Vegas. The show stars Robert Urich as private detective Dan Tanna, who drove around the streets of Las Vegas in a red 1957 Ford Thunderbird solving crimes and making Las Vegas a better place for residents and tourists alike.
Released : 20th-Sep-1978

Police Story

- Police Story is an anthology television crime drama. The show was the brainchild of author and former policeman Joseph Wambaugh and represented a major step forward in the realistic depiction of police work and violence on network TV. Although it was an anthology, there were certain things that all episodes had in common; for instance, the main character in each episode was a police officer. The setting was always Los Angeles and the characters always worked for some branch of the LAPD. Notwithstanding the anthology format, there were recurring characters. Scott Brady appeared in more than a dozen episodes as "Vinnie," a former cop who, upon retirement, had opened a bar catering to police officers, and who acted as a sort of Greek chorus during the run of the series, commenting on the characters and plots.
Released : 20th-Mar-1973

S.W.A.T.

- S.W.A.T. is an American action/crime drama series about the adventures of a Special Weapons And Tactics team operating in an unidentified California city. A spin-off of The Rookies, the series aired on ABC from February 1975 to April 1976. Like The Rookies, S.W.A.T. was produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg.
Released : 24th-Feb-1975

Sword of Justice

- Sword Of Justice is an American action-adventure television series that aired on NBC for one season during 1978 and 1979. The series was considered a mix of The Saint, It Takes a Thief, and The Rockford Files.
Released : 10th-Sep-1978

City of Angels

- City of Angels is a 1976 television series created by Stephen J. Cannell and Roy Huggins, who had previously worked together on The Rockford Files. American mystery novelist Max Allan Collins has called City of Angels "the best private eye series ever."
Released : 3rd-Feb-1976

Here's Boomer

- Here's Boomer is an American adventure/drama series produced by Paramount that premiered on the NBC network on March 14, 1980. A television movie called A Christmas for Boomer aired on December 6, 1979 and served as the pilot. The show follows the adventures of the titular stray dog, "Boomer" and ran for two seasons, ending its run in August 1982, with the final original episode, "Flatfoots," airing on July 3 of that year.
Released : 14th-Mar-1980

Matt Houston

- Matt Houston is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1985. Created by Lawrence Gordon, the series was produced by Aaron Spelling.
Released : 26th-Sep-1982

Dark Justice

- Dark Justice is an American crime drama about a judge that turns into a vigilante by night in order to bring to justice high-level offenders that use technicalities to "escape" the legal system. The role of Judge Nicholas Marshall was played by actors Ramy Zada and Bruce Abbott. The series began airing in 1991 and ran for three seasons finishing in 1993.
Released : 5th-Apr-1991

Good Heavens

- Good Heavens was an ABC comedy anthology series produced by Columbia Pictures Television that aired between February 29 to June 26, 1976. It ranked #17 in the Nielsen ratings during the 1975-76 television season. The main character was Mr. Angel, who was an Emissary of Heaven that came down to Earth to grant wishes to those who had performed a good deed. Episodes featured actors such as Don Ameche, Susan Dey, Sandy Duncan, Pat Harrington Jr., Florence Henderson, Alex Karras, Penny Marshall, Hugh O'Brian, Loretta Swit, Brenda Vaccaro, and Fred Willard.
Released : 29th-Feb-1976

The Rifleman

- The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black-and-white, half-hour episodes. "The Rifleman" aired on ABC from September 30, 1958 to April 8, 1963 as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first prime time series to have a widowed parent raise a child.
Released : 30th-Sep-1958

Spencer's Pilots

- Spencer's Pilots is an American adventure series that aired on CBS from September 17 to November 19, 1976. The series stars Gene Evans as Spencer Parish, the owner of Spencer Aviation.
Released : 17th-Sep-1976