James Luisi

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.

Known For: Acting

Born: New York City, New York, USA, 1928-11-11

Died: 2002-06-07

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1971	Cat Ballou	Spider Levinsky	0
2	1972	Ben	Ed	60
3	1973	I Escaped from Devil's Island	Dazzas	46
4	1973	Cry Rape	Det. Kroger	67
5	1974	The Man from Independence	Stranger	0
6	1974	Honky Tonk	Blackie	0
7	1974	The Take	Benedetto	63
8	1975	First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington	George Washington	0
9	1976	Future Cop	Paterno	50
10	1977	Stunts	Alvin Blake	51
11	1977	Contract on Cherry Street	Al Palmini / Arnold Palmer	63
12	1978	A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story	Lazzeri	90
13	1978	Killer's Delight	Sgt. Vince De Carlo	43
14	1978	Love Is Not Enough	Harry Foreman	0
15	1978	One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story	Jimmy Karalla	55
16	1978	Moment by Moment	Dan Santini	33
17	1979	Norma Rae	George Benson	72
18	1980	Fade to Black	Capt. M.L. Gallagher	55
19	1981	Our Family Business	Frank	0
20	1982	The Renegades	Lt. Joe Marciano	64
21	1983	Sunset Limousine	Angel	40
22	1983	Star 80	Roy	64
23	1984	The Red-Light Sting	Renny Lucas	25
24	1986	Murphy's Law	Ed Reineke	60
25	1987	The Hidden	Ferrari Salesman	69
26	1988	Feds	Sperry	58
27	1989	Lethal Woman	Colonel Jerry Maxim	28
28	1996	The Rockford Files: If the Frame Fits...	Capt. Doug Chapman	70
29	1996	The Rockford Files: Friends and Foul Play	Capt. Doug Chapman	65

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1955	Gunsmoke	Ivers	66
2	1958	Naked City	Mark Andrew	55
3	1958	The Rifleman		70
4	1964	Another World		56
5	1965	The F.B.I.	Sam Kehoe	55
6	1965	The F.B.I.	Little Julio	55
7	1967	Ironside	Mike Purcell	68
8	1968	Adam-12	Antonio Minetti	70
9	1971	Cannon		65
10	1972	The Rookies		68
11	1972	Ghost Story	Rick	71
12	1972	The Streets of San Francisco		69
13	1973	Barnaby Jones	Nick Gorman	69
14	1973	Barnaby Jones	Burt Logan	69
15	1973	Hawkins	Andy Tyler	72
16	1973	Police Story		69
17	1973	Kojak	Det. Geno Alessi	70
18	1973	Kojak	Capt. Henry 'Hank' Rosseau	70
19	1974	The Rockford Files	Lt. Doug Chapman	75
20	1974	The Rockford Files	Burt Stryker	75
21	1975	S.W.A.T.		70
22	1975	Starsky & Hutch		73
23	1975	Wonder Woman	George	70
24	1976	City of Angels		60
25	1976	Good Heavens		55
26	1976	Spencer's Pilots		50
27	1976	Quincy, M.E.		75
28	1977	Hunter		80
29	1977	CHiPs		68
30	1978	The Eddie Capra Mysteries		50
31	1978	Sword of Justice		55
32	1978	Vega$		70
33	1979	Harris and Company		0
34	1979	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century	Hood	70
35	1979	Hart to Hart		68
36	1979	Knots Landing	Lieutenant Gilbert Garcia	69
37	1980	Here's Boomer		53
38	1980	Magnum, P.I.		73
39	1981	The Fall Guy		76
40	1982	T. J. Hooker	George Laszlo	64
41	1982	T. J. Hooker	Vincent Hazzard	64
42	1982	Knight Rider	D.G. Grebs	76
43	1982	Matt Houston		62
44	1983	The A-Team	Jimmy Durkee	75
45	1983	The Renegades	Lt. Marciano	50
46	1984	Finder of Lost Loves	Jordan Hollis	57
47	1984	Partners in Crime		62
48	1985	Hell Town		50
49	1986	The Hogan Family		68
50	1986	L.A. Law	Paul Viola	71
51	1991	Dark Justice		68
52	1991	Silk Stalkings		62
53	1995	Baywatch Nights	Murray	61

James Luisi

Film

Television