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.
79 acting credits
Acting · 79
The A-Team
1983
Ironside
1967
Magnum, P.I.
1980
Knots Landing
1979
The Rifleman
1958
Knight Rider
1982
Adam-12
1968
L.A. Law
1986
The Rockford Files
1974
Quincy, M.E.
1976
T. J. Hooker
1982
Naked City
1958
The F.B.I.
1965
Hart to Hart
1979
Fantasy Island
1978
Starsky & Hutch
1975
Barnaby Jones
1973
Cannon
1971
The Rookies
1972
The Fall Guy
1981
Kojak
1973
CHiPs
1977
Silk Stalkings
1991
Gunsmoke
1955
The Streets of San Francisco
1972
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
1979
Matt Houston
1982
Vega$
1978
Baywatch Nights
1995
Wonder Woman
1975
Police Story
1973
The Hogan Family
1986
Ghost Story
1972
Dark Justice
1991
Finder of Lost Loves
1984
S.W.A.T.
1975
Hawkins
1973
Hunter
1977
City of Angels
1976
Another World
1964
Partners in Crime
1984
Sword of Justice
1978
Good Heavens
1976
Here's Boomer
1981
Spencer's Pilots
1976
The Hidden
1987
Hell Town
1985
The Eddie Capra Mysteries
1978
The Renegades
1983
Ben
1972
Norma Rae
1979
Star 80
1983
Murphy's Law
1986
A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story
1978
Stunts
1977
Feds!
1988
Fade to Black
1980
The Rockford Files: Friends and Foul Play
1996
Lethal Woman
1989
Future Cop
1976
Honky Tonk
1974
Harris and Company
1979
Cry Rape
1973
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
1978
I Escaped from Devil's Island
1973
Sunset Limousine
1983
The Renegades
1982
Moment by Moment
1978
Love Is Not Enough
1978
First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington
1975
The Man from Independence
1974
Our Family Business
1981
The Rockford Files: If the Frame Fits...
1996
Contract on Cherry Street
1977
Cat Ballou
1971
The Red-Light Sting
1984
Killer's Delight
1978
The Take
1974
The Asphalt Cowboy
1980