Marlin "Jim" Davis (August 26, 1909 - April 26, 1981) was an American character actor who appeared in motion pictures from the 1940s to the 1980s.

Born Marlin Davis in Edgerton, Missouri, he is remembered in film for portaying a senator in the Warren Beatty conspiracy thriller The Parallax View.

Tragedy struck when his only child, daughter Tara Diane (1953-1970), was killed in a car crash at the age of sixteen.

After years of roles in a large number of Western films, in 1978 he was given the part of family patriarch, "Jock Ewing" in the Dallas. He died of brain cancer after three seasons. Very popular with the audience, the show's writers made the decision not to write his death into the storyline right away. Initially, plans were made to replace him with another actor, but decided that because of audience awarness, his character was kept alive for a short time with the storyline that he was in South America drilling for oil. During the first part of the 1982 season, an episode featured his death in a plane crash.

For his contribution to the television industry, Jim Davis has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6290 Hollywood Blvd.

Jim Davis is buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

External link

• Internet Movie Database filmography