- Jimmy Hawkins
Infobox person
|right|thumb|200px|Actor and businessman Jimmy Hawkins
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name = James F. "Jimmy" Hawkins
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birthname = James F. Hawkins
birth_date = Birth date and age|1941|11|13
birth_place = flagicon|USA Los Angeles,California , USA
deathdate =
deathplace =
spouse =Lara Parker
children= Caitlin Elizabeth Hawkins
Two stepsons
Rick and Andy Parker
occupation =Actor ; ProducerJames F. Hawkins, known as Jimmy Hawkins and, later, Jim Hawkins (born
November 13 ,1941 ), is an Americanactor andfilm producer whose career began as achild actor to such Hollywood stars asLana Turner ,Spencer Tracy ,Jimmy Stewart , andDonna Reed . His acting career spans the time frame from 1943-1974, after which he devoted his energies to the production of films and later to his building contracting business. Hawkins had starring roles in severaltelevision series : "The Ruggles " (1949-1952), "Annie Oakley" (1954-1957), "The Donna Reed Show " (1958-1966), all on ABC, and "Petticoat Junction " (CBS , the first four seasons, 1963-1967). He also had a recurring role as a friend of the Nelson brothers on ABC’s "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet " and guest starred in many other programs during his childhood and young adult years.Hawkins was born in Los Angeles to Thomas J. Hawkins (1913-1993) [ [http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi Social Security Death Index Interactive Search ] ] and Bette C. Hawkins (born ca. 1916). His first roles -- as a two-year-old -- were uncredited –
Spencer Tracy ’s "The Seventh Cross " andLana Turner ’s "Marriage Is A Private Affair " atMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. His mother was the force behind his early childhood acting. He graduated from theRoman Catholic -affiliated Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. [http://home.earthlink.net/~xka/mgm.htm index2 ] ]Hawkins and Donna Reed
Hawkins starred in December 1946 as four-year-old Tommy Bailey, the son of George and Mary Bailey, in the nostalgic blockbuster "
It’s a Wonderful Life ", starringJimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, an actress for whom young Hawkins developed a lifelong admiration. [ [http://www.bullz-eye.com/movies/interviews/2006/jimmy_hawkins.htm Jimmy Hawkins interview ] ] In 1958, he worked again with Reed in hersitcom , having portrayed Scotty, a persistent and loyal boyfriend of Donna’s television daughter Mary Stone, played byShelley Fabares . He became personally close to Fabares andPaul Petersen , who played Reed’s son, Jeff Stone, on the series.Hawkins recalls having visited Reed for the last time at
Christmas 1985, just days before her death ofcancer : "I really loved that woman . . . [There is a scene in "It’s A Wonderful Life"] where she touched my cheek. Well, flashback to the eighties, Donna was really ill, it was around Christmas time, and I went to visit her at her home, I brought her an "It's A Wonderful Life" Christmas ornament for her tree. She asked me to put it on her tree, and we visited, but it was hard for her to expend any energy; so I wished her a Merry Christmas and told her I had to go, and then she reached her hand up to touch my cheek just like she did when I was in that scene with her when she drew me in, and in just two weeks, she died." [ [http://www.monstersandcritics.com/dvd/features/article_1379976.php 'Wonderful Life's' star and author Jimmy Hawkins wishes all to remember 'no man is a failure who has friends' ] ]Hawkins is a mainstay of the Donna Reed Foundation. Each June, he, Shelley Fabares, and Paul Petersen travel to
Denison, Iowa (Reed’s hometown), for an annual celebration. During the week, classes intheatre arts are taught by professionals from Hollywood andNew York City . [ [http://www.donnareed.org/html/templates/dr_profile.php?drf_person=hawkins Jimmy Hawkins ] ]Hawkins and Jimmy Stewart
Hawkins was also close to "It's a Wonderful Life" star Jimmy Stewart, who signed for various charities six copies of a commemorative 50th anniversary book on the classic film. Hawkins picked up the books at Stewart's Beverly Hills home on
July 2 ,1997 , the day after Stewart's death at the age of eighty-nine. [http://www.classicmovies.org/articles/aa072797.htm Interview with Friends of Jimmy Stewart ] ]Hawkins also worked with Stewart agaain in the 1950 film "
Winchester '73 ", which was partially filmed atOld Tucson Studios inTucson, Arizona . And Stewart wrote the foreword to Hawkins' previous "It's a Wonderful Life Trivia Book". Hawkins said that Stewart's willingness to sign the books showed that the veteran star was "giving to the end."Hawkins added that Stewart's public image as a friendly, caring man was indeed an accurate characterization: "He was just as people thought he was. He was a gentleman. He was a gentle man."
Other acting roles
From 1949-1952, Hawkins was cast as young Donald Ruggles in the early ABC sitcom, "The Ruggles", an old program that many viewers do not recall.Hawkins’ other film roles included "Caught" (
February 17 ,1949 ), "Love That Brute" (May 26 ,1950 ), "The Blue Veil " (October 26 ,1951 ), and "Girl Happy " (April 7 ,1965 ) and "Spinout " (October 17 ,1966 ), both withElvis Presley .From 1954-1957, he played Tagg Oakley, a brother of
Annie Oakley in the ABC Western of the same name, aGene Autry production. His costars wereGail Davis as Annie and Brad Johnson asDeputy Lofty Craig. Hawkins starred in all eighty episodes of the series, now available onDVD and a favorite of western television buffs. In the series, Hawkins rode a Pinto pony called Pixie.From 1963-1967, Hawkins was Orville Miggs in the first four seasons of "Petticoat Junction", starring
Bea Benaderet andEdgar Buchanan .Jimmy starred in various TV Pilots and won the coveted role as "ANDY HARDY" in the MGM/NBC Pilot.He went on to star in the MGM/NBC Pilot "See Here, PRIVATE HARGROVE" both based on hit MGM Motion Pictures.Hawkins guest starred in many series, particularly comedies, including "Margie" with
Cynthia Pepper , "Leave It to Beaver " withJerry Mathers , "My Three Sons " withFred MacMurray , "Bachelor Father" withJohn Forsythe andNoreen Corcoran , "Alfred Hitchcock Presents ", and "The Fugitive" withDavid Janssen . [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0370151/ Jimmy Hawkins ] ] His last role on television was onNovember 1 ,1974 , as Father James Jay Remy onNBC ’s "" starringDarren McGavin . [ [http://www.tv.com/jimmy-hawkins/person/31865/summary.html Jimmy Hawkins - TV.com ] ]Producing films
After his acting career, Hawkins produced films, a number for ABC Theatre Productions, including "Evel Knievel", based on the late
motorcycle daredevil, and "Don’t Look Back: The Life of Satchel Paige" (1981), starringLou Gossett, Jr. , as the legendaryAfrican American baseball pitcher Leroy “Satchel” Paige. He also producedGary Coleman in "Scout’s Honor", the idea he developed from a 1952 film "Mister Scoutmaster" in which Hawkins, as an eleven-year-old, had starred. He produced aWalt Disney film, "Love Leads the Way", based on the firstseeing-eye dog trained inMorristown, New Jersey . He produced an updated version ofThe Little Rascals for the fiftieth anniversary of theApollo Theater in Harlem,New York City .In 1961, Hawkins was voted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In the fall of 1968, Hawkins entertained American troops in
South Vietnam in a 22-dayUnited Service Organization tour. [ [http://www.nndb.com/people/047/000162558/ Jimmy Hawkins ] ]It’s still a wonderful life
At Christmas 1997, Hawkins produced a holiday special for the
Public Broadcasting Service . During the late 1990s as ‘’It’s a Wonderful Life’’ enjoyed a revival of interest nationally, Hawkins and Paul Peterson wrote the ‘’It’s A Wonderful Life Trivia Book’’. Hawkins explains the durability of ‘’It’s A Wonderful Life’’:“Well, the reason it caught on was that the film fell intopublic domain . Somebody at the studio let thecopyright go, and television stations all over the country could pick it up and show it for free. They took full advantage of that. It kind of caught on with people . . . More and more stations picked up on it. It was shown hundreds and hundreds of times at stations all across the country. I remember back in the early 1990s it was played fourteen times in Los Angeles between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Fourteen times!” [ [http://www.movieweb.com/dvd/news/98/24998.php EXCLUSIVE: Jimmy Hawkins Goes Back to It's a Wonderful Life ] ]Recent activities
Hawkins is married to
actress andauthor Lara Parker (born 1940) and is the father of one daughter, Caitlin Elizabeth Hawkins (born 1985), a student of documentary filmmaking. Lara has two sons by a previous marriage. Rick Parker is a record producer, and Andy Parker, like his stepfather, is in home building. In recent years, Hawkins has concentrated on his construction business, having designed and built his family home in theSanta Monica Mountains in Los Angeles. [ [http://www.laraparker.com/biography.html Lara Parker.com: Lara's Biography ] ]Hawkins still finds time to promote his show business interests, particularly "It's A Wonderful Life". He has written five popular-selling books on the classic film.
References
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