Jimmy Hawkins

Infobox person

|right|thumb|200px|Actor and businessman Jimmy Hawkins
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name = James F. "Jimmy" Hawkins
imagesize =
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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; Producer

James F. Hawkins, known as Jimmy Hawkins and, later, Jim Hawkins (born November 13, 1941), is an American actor and film producer whose career began as a child actor to such Hollywood stars as Lana Turner, Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Stewart, and Donna 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 several television 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" and Lana Turner’s "Marriage Is A Private Affair" at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. His mother was the force behind his early childhood acting. He graduated from the Roman 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", starring Jimmy 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 her sitcom, having portrayed Scotty, a persistent and loyal boyfriend of Donna’s television daughter Mary Stone, played by Shelley Fabares. He became personally close to Fabares and Paul 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 of cancer: "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 in theatre arts are taught by professionals from Hollywood and New 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 at Old Tucson Studios in Tucson, 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 with Elvis Presley.

From 1954-1957, he played Tagg Oakley, a brother of Annie Oakley in the ABC Western of the same name, a Gene Autry production. His costars were Gail Davis as Annie and Brad Johnson as Deputy Lofty Craig. Hawkins starred in all eighty episodes of the series, now available on DVD 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 and Edgar 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" with Jerry Mathers, "My Three Sons" with Fred MacMurray, "Bachelor Father" with John Forsythe and Noreen Corcoran, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", and "The Fugitive" with David Janssen. [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0370151/ Jimmy Hawkins ] ] His last role on television was on November 1, 1974, as Father James Jay Remy on NBC’s "" starring Darren 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 latemotorcycle daredevil, and "Don’t Look Back: The Life of Satchel Paige" (1981), starring Lou Gossett, Jr., as the legendary African American baseball pitcher Leroy “Satchel” Paige. He also produced Gary 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 a Walt Disney film, "Love Leads the Way", based on the first seeing-eye dog trained in Morristown, New Jersey. He produced an updated version of The Little Rascals for the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 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-day United 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 into public domain. Somebody at the studio let the copyright 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 and author 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 the Santa 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