- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJames Earl Gilstrap
- James Gilstrap was born on November 10, 1946 in Daingerfield, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), Faster (2010) and Wag the Dog (1997). He was married to Gloria Gilstrap. He died on July 18, 2026.
- SpouseGloria Gilstrap(? - July 18, 2026) (his death, 2 children)
- ChildrenChild
- RelativesGeoffrey Gilstrap(Niece or Nephew)Grandchild(Grandchild)Sibling(Sibling)
- Gilstrap also recorded two albums of his own during the 1970s. The first, titled Swing Your Daddy, contained three more singles in "I'm on Fire" (covering 5000 Volts; it made number 78 in the U.S.), "House of Strangers" and "Put Out the Fire". The second album, Love Talk (1977), was not as successful.
- He worked extensively with producer and arranger George Duke and vocal groups including The Jacksons, The Brothers Johnson, The Blackbyrds, and Hiroshima, and lent his voice to film and television scores including King Kong, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and The Matrix Revolutions.
- According to his family, Jim Gilstrap was the last surviving member of a family of ten siblings.
- Gilstrap also performed with the group Side Effect on Bell Records and later joined Tour De 4force, a collaboration with Joyce Vincent Wilson, Pam Vincent, Theresa Davis, and Scherrie Payne of The Supremes.
- Best known for his powerful tenor, he notably sang the opening two lines of Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and the familiar theme song for the hit TV sitcom Good Times.
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