Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsPrimetime EmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalFall TV GuideMost Anticipated This MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayTrending peopleCelebrity news
    IMDb LabsHelp centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

James V. Kern(1909-1966)

  • Director
  • Writer
  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
A former attorney and professional singer, James V. Kern started out as a screenwriter and eventually turned to directing. His directorial output consisted of mostly routine "B" pictures, but he found his niche in television, where he directed hundreds of series episodes; he was one of the house directors on I Love Lucy (1951) and My Three Sons (1960).
BornSeptember 22, 1909
DiedNovember 9, 1966(57)
BornSeptember 22, 1909
DiedNovember 9, 1966(57)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels
  • Awards
    • 1 nomination total

Photos9

View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
+ 3
View Poster

Known for

Jack Benny, Dolores Moran, and Alexis Smith in The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945)
The Horn Blows at Midnight
6.6
  • Writer
  • 1945
Lum and Abner Abroad (1956)
Lum and Abner Abroad
7.0
  • Director
  • 1956
Errol Flynn, Patti Brady, Eleanor Parker, S.Z. Sakall, and Lucile Watson in Never Say Goodbye (1946)
Never Say Goodbye
6.8
  • Director
  • 1946
Eve Arden, Jack Carson, Irene Manning, Charles Ruggles, Ann Sheridan, Alexis Smith, and Jane Wyman in The Doughgirls (1944)
The Doughgirls
6.2
  • Director
  • 1944

Credits

IMDbPro

Director

  • A Classic TV Christmas with Bing Crosby and Betty White (1968)
    A Classic TV Christmas with Bing Crosby and Betty White
    7.1
    • Director
    • 1968
  • William Demarest, Don Grady, Barry Livingston, Stanley Livingston, and Fred MacMurray in My Three Sons (1960)
    My Three Sons
    7.1
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1964–1967
  • My Favorite Martian (1963)
    My Favorite Martian
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1965
  • Valentine's Day (1964)
    Valentine's Day
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1965
  • Joey Bishop in The Joey Bishop Show (1961)
    The Joey Bishop Show
    6.6
    TV Series
    • Director
    • directed by
    • 1962–1964
  • Harry Morgan and Cara Williams in Pete and Gladys (1960)
    Pete and Gladys
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1961–1962
  • Ann Sothern in The Ann Sothern Show (1958)
    The Ann Sothern Show
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1959–1961
  • Jack Benny in The Jack Benny Program (1950)
    The Jack Benny Program
    8.5
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1954–1961
  • What About the '61 Chevy's?
    Short
    • Director
    • 1960
  • James Garner and Jack Kelly in Maverick (1957)
    Maverick
    8.0
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1958–1960
  • Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan in The Real McCoys (1957)
    The Real McCoys
    7.6
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1960
  • Edd Byrnes, Roger Smith, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in 77 Sunset Strip (1958)
    77 Sunset Strip
    7.7
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1958–1960
  • New Comedy Showcase
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1960
  • The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna (1956)
    The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1959–1960
  • Andrew Duggan, Arlene Howell, Richard Long, and Van Williams in Bourbon Street Beat (1959)
    Bourbon Street Beat
    7.8
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1959–1960

Writer

  • Lum and Abner Abroad (1956)
    Lum and Abner Abroad
    7.0
    • stories
    • 1956
  • Ronald Reagan in General Electric Theater (1953)
    General Electric Theater
    6.8
    TV Series
    • teleplay
    • 1953
  • The Gulf Playhouse (1952)
    The Gulf Playhouse
    3.6
    TV Series
    • writer
    • 1952
  • Errol Flynn, Patti Brady, Eleanor Parker, S.Z. Sakall, and Lucile Watson in Never Say Goodbye (1946)
    Never Say Goodbye
    6.8
    • screen play by
    • 1946
  • Dane Clark, Janis Paige, and Zachary Scott in Her Kind of Man (1946)
    Her Kind of Man
    6.1
    • original story
    • 1946
  • Jack Benny, Dolores Moran, and Alexis Smith in The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945)
    The Horn Blows at Midnight
    6.6
    • screen play
    • 1945
  • Eve Arden, Jack Carson, Irene Manning, Charles Ruggles, Ann Sheridan, Alexis Smith, and Jane Wyman in The Doughgirls (1944)
    The Doughgirls
    6.2
    • adaptation
    • 1944
  • Ann Sheridan in Shine on Harvest Moon (1944)
    Shine on Harvest Moon
    6.3
    • screen play by (as James Kern)
    • 1944
  • Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, John Garfield, Jack Carson, Eddie Cantor, Joan Leslie, Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan, Ann Sheridan, Dinah Shore, and Alexis Smith in Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
    Thank Your Lucky Stars
    6.7
    • screen play
    • 1943
  • Playmates (1941)
    Playmates
    5.5
    • screen play
    • story
    • 1941
  • Lucille Ball, Edgar Bergen, Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, and Charlie McCarthy in Look Who's Laughing (1941)
    Look Who's Laughing
    6.1
    • story and screen play by
    • 1941
  • Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Kay Kyser, and Ginny Simms in You'll Find Out (1940)
    You'll Find Out
    6.1
    • screen play
    • story
    • 1940
  • Bing Crosby, El Brendel, and Gloria Jean in If I Had My Way (1940)
    If I Had My Way
    6.0
    • Writer
    • 1940
  • Lucille Ball, Edward Everett Horton, Kay Kyser, and Adolphe Menjou in That's Right - You're Wrong (1939)
    That's Right - You're Wrong
    6.0
    • screen play
    • 1939

Actor

  • Jack Benny, Richard Arlen, Ben Blue, Judy Canova, George Kelly, James V. Kern, Ida Lupino, Billy Mann, Gail Patrick, Martha Raye, The Yacht Club Boys, and Charles Adler in Artist and Models (1937)
    Artists and Models Abroad
    5.7
    • Member - The Yacht Club Boys (uncredited)
    • 1938
  • Harriet Nelson and Fred MacMurray in Cocoanut Grove (1938)
    Cocoanut Grove
    6.4
    • Member Yacht Club Boys (uncredited)
    • 1938
  • Ben Blue, Judy Canova, and Eleanore Whitney in Thrill of a Lifetime (1937)
    Thrill of a Lifetime
    5.5
    • Jimmie (as The Yacht Club Boys)
    • 1937
  • Jack Benny and Ida Lupino in Artist and Models (1937)
    Artist and Models
    6.0
    • Yacht Club Boys Member (as Yacht Club Boys)
    • 1937
  • Dough-Nuts
    Short
    • Member - Yacht Club Boys
    • 1936
  • Joan Blondell, George Kelly, James V. Kern, Jeanne Madden, Billy Mann, Frank McHugh, Dick Powell, Warren William, The Yacht Club Boys, and Charles Adler in Stage Struck (1936)
    Stage Struck
    5.6
    • Member - The Yacht Club Boys (uncredited)
    • 1936
  • Sybil Jason, Al Jolson, and The Yacht Club Boys in The Singing Kid (1936)
    The Singing Kid
    6.1
    • Member - The Yacht Club Boys (uncredited)
    • 1936
  • George Kelly, James V. Kern, Richard Lane, Billy Mann, Gerald Oliver Smith, The Yacht Club Boys, and Charles Adler in They're Off (1936)
    They're Off
    Short
    • Yacht Club Boys Member Jimmie (as James Kern)
    • 1936
  • Thanks a Million (1935)
    Thanks a Million
    6.3
    • Member, The Yacht Club Boys (uncredited)
    • 1935
  • Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
    Short
    • Singer - Yacht Club Boys
    • 1934

Personal details

  • Alternative names
    • Yacht Club Boys
  • Born
    • September 22, 1909
    • New York City, New York, USA
  • Died
    • November 9, 1966
    • Encino, California, USA(pneumonia)
  • Other works
    Unsold pilot: Produced a pilot for a series about an orphanage called "Two Hundred Children".

Did you know

  • Trivia
    Prior to becoming a director, he was a member of a singing group called The Yacht Club Boys, and appeared in several films.
  • Nickname
    • Jimmy

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

You have no recently viewed pages
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2026 by IMDb.com, Inc.