Biography

Jim was born in a tiny paper-mill town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia to hard working lower-middle-class Scot-Irish parents . As a kid, Jim spent all his free time experiencing the great outdoors swimming, fishing, shooting and avoiding the local bullies. Schoolwork came easy, but boredom prevailed and he graduated in the second fifth, of his class of 235 students.

After military duty during Vietnam, and years spent as a journeyman electrician, Jim's entertainment career began in modeling. At 6'2" and a rugged 195 pounds, he landed lots of lifestyle, magazine and brochure work. Two years into modeling, at the age of 38, he asked his talent agent to send him on film and TV auditions. The bookings came slow at first but gained momentum as the years went by.

Never having studied drama until the age of 39, Jim completed dozens of acting workshops and seminars hosted by the top casting directors in Florida and some of the great CSA pros in California. At the age of 50, Jim completed his Associates degree in Humanities, with a minor in Drama from the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Ca.

I suppose that his 'big role' would be as a bartender in the 1985 Miami Vice episode entitled "Buddies", because it was his first SAG job, and the show was riding at number one nationally; thank-you Dee Miller!

Married to the same great lady since 1968, Jim's four kids all now have families of their own; only one potential actor in the bunch!
- IMDb mini biography by: Jim McDonald - now retired!