- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMaurice William Elias
- Nickname
- Jim
- Born Maurice William Elias in Los Angeles, James Stacy is the son of a Lebanese immigrant father and an American-born mother of Irish-Scottish descent. As a teen, Stacy first aspired to play professional football but settled on a career in the movies after a friend coaxed him into taking some acting classes.
Adopting the screen name James Stacy after his cousin Stacy and one of his movie idols, James Dean, he made his film debut in an uncredited role as a reporter in Sayonara (1957), starring Marlon Brando. Garnering little work or recognition in film, he turned to TV. Although he made notable appearances on The Donna Reed Show (1958) and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952), it wasn't until 1968 that he gained his first big break, playing a young gunfighter on the TV series, Lancer (1968).
Although the show was canceled in 1970, Stacy continued to land smaller roles on TV. In 1973, he lost his left arm and left leg in a serious motorcycle accident that claimed the life of his girlfriend. The resultant medical bills wiped out his savings, but his ex-wives and his Hollywood friends rallied round and threw a benefit for him. Two years later, he made his professional comeback as a newspaper editor in the Western film, Posse (1975), in a role created expressly for him by the film's director, Kirk Douglas. Stacy was nominated twice for an Emmy: for Just a Little Inconvenience (1977) in 1977 and Cagney & Lacey (1981) in 1986. He retired in 1991.
Stacy's personal life was turbulent. Twice-divorced, he was briefly married to actress and singer Connie Stevens (1963-66) and, even more briefly, to actress Kim Darby (1968-69), with whom he had a daughter, Heather Elias.
Stacy is portrayed by Timothy Olyphant in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019).
- IMDb mini biography by: Kat Parsons/Robert Sieger
- SpousesKim Darby(March 20, 1968 - June 26, 1969) (divorced, 1 child)Connie Stevens(October 12, 1963 - November 2, 1966) (divorced)
- Children
- RelativesCarolyn Elias(Sibling)Louie Elias(Sibling)J. Brennan Smith(Aunt or Uncle)
- An avid skier before his accident, he continued to ski after his amputation, providing the basis for one of his roles, in Just a Little Inconvenience (1977).
- In November 1995, after pleading no contest to a charge of molesting an 11-year-old-girl, Stacy checked into a Ventura County rehab facility from which he was soon expelled for unruly behavior. He then flew to Honolulu, where he attempted suicide by drinking a pint of whiskey and leaping off a 1,200-foot (370 m) cliff. A ledge 45 feet (14 m) below broke his fall. He was arrested for failing to appear at his December 7th sentencing hearing at Ventura County Superior Court. On March 5, 1996, he received a six-year prison sentence, which he served in full at the California Institution for Men at Chino. Had been arrested twice in June 1995 for prowling at the homes of underage girls.
- Father, with Kim Darby, of daughter Heather Elias.
- Stacy was born on December 23, 1936 to Louis Nicholson Elias and his wife, Lois Marie Naylor Dugan. His father had immigrated to the US from Canada as an infant with his Lebanese parents. Louis Elias worked as a bookmaker and Lois Elias was a waitress. Stacy had five siblings and was the middle brother of Louie Elias and Carolyn Elias.
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