Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
February 25, 1913
Place of Birth:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Social Media
Jim Backus
Biography
Jim Backus (1913–1989) was a radio, television, film, and voice actor.
Among his most famous credits are The Alan Young Radio Show, I Married Joan, Gilligan's Island, and Rebel Without a Cause. He also starred on his own show The Jim Backus Show.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Rebel Without a Cause: Defiant Innocents | Himself (uncredited) |
| 2004 | Los Angeles Plays Itself | Frank Stark in Rebel Without A Cause (archive footage) |
| 1987 | Hollywood's Hidden Secrets | Self |
| 1985 | Prince Jack | Dealy |
| 1982 | Slapstick of Another Kind | President of the U.S. |
| 1981 | The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island | Thurston Howell III |
| 1981 | Enchanted Journey | Gamba |
| 1980 | There Goes The Bride | Mr. Perkins |
| 1980 | The Gossip Columnist | Jim Backus |
| 1979 | Angels' Brigade | Cmdr. Lindsey March |
| 1979 | C.H.O.M.P.S. | Mr. Gibbs |
| 1979 | The Castaways on Gilligan's Island | Thurston Howell III |
| 1978 | Rescue from Gilligan's Island | Thurston Howell III |
| 1978 | Good Guys Wear Black | Albert, the Doorman |
| 1977 | Pete's Dragon | The Mayor |
| 1977 | Never Con a Killer | Stanley Bunch |
| 1977 | Have I Got a Christmas for You | Kevin Grady |
| 1975 | Friday Foster | Enos Griffith |
| 1975 | Crazy Mama | Mr. Albertson |
| 1975 | Cop on the Beat | Jake Mandel |
| 1974 | Goodnight Jackie | Mr. Landry |
| 1974 | Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus | Narrator / Santa Claus (voice) |
| 1973 | The Girl Most Likely To... | Prof. David Tilson |
| 1973 | Miracle on 34th Street | Shellhammer |
| 1972 | Now You See Him, Now You Don't | Timothy Forsythe |
| 1972 | Getting Away from It All | Mike Lorimar |
| 1972 | Magic Carpet | George Benson |
| 1972 | Of Thee I Sing | Senator Robert F. Lyons |
| 1971 | Mooch Goes to Hollywood | Jim Backus |
| 1970 | Uncle Sam Magoo | Mr. Magoo |
| 1970 | The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County | Staunch |
| 1970 | Myra Breckinridge | Doctor |
| 1969 | Hello Down There | T.R. Hollister |
| 1969 | Wake Me When the War Is Over | Colonel |
| 1968 | Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? | Tru-Blue Lou |
| 1967 | Hurry Sundown | Carter Sillens |
| 1967 | Don't Make Waves | Self (uncredited) |
| 1967 | Damn Yankees | Benny Van Buren |
| 1965 | Billie | Howard G. Carol |
| 1965 | John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! | Whitepaper |
| 1965 | Fluffy | Sergeant |
| 1964 | Advance to the Rear | Gen. Willoughby |
| 1964 | Mr. Magoo, Man of Mystery | Mr. Magoo |
| 1964 | Rendezvous in Space | Moon (voice) |
| 1964 | Mr. Magoo in Sherwood Forest | Mr. Magoo |
| 1963 | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World | Tyler Fitzgerald |
| 1963 | The Wheeler Dealers | Bullard Bear |
| 1963 | Johnny Cool | Louis Murphy |
| 1963 | Critic's Choice | Dr. William Von Hagedorn |
| 1963 | Operation Bikini | Bosun's Mate Ed Fennelly |
| 1963 | My Six Loves | Sheriff |
| 1963 | Sunday in New York | Chief Pilot Drysdale |
| 1963 | A Child Is Waiting | Hot Dog Vendor (uncredited) |
| 1962 | Boys' Night Out | Peter Bowers |
| 1962 | Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol | Mr. Quincy Magoo / Ebenezer Scrooge (voice) |
| 1962 | Zotz! | Horatio Kellgore |
| 1962 | The Horizontal Lieutenant | Cmdr. Jeremiah Hammerslag |
| 1962 | The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm | The King (segment "The Dancing Princess") |
| 1961 | Magoo Meets Frankenstein | Mr. Magoo |
| 1960 | Ice Palace | Dave Husack |
| 1960 | Inside Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) / Self |
| 1960 | I Was a Teenage Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1960 | Tom, Dick and Harriet | James |
| 1959 | Magoo Meets Boing Boing (The Noise-Making Boy) | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1959 | 1001 Arabian Nights | Uncle Abdul Azziz Magoo (voice) |
| 1959 | The Wild and the Innocent | Mr. Forbes |
| 1959 | The Big Operator | Cliff Heldon |
| 1959 | A Private's Affair | Jim Gordon |
| 1959 | Ask Any Girl | Mr. Maxwell |
| 1959 | A Princess for Magoo | Narrator |
| 1959 | Terror Faces Magoo | Mr. Magoo |
| 1959 | Magoo's Lodge Brother | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1959 | Bwana Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1959 | Merry Minstrel Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1959 | Magoo’s Homecoming | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1958 | Macabre | Sheriff Jim Tyloe |
| 1958 | The High Cost of Loving | Paul Mason |
| 1958 | Scoutmaster Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1958 | Magoo's Young Manhood | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1958 | Magoo’s Three-Point Landing | Mr. Magoo / Air Traffic Controller / Sully (voice) |
| 1958 | Magoo’s Cruise | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1958 | The Explosive Mr. Magoo | Mr Magoo (voice) |
| 1958 | Love Comes to Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1958 | Gumshoe Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1957 | Man of a Thousand Faces | Clarence Locan |
| 1957 | The Pied Piper of Hamelin | King's Emissary |
| 1957 | Top Secret Affair | Col. Homer W. Gooch |
| 1957 | Eighteen and Anxious | Harvey Graham |
| 1957 | Rock Hound Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1957 | Magoo's Masquerade | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1957 | Magoo's Private War | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1957 | Magoo Goes Overboard | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1957 | Matador Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1957 | Magoo Breaks Par | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1957 | Magoo's Moose Hunt | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1957 | Magoo Saves the Bank | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1956 | You Can't Run Away from It | Danker |
| 1956 | Magoo's Puddle Jumper | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1956 | Meet Me in Las Vegas | Tom Culdane |
| 1956 | The Naked Hills | Willis Haver |
| 1956 | The Girl He Left Behind | Sgt. Hanna |
| 1956 | The Great Man | Nick Cellantano |
| 1956 | The Opposite Sex | Psychiatrist |
| 1956 | Calling Doctor Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1956 | Magoo Goes West | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1956 | Magoo Beats the Heat | Mr. Magoo(voice) |
| 1956 | Trailblazer Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1956 | Magoo's Problem Child | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1956 | Meet Mother Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1956 | Magoo's Canine Mutiny | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1955 | Rebel Without a Cause | Frank Stark |
| 1955 | Francis in the Navy | Commander Hutch |
| 1955 | The Square Jungle | Pat Quaid |
| 1955 | Madcap Magoo | Mr. Magoo |
| 1955 | Magoo Express | Mr. Magoo |
| 1955 | Magoo Makes News | Mr. Magoo |
| 1954 | When Magoo Flew | Mr. Magoo/Pilot (voice) |
| 1954 | Deep in My Heart | Ben Judson |
| 1954 | Destination Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1953 | I Love Melvin | Mergo |
| 1953 | Angel Face | District Attorney Judson |
| 1953 | Above and Beyond | Gen. Curtis E. LeMay |
| 1953 | Geraldine | Jason Ambrose |
| 1952 | Don't Bother to Knock | Peter Jones |
| 1952 | Deadline - U.S.A. | Jim Cleary |
| 1952 | Here Come the Nelsons | Joe Randolph |
| 1952 | Hotsy Footsy | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1952 | Androcles and the Lion | Centurion |
| 1952 | The Rose Bowl Story | Michael "Iron Mike" Burke |
| 1952 | Pat and Mike | Charles Barry |
| 1952 | Pink and Blue Blues | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1952 | Pete Hothead | Lavery the Floorwalker/Mailman (uncredited) |
| 1951 | His Kind of Woman | Myron Winton |
| 1951 | I'll See You in My Dreams | Sam Harris |
| 1951 | Hollywood Story | Mitch Davis |
| 1951 | Plutopia | Milton the Cat |
| 1951 | Iron Man | Max Watkins |
| 1951 | The Man with a Cloak | Flaherty |
| 1951 | Half Angel | Michael Hogan |
| 1951 | I Want You | Harvey Landrum |
| 1951 | M | The Mayor |
| 1951 | Barefaced Flatfoot | Mr. Magoo |
| 1951 | Bungled Bungalow | Mr. Magoo |
| 1951 | Bright Victory | Bill Grayson |
| 1951 | Grizzly Golfer | Mr. Magoo |
| 1951 | Fuddy Duddy Buddy | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1950 | The Killer That Stalked New York | Willie Dennis (uncredited) |
| 1950 | Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town | Joseph "Little Joe" Rogers |
| 1950 | Customs Agent | Shanghai Chief Agent Thomas Jacoby |
| 1950 | Spellbound Hound | Mr. Magoo |
| 1950 | Emergency Wedding | Ed Hamley |
| 1950 | Trouble Indemnity | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1950 | Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy | Magistrate Backus |
| 1950 | The Popcorn Story | Narrator |
| 1949 | A Dangerous Profession | Police Lt. Nick Ferrone / Narrator (voice) |
| 1949 | Ragtime Bear | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1949 | Father Was a Fullback | Professor Sullivan |
| 1949 | One Last Fling | Howard Pritchard |
| 1949 | Easy Living | Dr. Franklin |
| 1949 | The Great Lover | Higgins |
| 1948 | A-Lad-in His Lamp | Smokey the Genie (voice) (uncredited) |
| 1948 | Where Will You Hide? | Narrator |
| Animation Mavericks: The Forgotten Story of UPA | Self / Mr. Magoo (archive footage, audio) |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | The Unknown Story | Self - archive footage |
| 1986 | The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show | |
| 1982 | Gilligan's Planet | Thurston Howell, III (voice) |
| 1981 | Hill Street Blues | Mr. Magoo (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1979 | Eischied | |
| 1979 | $weepstake$ | Major Adams |
| 1979 | The Rebels | John Hancock |
| 1978 | Flying High | |
| 1978 | Fantasy Island | Cap Truman |
| 1977 | CHiPs | Weitzman |
| 1977 | The Love Boat | Marvin Waterman |
| 1977 | What's New, Mr. Magoo? | |
| 1977 | The Love Boat | Mr. Landers |
| 1976 | Charlie's Angels | Iggy |
| 1975 | Mobile One | Macklin |
| 1975 | Ellery Queen | Howard Biggers |
| 1975 | Joe Forrester | |
| 1974 | Chico and the Man | |
| 1974 | The New Adventures of Gilligan | Thurston Howell III (voice) |
| 1974 | Kolchak: The Night Stalker | |
| 1974 | Harry O | Ziggy |
| 1973 | Police Story | |
| 1973 | Police Story | Jake Mandel |
| 1971 | Alias Smith and Jones | |
| 1970 | Nanny and the Professor | Dr. Charles Walters |
| 1969 | The Brady Bunch | |
| 1969 | Medical Center | |
| 1969 | The Barbara McNair Show | Self |
| 1969 | Love, American Style | Jerry Franks |
| 1969 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Bill |
| 1968 | The Good Guys | |
| 1968 | The Mod Squad | Emile Wade |
| 1968 | Blondie | J.C. Dithers /Mr. Dithers |
| 1968 | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | Self (uncredited) |
| 1967 | Accidental Family | |
| 1967 | The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour | Self |
| 1966 | Continental Showcase | Self - Host |
| 1965 | The Wild Wild West | Fabian Swanson |
| 1965 | I Dream of Jeannie | General Fitzhugh |
| 1964 | Gilligan's Island | Thurston Howell, III |
| 1964 | Daniel Boone | Will Scataway |
| 1964 | The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo | Mr. Magoo (voice) |
| 1963 | Burke's Law | Harold Mason |
| 1963 | Arrest and Trial | Sam Thayer |
| 1963 | Burke's Law | Pork Pie Hannigan |
| 1963 | Burke's Law | Herkimer Witt |
| 1962 | The Beverly Hillbillies | Marty Van Ransohoff |
| 1962 | The Merv Griffin Show | Self |
| 1962 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Self |
| 1961 | The Dick Powell Show | Monte |
| 1961 | Cain's Hundred | Karl Bigger |
| 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self |
| 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self - Co-Host |
| 1960 | The Mr. Magoo Show | Mr Magoo |
| 1960 | The Jim Backus Show | |
| 1959 | The Untouchables | William Norbert |
| 1958 | 77 Sunset Strip | Maury Samuels |
| 1957 | Maverick | Joe Wheelwright |
| 1957 | Tonight Starring Jack Paar | Self |
| 1956 | The Gale Storm Show | Arthur Hutchins |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke | Reverend Sims |
| 1955 | The Millionaire | Henry Banning |
| 1955 | Matinee Theater | |
| 1954 | Climax! | Detective Herman |
| 1954 | The George Gobel Show | Self |
| 1952 | I Married Joan | Judge Bradley Stevens |
| 1951 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Kevin Grady |
| 1950 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Lucus Edgerton |
| 1950 | Lux Video Theatre | Harry |
| 1950 | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Self |
| 1950 | What's My Line? | Self - Panelist |
| 1948 | Studio One | Tim McTaggart |