James Firman Daly (October 23, 1918 – July 3, 1978) was an American actor. Recognized for his work on stage and screen, he is perhaps best known for his role as Paul Lochner in the hospital drama series Medical Center, in which he played Chad Everett's superior.

Early life Daly was born in Wisconsin Rapids in Wood County in central Wisconsin, to Dorothy Ethelbert (Hogan) Mullen, who later worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, and Percifer Charles Daly, a fuel merchant. During the 1930s, Daly studied drama and acted in shows before serving in three branches of the armed forces, including six months as an infantryman in the U.S. Army, two months as a cadet in the Army Air Corps, and more than four years in the Navy as an ensign during World War II.

Daly attended the University of Wisconsin, Iowa State University, and Carroll College before receiving a degree from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Cornell College later presented him with an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.

Career Daly was an accomplished stage actor, starting out in 1946 as Gary Merrill's understudy in Born Yesterday. His starring roles on Broadway included Archibald MacLeish's Pulitzer Prize–winning J.B. and Tennessee Williams' Period of Adjustment.

Between 1953 and 1954, Daly appeared in the third season of Foreign Intrigue as the main character Michael Powers.

He guest-starred on many television series, including Appointment with Adventure (two episodes), Breaking Point, Mission: Impossible ("Shock"), DuPont Cavalcade Theater ("One Day at a Time" 1955) portraying Bill Wilson the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, The Twilight Zone ("A Stop at Willoughby"), The Tenderfoot (1964) for Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, The Road West (1966 episode "The Gunfighter"), Custer, Gunsmoke (1967 episode "The Favor"), Combat!, The Fugitive, The Virginian, and Twelve O'Clock High. He portrayed Mr. Flint (an apparently immortal human) in the Star Trek episode "Requiem for Methuselah" (1969).

In 1968, he appeared in the movie Planet of the Apes. He was a series regular on Medical Center on CBS between 1969 and 1976 portraying Dr. Paul Lochner.

In 1958, Daly signed a contract with the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to do television commercials for Camel cigarettes. He served as the Camel representative for seven years, being flown by Reynolds throughout the United States to be filmed smoking a Camel cigarette at various locations.See, Carolyn. (1970, February 21–27). "Nothing Personal: James Daly will talk about anything – except himself". TV Guide. pp 26–30.

In addition to his acting career, Daly was one of the hosts on NBC Radio's weekend Monitor program in 1963–1964.

Daly's last screen role was as Mr. Boyce in the mini-series Roots: The Next Generations.

Personal life Two of Daly's children, Tyne Daly and Tim Daly, and his grandson, Sam Daly, are actors. Tyne appeared on Daly's TV series, Foreign Intrigue, as a child. She also played Jennifer Lochner, Paul Lochner's adult daughter, on Medical Center in the 1970 season one episode "Moment of Decision". The elder Daly and his daughter both guest-starred separately in the original Mission: Impossible TV series. Tim appeared as a child with his father in Henrik Ibsen's play An Enemy of the People. Daly had two other children: daughters Mary Glynn and Pegeen Michael.

According to his son Tim Daly, during an interview on CBS News Sunday Morning, James Daly came out to Tim as gay a decade after divorcing his wife Hope. His struggle to come to terms with his sexual orientation nearly put a rift between him and his family. As homosexuality was still considered a mental illness until the early 1970s, he and his wife tried and failed at "curing" him. After their divorce, Daly decided to limit his contact with his children out of fear that they would end up mentally ill themselves.

Death Daly died on July 3, 1978, of heart failure in Nyack, New York, two years after Medical Center ended, and while he was preparing to star in the play Equus in Tarrytown, New York. His ashes were scattered into the Atlantic Ocean.

Selected acting credits

Film Year Title Role Notes 1950 The Sleeping City Interne Uncredited 1955 The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell Lt. Col. Herbert White 1957 The Young Stranger Thomas 'Tom' Ditmar 1960 I Aim at the Stars U.S. Major William Taggert 1968 Planet of the Apes Honorius Code Name: Red Roses Major Mike Liston 1969 The Big Bounce Ray Ritchie The Five Man Army Augustus 1971 The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler Dr. Redding 1972 Wild in the Sky The President

Television Year Title Role Notes1953-1954Foreign IntrigueMichael PowersSeason 3, main role 1954 Westinghouse Studio One Major Gaylord Episode: "The Strike" 1955 DuPont Cavalcade Theater Bill Wilson Episode: "One Day at a Time" 1955-1957 Omnibus General Robert E. Lee Episodes: "Henry Adams", "Uncle Tom's Cabin", "The Birth of Modern Times", "The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell", "TV/Radio Workshop of the Ford Foundation", "The Fine Art of Murder" and "Lee at Gettysburg" 1960 The Twilight Zone Gart Williams Episode: "A Stop at Willoughby" 1961–1967 Hallmark Hall of Fame Barabbas, Owen Wister, Dr. O'Meara, and Dunois Episodes: "Give Us Barabbas", "The Magnificent Yankee", "Eagle in a Cage" and "Saint Joan" Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama 1965 Dr. Kildare Morgan Bannion Episodes: "With Hellfire and Thunder" and "Daily Flights to Olympus" 1966 An Enemy of the People Dr. Thomas Stockmann American Playhouse production The Fugitive Michael Ballinger and Arthur Brame Episodes: "Running Scared" and "The Evil Men Do" 1967 Mission: Impossible Carl Wilson / Josef Gort Episode: "Shock" Combat! Capt. Cole Episode: "Encounter" Mission: Impossible Alfred Belzig Episode: "The Bank" The Invaders Alan Landers Episode: "Beachhead" 1968 The Invaders General Samuel ConCannon Episodes: "The Peacemaker" 1969 Star Trek Flint Episode: "Requiem for Methuselah" 1969–1976 Medical Center Dr. Paul Lochner Series regular 1970 Ironside Judge McIntire Episode: "People Against Judge McIntire"

Theatre Year Production Role Notes 1946–1949 Born Yesterday as Replacement and/or Understudy 1947 Virginia Reel Hobe Kelvin 1949 Man and Superman Hector Malone, Jr. 1951 Billy Budd Talbot Mary Rose Harry 1951–1952 Saint Joan Robert de Baudricourt 1953 The Merchant of Venice Gratiano 1956 Miss Julie / The Stronger Jean Off-Broadway 1958 Handful of Fire Manuel 1958–1959 J.B. as Replacement 1960–1961 Period of Adjustment Ralph Bates 1963 The Advocate Warren Curtis Jenny Kissed Me by Jean Kerr "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Co-starring with Colleen Dewhurst 1965 Performances: Bucks County Playhouse and New Hope, Pennsylvania 1964 The White House George Washington, James Monroe, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland, and Theodore Roosevelt

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1966 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Hallmark Hall of Fame 1951 Theatre World Awards Major Barbara

References

External links