James Shorttel Bannon (April 9, 1911 â€" July 28, 1984) was a radio
announcer and Hollywood Western film actor known for his work on the I
Love a Mystery and Red Ryder series during the 1940s and 1950s.Born in
1911 in Kansas City, Missouri, Bannon attended Rockhurst High School
and Rockhurst University, where he played football, baseball, and
polo. In 1944, he was ineligible (classified 4-F) for World War II
service, owing to an ulcer, and therefore served as a civilian flight
instructor.Bannon began his broadcasting career on local radio station
KCKN, then briefly at KMOX in St. Louis. He moved to Los Angeles in
1937, beginning his show business career in radio as an announcer on
The Great Gildersleeve, The Chase and Sanborn Hour, and Stars over
Hollywood, among others, with his most prominent acting role being
that of Detective Jack Packard in the serial I Love a Mystery. A
motion-picture adaptation of the show, with Bannon reprising his radio
character, was released by Columbia Pictures in 1945 in hopes of
launching a franchise, but only two additional pictures would be
produced; he later described the original film as "a weakened product"
in his 1975 autobiography.Bannon left radio in 1946 to sign with
Columbia as a contract player in his attempt to become a Western movie
star, but then left the very next year for Republic Pictures. He first
served as a stuntman and double before being cast as the lead in his
first picture with the company, the 1948 serial Dangers of the
Canadian Mounted. While filming The Man from Colorado (1949), Bannon
punched director Charles Vidor during an on-set altercation. Vidor was
later fired from the production because of conflicts with star William
Holden and replaced by Henry Levin, who had directed Bannon in the I
Love a Mystery film adaptation. Bannon teamed with Whip Wilson and
Fuzzy Knight in five low-budget Westerns for Monogram Pictures, all
released in 1951.
announcer and Hollywood Western film actor known for his work on the I
Love a Mystery and Red Ryder series during the 1940s and 1950s.Born in
1911 in Kansas City, Missouri, Bannon attended Rockhurst High School
and Rockhurst University, where he played football, baseball, and
polo. In 1944, he was ineligible (classified 4-F) for World War II
service, owing to an ulcer, and therefore served as a civilian flight
instructor.Bannon began his broadcasting career on local radio station
KCKN, then briefly at KMOX in St. Louis. He moved to Los Angeles in
1937, beginning his show business career in radio as an announcer on
The Great Gildersleeve, The Chase and Sanborn Hour, and Stars over
Hollywood, among others, with his most prominent acting role being
that of Detective Jack Packard in the serial I Love a Mystery. A
motion-picture adaptation of the show, with Bannon reprising his radio
character, was released by Columbia Pictures in 1945 in hopes of
launching a franchise, but only two additional pictures would be
produced; he later described the original film as "a weakened product"
in his 1975 autobiography.Bannon left radio in 1946 to sign with
Columbia as a contract player in his attempt to become a Western movie
star, but then left the very next year for Republic Pictures. He first
served as a stuntman and double before being cast as the lead in his
first picture with the company, the 1948 serial Dangers of the
Canadian Mounted. While filming The Man from Colorado (1949), Bannon
punched director Charles Vidor during an on-set altercation. Vidor was
later fired from the production because of conflicts with star William
Holden and replaced by Henry Levin, who had directed Bannon in the I
Love a Mystery film adaptation. Bannon teamed with Whip Wilson and
Fuzzy Knight in five low-budget Westerns for Monogram Pictures, all
released in 1951.
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