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Photo of Jim Backus

Photo: NBC Television / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Jim Backus

ジム・バッカス / じむ・ばっかす

American actor

February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989 ・ Ohio, United States

  • Ohio
  • actor
  • screenwriter
  • voice actor

My Take

Backus makes me smile just thinking about him. The pompous millionaire Thurston Howell III, the gloriously myopic Mr. Magoo, and the conflicted father in Rebel Without a Cause prove a range most actors never touch in a lifetime. Born in Ohio in 1913, he could earn his keep with his face, his unmistakable voice, or his pen, and that versatility is what I find genuinely impressive. The star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame feels well earned for such a dependable character man. He passed in 1989, but that warm, comic delivery has not aged a day, and I cherish craftsmen like him.

Overview

James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom Gilligan's Island, the father of James Dean's character in Rebel Without a Cause, the voice of the near-sighted cartoon character Mr.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English)
Jim Backus
Name (Japanese)
ジム・バッカス
Reading
じむ・ばっかす
Born
February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
Pisces / Ox
Origin
Ohio, United States
Blood type
Private
Height
Private
Agency
Private
Occupation
actor / screenwriter / voice actor / writer / television actor

2. Background

Elementary school
Private
Junior high
Private
High school
Shaw High School
University
Private

Awards & achievements

  • star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

3. Relationships

Spouse
Private
Children
Private
Parents
Private
Siblings
Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

Actor — see all → · Screenwriter — see all → · More people from United States →

7. About this entry

Tags

  • Ohio
  • actor
  • screenwriter
  • voice actor
Last updated
2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.