James Ackhouse - American actor, most of allknown for the role of Jim Walsh - the father of Brandon and Brenda in the popular television series of the 90s "Beverly Hills 90210". He is also the director of 3 episodes of the show.
James Kauer Ackhouse was born on February 14, 1955in Chicago. In 1972, he graduated from New Triyer High School in Winnetka, a wealthy village 26 kilometers from Chicago. In the same year he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. However, in 1976, James dropped out of school to fully focus on his acting career.
Джеймс Экхаус приехал в Лос-Анджелес в июле 1988 year, just during the strike of the writers, because of what did not work for several months. And then, after about two years, they called him and invited him to audition for a new series called Beverly Hills Class. James decided that he had failed the interview, as he had portrayed a rather grumpy hero. But he was called again - as it turned out, that was exactly what the character needed.
After the second audition between Carol Potter (already approved for the role of Cindy Walsh actress) and Aaron Spelling, the following dialogue took place:
- I do not know. Something about this guy. said Spelling.
“Well, Aaron, that's because he is a Jew.” - answered Potter.
James Ackhouse jokes that it was for this reason that he got the part.
The atmosphere at the site was perfect and very suitable for this show. The series was filmed in warehouses in a small industrial area. Spelling repaired all the premises and turned them into a film set.
James Ackhouse recalls:"The site looked like a student dormitory. I seemed to go back to college. It was great. There was a very long corridor in which old small lockers were packed randomly, stuffed with different things. That was how our dressing room looked. Then it seemed like it should be."
Originally it was supposed to be a family show.But the producers quickly realized that they would not earn much on a project of such a format, and turned the series into a soap opera about beautiful young people. However, looking back at the show now, Ackhouse is proud to have taken part in it: “Something remarkable was that the teens told a rather adult about their problems, which are no different from what I see now: sex, love, alcohol, drugs. All this was shown more or less in an adult way. "
The series "Beverly Hills 90210" was successful becausethat led a direct dialogue with the viewer. American youth didn’t care whether critics liked the show or not, whether it was high-quality or low-grade. They just felt some connection with this project.
After the fifth season, James Ackhouse left the show as his contract expired. Over the years, led a fairly active acting life.
Джеймс появлялся в ряде популярных телевизионных shows such as "Without a trace", "Darma and Greg" and C.S.I. Did not forget about the movie. Some of the best-known films by James Eckhous are: True Values, Cinderella Story, and Guess Who? Also often filmed in movies (products that went directly to the video, without showing on television or in cinemas). One of these is "Extreme Cinema".
From the latest works of Eckhaus can be called roles in the following pictures: "The Avengers", "Masters of Sex" and "Castle."
James Ackhouse is Jewish by nationality and livesworks in Los Angeles. For more than thirty years he has been married to Sheila Kelicher Walsh, with whom he raised two sons: James Gabriel (Gabe) and John Alexander (Zander). Gabe graduated from Deep Springs College and is currently studying at Berkeley. Zander followed in the footsteps of his father, is currently studying cinema at New York University and playing one of the main roles in the TV series Puhliki.
