Archives Of The Apes: December 2017

James Gregory, born in the Bronx, New York City, 23rd December 1911, is best known in the Apes universe for the memorable part of General Ursus in Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (1970).

Gregory made his Broadway debut in 1939 in a production of Key Largo, and worked in around twenty-five more Broadway productions over the next sixteen years. He served three years in the United States Navy and Marine Corps during World War II, and his early acting work included Army training films.

His first film appearance was in The Scarlet Hour in 1956, followed by The Manchurian Candidate (1962), The Silencers (1966) and Murderers' Row (1966). In 1969 he appeared as General Ursus (a part originally intended for Orson Welles) in Beneath The Planet Of The Apes.

He's also well remembered for his role as Dr Tristan Adams in the 1966 Star Trek episode Dagger Of The Mind.

His many TV roles include appearances in The Twilight Zone, Barney Miller, The Virginian, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, Ironside, Mission: Impossible and Columbo. His final film role, in 1982, was a voiceover in the Rankin/Bass straight-to-video movie The Flight Of Dragons.