James Eckhouse is an American actor best known for playing the role of Jim Walsh, Brandon and Brenda's father in the popular 90s Beverly Hills 90210 television series. He is also the director of 3 episodes of the show.
early years
James Cower Eckhaus was born on February 14, 1955 in Chicago. In 1972, he graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetke, 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 concentrate fully on his acting career.
Beginning of a creative career
James Eckhouse arrived in Los Angeles in July 1988, just during the screenwriters' strike, and therefore did not work for several months. And then, after about two years, he got a call and was invited to audition for a new series called The Beverly Hills Class. James decided that he failed the interview, as he portrayed a rather grumpy hero. But he was called again - as it turned out, that was exactly what the character needed.
After a second audition, the following dialogue took place between Carol Potter (already an approved actress for Cindy Walsh) and Aaron Spelling :
- I do not know. There is something about this guy. said Spelling.
“Well, Aaron, that's because he's a Jew.” - answered Potter.
James Eckhouse jokes that it is for this reason that he got the role.
Jobs at Beverly Hills 90210
The atmosphere at the venue was perfect and was very suitable for this show. The series was filmed in warehouses in a small industrial area. Spelling repaired all the rooms and turned them into a film set.
James Eckhaus recalls: “The site looked like a student dormitory. I was like going back to college. It was great. There was a very long corridor in which old small lockers stuffed with different things were randomly arranged. It looked like our dressing room. Then it seemed like that should be. "
Originally it was supposed to be a family show. But the producers quickly realized that they won’t earn much on a project of this format, and turned the series into a soap opera about beautiful young people. Nevertheless, looking back at the show now, Eckhaus is proud to have participated in it: “Something wonderful was that the teens told quite in an adult way about their problems, which are no different from those that I see now: sex, love, alcohol, drugs. All of this has been shown more or less in an adult way. "
The Beverly Hills 90210 series was successful because it had a direct dialogue with the viewer. American youth didn’t care whether the show was loved by critics or not, whether it was of high quality or base. They just felt a connection with this project.
Career after Beverly Hills 90210
After the fifth season, James Eckhaus left the series, as his contract expired. Over the next years, he led a rather active acting life.
James has appeared in a number of popular television shows, such as Without a Trace, Darma and Greg, and CSI. He didn’t forget about the movie. Some of James Ackhouse's most famous films are True Values, The Cinderella Story, and Guess Who? He also often starred in video films (products that appeared immediately on video, without showing on television or in movie theaters). One of these is Extreme Cinema.
Of the recent works of Eckhaus, one can name the roles in the following films: "Avengers", "Masters of Sex" and "Castle".
Personal life
James Eckhaus is a Jewish Jew, lives and works in Los Angeles. Married for more than thirty years to Sheila Keliher 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 his father's footsteps, currently studying film art at New York University and plays one of the main roles in the series Puffies.