James Frawley
James Joseph Frawley (September 29, 1936 – January 22, 2019) was an American director and actor. He was a member of the Actors Studio since around 1961. He was best known for directing The Muppet Movie (1979), and The Monkees television series.
Also recorded as James Joseph Frawley
James Frawley
- Born
- 1936 · Houston.
- Died
- 2019 · Indian Wells.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- actor · director · television producer
- Fields
- film · television
- Education
- Actors Studio
- Honours
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
James Joseph Frawley (September 29, 1936 – January 22, 2019) was an American director and actor. He was a member of the Actors Studio since around 1961. He was best known for directing The Muppet Movie (1979), and The Monkees television series.
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Note VALÉORINE
James Frawley (1936–2019) was an actor, director and film actor, among other activities, of American nationality. The actor was born in Houston and died in Indian Wells.
James Frawley was educated at Actors Studio. Activity centred on film and television. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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- Identity
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Authority files
wikidata · Q3161090 · wikipedia · James Frawley
In this article
Career
Career
Born in Houston, Texas, Frawley had a short-lived acting career, appearing in supporting roles in film and television from 1963 to 1966. A memorable appearance was the role of Hawaii District Attorney Alvarez in the 1965 Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Feather Cloak." In 1966, he was hired as a director for the new series The Monkees, he ended up directing half of the series 58 episodes. He began a career of over four decades as a director. TV series he directed included Cagney & Lacey, Magnum, P.I., Smallville, Ghost Whisperer, and Judging Amy, along with many others. He directed occasional feature films and television films, most notably The Muppet Movie in 1979, in which he also had a cameo. His last acting role was that of a bartender in TV's American Gothic in 1996. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series in 1967 for the episode "Royal Flush" of The Monkees, and was nominated for the same award the following year for another Monkees episode, "The Devil and Peter Tork." Frawley died from a heart attack while at home in Indian Wells, California, on January 22, 2019, at the age of 82.
Director
Director
• The Monkees (1966–1968) • That Girl (1967–1968) • The Christian Licorice Store (1971) • Kid Blue (1973) • The Big Bus (1976) • Columbo (1977–1978, 1989) • The Eddie Capra Mysteries (1978–1979) • The Muppet Movie (1979) • The Great American Traffic Jam (1980) • Magnum, P.I. (1982–1984) • Faerie Tale Theatre's Hansel And Gretel 1982 • Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983–1985) • Cagney & Lacey (1984–1988) • Fraternity Vacation (1985) • Spies, Lies and Naked Thighs (1988) • Father Dowling Mysteries (1990–1991) • Law & Order (1992–1993) • Picket Fences (1994–1995) • Chicago Hope (1994–1996) • Ally McBeal (1997) - Pilot • On the 2nd Day of Christmas (1997) • Sins of the Mind (1997) • Vengeance Unlimited (1998–1999) • The Three Stooges (2000) • Ghost Whisperer (2005–2006) • Smallville (2001) • Judging Amy (1999–2005) • Notes from the Underbelly (2007) • Dirty Sexy Money (2007) • Grey's Anatomy (2007–2009) • Private Practice (2008–2009)
Actor
Actor
• Greenwich Village Story (1963) - Norman • Ladybug Ladybug (1963) - Truck Driver • The Troublemaker (1964) - Sal Kelly / Sol Kelly / Judge Kelly • The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964-1966, 2 episodes) - Max / Lieutenant Manuera • The Outer Limits (1964, Episode: "The Inheritors") - Pvt. Robert Renaldo • Gunsmoke (1964, S10E7: "Help Me Kitty") - Outlaw Furnas • The Dick Van Dyke Show (1965, Episode: Fifty-Two, Forty-Five or Work") - Joe Galardi • McHale's Navy (1966, 2 Episodes) - The German Sergeant / The German Noncom • The Monkees (1966-1968, 12 episodes) - Voice on telephone / Mr. Schneider / Rudy Bayshore (voice) • Hogan's Heroes (1966, Episode: "The Great Impersonation") - Gestapo Captain • My Favorite Martian (1966, Episode: "Doggone Martin") - Mr. Frisby • Blue Light (1966, Episode: "Field of Dishonor") - Ehrlich • Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea (1966, Episode: "Killers of the Deep") - Manolo • I Spy (1966, Episode: "It's All Done with Mirrors") - Greenburg • Wild Wild Winter (1966) - Stone • The Muppet Movie (1979) - Waiter
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
2019
James Frawley died at Indian Wells.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Houston.
Birth place
Indian Wells.
Death place
References ==== External links
References ==== External links
* * *
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Garfield, David. A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. 278. 1980. 0025426508.
- 2.James Frawley at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection
- 3.Celebrate 40 Years of The Muppet Movie with These "Muppetational" Facts-D23
- 4.TV Episodes. themonkees.com.
- 5.TV director and Indian Wells resident James Frawley dies in desert he loved-Desert Sun
- 6.James Frawley, Director of 'The Monkees,' 'The Muppet Movie,' Dies at 82. January 24, 2019.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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